Hello 👋🏻 and welcome back to feeling good with Sofy :) 🫶🏻!! As I already mentioned in my latest article (SELF-LOVE 🫶🏻❤️), here I will be focusing my attention on YOGA FOR ANXIETY which is for me very BENEFICIAL, to manage my anxiety moments!
•“I’ve been dealing a lot, throughout my life with constant stress, even now I can find myself on edge, feeling very anxious. At school, especially the last years of high-school, I went to bed early in the evening exhausted & the next day I did not feel rested at all, in fact, many times I was yawning a lot, I had to force myself to be awake during lessons otherwise I could have easily fallen asleep there”.
YOGA FOR ANXIETY
•“YOGA CAME TO MY HELP in those very hard periods BUT IT WAS NOT UNTIL SOME MONTHS AGO THAT I BECAME MORE AWARE OF MY BREATH, I STARTED DOING YOGA FOCUSED ON ANXIETY, MY DIAPHRAGM”
Does somebody else also practice, love yoga 😍🫶🏻 as I do :) ?
By the way :) MY FIRST REEL ABOUT YOGA FOR ANXIETY IS ALREADY OUT ON MY INSTAGRAM 🫶🏻!
It was my current therapist 🫶🏻 who recommended me to take up yoga, (last November), with MY YOGA TEACHER LAURA ALESSANDRO 🫶🏻,
because many times:
1) I wasn’t able to focus during my practices.
2)My breathing was not the best after practicing (In another article I will be writing about FINDING HARMONY IN YOGA= BREATHING RIGHT WHILE DOING AN ASANA …🧘🏻♀️).
TRIGGER WARNING: if somebody does not feel ok, is going through an hard time the next point can be hard to read…
3)I was wondering away with my mind & instead of practicing, I stopped so that I could hurt myself and I couldn’t stop untill (many times)some parts of me (my body) were bleeding…so at the end I didn’t finish practicing.
LAURA (MY YOGA TEACHER 🥰), is certified by Yoga Alliance, & SHE IS A TEACHER OF HATHA & YIN YOGA. I love practicing with her, she makes me feel at ease, I feel peace & calmness during our sessions!
I am going to SHARE WITH YOU 🫶🏻, some POSITIONS (that my teacher has taught me 🫶🏻) that are HELPFUL FOR ANXIETY !
THE FIRST FOUR ASANAS ARE also GROUNDING POSITIONS !
What is GROUNDING IN YOGA in a few words? I use my own words & remember that I am not a yoga teacher, I am a patient, a student who is learning :) 🤍.
So, It means feeling well your feet rooted to the ground, feeling stability, confidence to your entire body, being present in what you are doing…!
I give you an example ☺️🫶🏻 It happens that during my therapy sessions I get in a way lost, I start crying & my body gets weak. My current therapist 🫶🏻 says in those moments:“ Sofia, GROUNDING, feel your feet well on the ground, sometimes we start also walking around the studio..”.
YOGA FOR ANXIETY
1)THE MOUNTAIN POSE (Tadasana): this posture may be simple to do but just HEARING ITS NAME it reminds me STABILITY, STRENGHT, FOCUS it is very beneficial indeed! It improves posture, increases balance, concentration & so on!
2)THE TREE POSE (Vrikshasana): through practice this YOGA POSE has become one of my new favourites postures :) !! This POSITION REQUIRES TO BE MINDFUL WITH YOURSELF focusing your attention on one point. As for Tadasana, also the Tree Pose improves balance, stability!
It enhances self-confidence, after doing the Tree Pose I feel more confident. BUT remember to be kind with yourself (in general yoga has also its limits, it’s better to do less than hurt yourself…) if you haven’t done this position before or you have BUT it is too hard for you right now (MINDFULNESS)respect it❤️.
3)STANDING FORWARD BEND POSE (Uttanasana) (this is a variant, see photo 😊): this yoga pose is quite new to me :) but I find it as the others..BENEFICIAL TO MANAGE ANXIETY!
This pose elongates the spine, promoting also better posture. It stretches the hamstrings, it releases tension in the muscles of the back, neck, and shoulders which can happen if you sit to much (for ex.!).
4)THE GARLAND POSE (Malasana): Malasana makes me also feel mind-body connected ! Feeling the chest, shoulders opening is a good stretch for me :). Also here, the importance of mindfulness, self-awareness while practicing!
5)THE CAT-COW POSE (Marjariasana): I didn’t know how to really practice this pose untill last year when I began again practicing with Laura!
This pose combines two poses! Cat Pose & Cow pose!
1)When you inhale arch your back, allowing your belly to drop towards the floor, lifting your chest & gaze towards the ceiling!
2)As you exhale round your spine to the ceiling. Tuck your chin towards your chest and draw your belly button toward your spine.
This gentle, flowing movement enhances spinal flexibility, improves posture over time. It helpes to release tension & stress from the body!
Laura & I usually do it in our practises!! 👍🏻☺️.
6)CHILD’S POSE (Balasana): this pose is perfect to wind down! I feel many times emotional tensions fading away gradually after being in this asana for a while! I start also to yawn ( yawning in yoga is a good sign of relaxation :) !). It promotes a sense of inner calm, I find it good to do it also after a pilates practice or before going to bed!
7)RECLINING BOUND ANGLE POSE (Supta Baddha Konasana) 🦋: this pose opens and stretches gently the muscles of the inner thighs, groin, and hips!
It promotes relaxation, also here, introspection & mindfulness.
As you can see from the photo I have one hand on my chest & the other one on the belly.
For ex. Laura has used this pose to guide me with THE DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING !
DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING: put one hand on your chest, the other one on your belly. As you BREATHE in expand your stomach, as you breathe out (always through your nose, BUT IF YOU feel the need to do it through your mouth do not hesitate to do it ❤️) the stomach contracts.
It was very challenging learning this TECHNIQUE, for me new :), it took time as I’ve been struggling to BREATHE correctly, many times feeling my breath just in the chest…
BUT WITH TIME I AM LEARNING :) !
In my next article I will be talking about WAYS TO MANAGE ANXIETY (APART FROM YOGA 🥰), I WILL ALSO TALK ABOUT THE SQUARE BREATHING TECHNIQUE !
Much LOVE
Post non sponsorizzato – Test e foto sono responsabilità di Sofia Perissinotto
