Calm Mind & Body Yin Yoga To Soothe Anxiety
In this yin yoga class to soothe anxiety you will be guided through grounding poses, with options to use restorative support with bolsters and calming breathwork to help release tension, ease anxiety and find inner calm. Class Sequence: Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing) Waterfall Pose (Legs up the Wall) Seated Twists & Reclined Mermaid Pose Constructive Rest Apanasana rocking exploration Caterpillar flow LI 4 Acupressure Point Lion’s Breath (Simhasana) Seated Closing Meditation Benefits of This Practice: Calms the mind and reduces anxious thoughts Activates the parasympathetic nervous system for deep relaxation Opens hips, shoulders and spine to release tension Encourages mindfulness and embodied awareness Supports emotional release and inner clarity Music by Rand Aldo / Birds of Lydia
Transcript
Welcome,
I'm Danya.
It's natural sometimes that we feel anxious.
There are so many things that can trigger overwhelm,
Worry,
And anxiety.
I hope this Yan Yoga class brings some relief.
Grab a bolster or some pillows if you want to keep this practice gentle and grounded.
Let's begin our practice today with some alternative nostril breathing,
Nadi Shodhana.
Sit tall with the spine straight,
Shoulders relaxed,
And rest your left hand on your knee in Chin Mudra,
Thumb and index finger touching.
With your right hand,
Fold the index and middle finger down towards your palm or place them between your eyebrows at your third eye.
Use your thumb to close the and your ring finger to close the left.
Let's begin the first cycle by closing the right nostril with your thumb.
Inhale slowly and deeply through your left nostril.
Pause briefly at the top of the inhale.
Close the left nostril with your ring finger and exhale through the right nostril.
Slow and smooth.
Close the right.
Inhale through the left.
Pause at the top of the inhale and then close the left and exhale through your right.
That's one full round.
Inhale left.
Pause.
Exhale right.
Inhale left.
Pause.
Exhale right.
Let's continue for another three rounds at a natural gentle pace.
You may want to keep the breath ratio at an even four-count inhale with a slight pause at the top and a four-count exhale.
Or simply allow your breath to be smooth,
Even,
And quiet.
Keep your attention lightly resting on the flow of air and the calming rhythm of the practice.
Let your shoulders be soft and face relaxed.
Breathing like this balances the flow of prana through the left and right energy channels.
It's one of the most grounding pranayama practices to calm the mind and help reduce anxiety.
When you are finished,
Release your hand and take a few natural breaths through both nostrils.
Just sitting quietly and noticing how you feel.
Okay,
Let's come into a deeply restorative posture,
Viparita Karini,
Or legs up the wall pose.
Find a clear space at the wall and place your mat or folded blankets so that it will be below you and sit with one hip next to the wall.
When you are ready,
Gently roll onto your back and sweep your legs upward,
Letting them rest along the wall.
Make any adjustments so you feel comfortable.
Your hips can be right against the wall or a few inches away,
Whatever feels best for your body.
Once you're settled in,
Take a moment to gently rotate your ankles and wrists,
Moving in one direction and then changing to rotate in the opposite direction.
When this feels complete,
Let your arms rest by your side,
Palms open,
Or place your hands gently on your belly or heart and close your eyes.
Take a slow breath in and a long,
Unhurried breath out.
Inhale through your nose and let your exhale become a little longer than your inhale.
As your legs rest against the wall,
Soften your effort to hold your legs up.
Let the weight of your legs release and sink into your pelvis.
Notice the subtle feeling of surrender.
In this shape,
You don't need to hold or do anything.
With each exhale,
Allow the muscles of the legs,
The belly and the face to soften.
The legs-up-the-wall pose is one of yoga's most soothing postures,
Especially when it comes to calming the nervous system and easing anxiety.
When you lie on your back with your legs elevated,
The body shifts into a gentle inversion.
This position allows blood and lymphatic fluids to flow back toward the heart,
Promoting relaxation.
More importantly,
The pose stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system,
The branch responsible for rest and digest.
This down-regulates the stress response governed by the sympathetic nervous system or the fight or flight,
Creating a sense of calm and safety.
The grounding nature of the pose helps relieve physical tension.
Muscles in the legs,
Hips and lower back soften.
As the wall carries the weight of the legs,
Signaling to the body that it can let go.
This physical release often mirrors an emotional one,
Helping to quiet a racing mind.
So from a psychological perspective,
Viparitakarini provides a moment of stillness and surrender.
It encourages mindfulness,
Present moment awareness,
Which are both powerful tools for managing anxiety.
Regularly practicing this pose can ease mental restlessness and cultivate a deep sense of inner balance,
Making it a simple yet profound antidote to stress and overwhelm.
If for any reason you feel uncomfortable or restless,
Give yourself permission to move.
Perhaps bringing your knees into your belly or the soles of your feet together in butterfly.
Imagine your breath washing over your entire body.
Letting it carry you like a wave,
Steady and soothing.
If your mind is racing,
Let each thought drift away with each exhale.
Stay here for a few moments longer,
Breathing slowly and evenly.
Letting this posture nourish your body and quiet your mind.
And when you feel ready to come out,
Begin by bending your knees and letting the soles of your feet slide down the wall.
Pause here for a moment.
Noticing the shift in sensation,
Then gently roll to one side into a fetal position and rest for a breath or two before pressing yourself up to a seated position.
Take a moment here to notice how you feel.
Perhaps a little lighter,
Calmer or more grounded.
Notice if anxiety is still present.
What does it feel like?
Where is it most felt in your body?
That'll bring your awareness to the sensation of breathing.
Invite some slow movements if that feels good.
Perhaps gently twisting to the right and then to the left.
Or move in any way that feels nourishing in your body.
For our next shape,
You may want to use your bolster or pillows.
Set them next to your left hip and bring your knees together,
Letting them fall to the left in mermaid pose.
Twist to your left and bring your belly down onto the floor or your prop.
Your left cheek resting on the mat or turning your head to look behind for a deeper twist.
Make any adjustments so the pose feels supportive and nourishing and then come to be still.
Find your anchor to being present in your breath.
If your mind gets caught up in thoughts,
Just gently bring it back to your breath.
Let the thoughts be present.
There is no need to force them away.
Just favour the experience of breathing over thinking.
Noticing the sensation of your breathing.
Noticing the sensation of your breathing body.
Sinking further into yourself with every exhale.
Continue like this on your own for a while.
I will let you know when it's time to move to the other side.
And slowly make your way back to centre.
Place the soles of your feet on the ground and wrap your arms around your knees and softly round forward.
I invite you to take three heart clearing breaths.
Inhale through your nose and sigh the breath out through your mouth.
And exhale.
And let's transition to the other side.
Setting yourself up if you're using a prop and twist to lower yourself down to the right.
Can you identify the place in your body that is holding too much energy?
A place that cannot seem to settle or let go?
Perhaps you sense a fullness or static vibration in your head.
A pulsing in your heart.
A tightness in the belly.
Or a restlessness gathered in your hips or pelvis.
Let your awareness drift into the space that is speaking the loudest at this moment.
Now guide your attention to that space and simply offer reassurance that you are here.
You are listening.
Notice where your attention goes.
Just follow it.
Sending your breath towards sensation.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Letting your breath guide your body towards more ease.
I will guide you out of this shape when it is time.
Slowly bring yourself up and then make your way onto your back into constructive rest for a rebound pause.
Soles of your feet grounded.
Head and spine supported by the ground below.
You may wish to place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly and take a few heart clearing breaths.
Inhaling through your nose and exhaling with a sigh.
If anxiety is present just notice it.
And allow it to be there without judgment.
Just be a witness to the sensations.
Perhaps bringing your hands back to the space in your body where you sensed restless energy.
Letting the reassuring touch of your hands and wise intuition guide you.
If it feels good let your knees drop to one side and then the other.
Softly windshield wipering them back and forth.
And then bring your knees to your belly and wrap your arms over them for a hug.
Perhaps gently rocking from side to side or making some slow circles.
And roll to one side when you are ready and slowly come up to sit.
And gently extend both legs straight out in front of you.
Sit tall with your sit bones grounded evenly into the mat.
Flex your feet so your toes point up toward the ceiling.
Activating through your legs place your hands beside your hips,
Fingers pointing forward.
Pressing gently into the floor to lift and lengthen your spine.
Draw the shoulder blades slightly together letting your heart open.
Relax your shoulders and jaw.
Soften your eyes.
Imagine a line of energy extending from the base of your spine up through the crown of your head.
Rooting down and rising up at the same time.
Dandasana looks simple but energetically it's very grounding and stabilizing.
It activates the root and sacral chakras helping to anchor scattered energy.
Stay for a few breaths.
Feeling your solid base.
Let this sense of stability remind you that you can meet life's moments from your center.
Calm and grounded.
On your next inhale reach your arms overhead lifting through the sides of the body and lengthening the spine.
Exhale slowly hinge from your hips and begin to fold forward over your legs.
Keep your spine long as you reach forward to protect the low back or round down if that feels right for you.
Let your hands naturally land along the sides of your legs.
You may want to place support under your belly or head to make this shape more restorative.
Relax your shoulders away from the ears and allow the head to rest gently towards the legs.
If your low back or hamstrings feel tight you can bend your knees slightly or place a blanket under your sit bones.
This forward fold is about finding ease so the body can surrender effort.
Breathe deeply into the back body.
Feeling the stretch along the spine,
Hamstrings and calves.
With each exhale let go of tension in the body.
Perhaps you can imagine even letting go of anxious thoughts or mental clutter.
Folding forward is very calming for the nervous system.
The inward fold signals the mind to turn inward creating a moment of stillness and reflection.
Shifting attention from racing thoughts into a more embodied awareness.
You may wish to remain completely still here but I invite you to try working with the acupressure point large intestine 4.
You can find it deep in the webbing between your thumb and index finger.
Use your thumb and index finger of the opposite hand to squeeze gently or massage for about 30 seconds on each hand.
This is a great point to reduce tension and stress and it helps energy move freely and ease mental constrictions as well.
I will let you know when it's time to come out of the shape.
When you are ready,
Slowly return to a seated position.
Before we close our practice we will try one more pranayama,
Lion's breath.
It's a playful but powerful breathing technique that helps reduce tension calm the mind and relieves pent up stress.
Fill your lungs completely and exhale through your mouth with a roar sticking out your tongue towards the chin or floor.
Inhale and exhale forcefully making a or a roar sound engaging the throat and jaw repeat for around 5 rounds allow your roar to be expressive.
It's a safe space to release tension lion's breath relieves anxiety by releasing tension in the face jaw and chest and may promote emotional release helping us let go of some pent up frustrations or nervous energy and coming back to your natural breath notice any shifts in your body or mood with each exhale imagine letting go of anxiety,
Worry and tension with each inhale draw in calm,
Clarity and grounding energy remain still for a few moments just following your breath or feel free to take any final intuitive movements.
Perhaps a few rounds of seated cat cow or some easy twists from side to side and we will finish our practice with the playful mantra I call here now wow breathe in and softly repeat to yourself I am here breathe out and repeat no fear thoughts may rise but I stay still here in my breath now in my body wow what a life I'm doing my best here now wow take as long as you need sitting quietly for a little longer and when you are ready open your beautiful eyes to all of the wow of this moment
