Top 5: Yoga poses to get rid of anxiety and depression

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Hello! Today my lovely friend Kirsti is back with her beautiful wisdoms, this time to share a little about how a little yoga can help relieve anxiety and depression. Enjoy. x

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As a mum of three little people and running a business, I know the meaning of ‘busy’ very well! No matter what we do in our lives, where we live or who we are, life seems to be getting busier for everyone. I feel energetically we are on a constant up with more pressure to perform, busier schedules, more activities coupled with more stress & our days are jammed pack with “stuff”. Our tanks are full. From the moment we wake up, we are bombarded with noise.

Noise from the kids racing in to say good morning, noise from the TV blaring before the first bowl of cereal is even poured, noise from the computer making “bling” sounds at the sniff of a new email, noise from the phone beeping from instagram messages and Facebook updates, blah, blah, blah.…you are probably very well drilled in the area of noise too. I am stressed even thinking about the noise that fills up my typical day! I feel very strongly that outside noise is stealing our minds, hearts and spirit. This is where Yoga comes in.

Yoga has now become a powerful stress management tool for overworked executives, mums, business owners and now the younger generation who are also struggling with the daily stressors and demands of school life.

I was so lost in day to day busy-ness that I forgot the beauty of silence. My inner voice was being drowned out from the daily grind. To combat two small children and a newborn, my husband would literally push me out of the door on a Monday night to go to my Yoga session, even though I was bone tired and made every excuse under the sun not to go. Yoga was literally my life saver.

Anxiety is the number one mental illness in the US today. Stats reveal that almost 40 million Americans have been diagnosed with Anxiety. This figure doesn’t even represent those people that may suffer in silence from the stress of daily life. We are so drowned out by “doing”, noise & internal mental chatter we have literally forgotten what we love doing, what makes out heart sing with joy and finding happiness in the little things. Many of us find ourselves suffering from anxiety and depression.

Yoga is such a circuit breaker. It’s truly a grounding experience once you allow the magic of yoga to lead you for the entire practice. It allows you to go within, just focusing on your breath, your body and the yoga pose. Yoga helps your entire nervous system calm down.

If you are use to living in your head (like I was!), then Yoga is the perfect tool to let go of all the blocked energy trapped at a cellular level. Our bodies are remarkable energy fields. Our bodies are programmed to heal naturally but what stops this healing from taking place are the daily stressors so many of us are struggling with today.

Yoga is so beautiful that it teaches us to move away from our ‘thinking mind’ & comparing ourselves with others to look within and listen to our own body, our own heart, our own spirit. Your body constantly talks to you; it’s just a matter of tuning in. Yoga is designed to heal the body physically, mentally and emotionally. If you or someone you know struggles with anxiety or depression, then you might like to become familiar with the following yoga poses.

You do not need to be an advanced Yogi to complete these poses, just ensure that you listen to your body & do not partake in anything that does not feel right to you. If at any time you find during your practice that your breathing is laboured, you’re clenching your jaw, biting your lip or stiffening through the body, ease out of your pose.

1. Childs Pose
Lying on your belly helps you a lot when you feel anxious, Child’s pose helps us turn inside and slow our minds down.

2. Tree Pose
Tree Pose is a basic standing balance to help calm a racing mind and induce concentration. Balancing poses force you to be honest about where you are currently, and they force you to pay attention to where you are, if you’re in a tree pose and your mind is wandering, you’ll know it, you’ll fall over.

3. Eagle Pose
The symmetry we experience in practicing balancing poses helps us turn away from the mind’s business and towards the body’s recalibration and healing. The Eagle Pose can be particularly beneficial for quieting the mind and bringing the attention to the body.

4. Supported Shoulder Stand
Inversions in general turn things upside down, Stress and anxiety are more of a perception of danger and unease, and when you can get out of your mind, literally, that helps.

5. Legs up the Wall Pose
Legs up the Wall pose as a simple but effective anxiety-busting posture for beginners that can help you to escape the “thinking mind.”

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Kirsti Boothroyd is a Yoga & Lifestyle advisor. Her deepest intention is to light up LIGHTs everywhere through the magic of creative Yoga, energy healing & foods that heal the body & spirit. Kirsti has been studying human behavior for close to 15 years working as a Social Scientist, developing leadership programs for organisations & conducting reiki sessions with personal clients. More recently, Kirsti has developed a Kids Yoga Program and is taking this to schools to help kids reconnect with their own innate perfection and light to improve inner strength, concentration and happiness levels. If you want to connect with more of Kirsti’s work, you can find her on Facebook.

photo credit: ((carola)) via photopin cc

2 thoughts on “Top 5: Yoga poses to get rid of anxiety and depression”

  1. Oh I’ll have to try these out! I am a big pilates fan, but am starting to think about getting into yoga too. I really like the sound of these de-stressing poses!

  2. I would love to do yoga but cannot since all my operations on my knee I cannot get on the floor,but I do some Tai chi.

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