Yoga for Anxiety

Some of these might surprise you.

How to avoid falling into autopilot while practicing this basic—but beneficial—stretch.

Bitilasana is an easy, gentle way to warm up the spine before a more vigorous practice.

“Going deeper” into your pose has nothing to do with how it looks.

Bound Angle Pose, or Baddha Konasana, opens the deepest part of the hip muscles.

When you need to approach any situation—or, let's be honest, life—from a calmer place, this quiet practice is your solution.

It might look straightforward, but there's more to Dandasana than meets the eye.

A simple pose that's anything but easy.

There's a general consensus among modern yogis that Viparita Karani or Legs Up the Wall Pose may have the power to cure whatever ails you.

Feel free to let it all out.

Don't let the name fool you. If you're used to sitting in chairs, Easy Pose (or Sukhasana) can be quite challenging.

Extended Triangle Pose is a quintessential standing pose that stretches and strengthens the whole body.

If you're notoriously bad at relaxing, these calming poses will help you release *everything.*

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana can be whatever you need—energizing, rejuvenating, or luxuriously restorative.

Uttanasana will wake up your hamstrings and soothe your mind.

Release your tension and relax with these grounding practices.

In this 13-minute practice, you'll connect with your breath—and open your upper body.

Here come the deep sighs.

Goodbye, stress. Hello, peace.

Bump up your energy (and confidence!) by bending back into Camel Pose. Ustrasana counteracts slouching and relieves lower back pain with a generous, heart-opening stretch.

Ever feel as airy and unstable as leaves swirling in the wind? That's your vata dosha out of balance. This slow yoga practice will help settle your energy and bring you back to calm.

Revolved Head-to-Knee Pose, or Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana, offers a deep, vivid stretch to the side body paired with loving and heart-opening movement.

We've seen an explosion of memes about Child's Pose over the last year and a half. Coincidence? We think not.

Bend back into the shape of a bow to feel energetically locked, loaded, and ready to take aim.

Release stress and tension by learning the yoga practice for ultimate relaxation.

Clear stagnation with this refreshing sequence that stimulates your lymphatic organs.

Soothe anxiety and strengthen your body with this centering yoga sequence.

Plus, a simple trick you can try any time for instant calm.

Whether you suffer from an anxiety disorder or experience bouts of more mild anxiety, here are seven specific ways your yoga practice can help you find relief—both quickly, and over the long haul.

Meditation is a procedure of cleansing the mind and taking out the garbage in the subconscious. These three Kundalini practices passed down by Yogi Bhajan will help you release conscious and subconscious fears that cause stress, worry, and anxiety.

While anxiety is natural, yoga and breathing techniques can help students handle the pressures associated with peers, workload and making the grade. Try these 9 yoga tools with your kids for a stress-free start to the semester.

Bo Forbes tells us why the humble eye pillow is one of the most powerful tools for healing, health, and happiness—and how to use one.

Got two minutes? A short restorative practice can help edit and transform negative inner narratives that reinforce anxiety and depression.

Chronic stress 
and anxiety 
signal the brain to wreak havoc on your body. The secret to hitting reset? Yoga.

Sitting for meditation at the end of a hectic day can feel difficult. This sequence can help you shift gears and transition smoothly into calm.

Police officers, firefighters, and others who face extreme stress and trauma on a regular basis can find peace in asana, breath, and affirmation.

Spending quiet time in wooded areas is viewed as good medicine in Japan, and the practice—Shinrin-yoku—is catching on here.

While anxiety is natural, experts say certain yoga postures can relieve students’ first-day nerves. Start school stress-free.

Big night out? Nerves are normal. Fortunately, yoga can help you to relax and put your best self forward.

Tame anxiety with this short meditation and seated sequence.

For those suffering from 
anxiety, yoga can be a lifeline. 
Here’s why doctors are 
increasingly recommending 
it as a complementary therapy.

Colleen Saidman Yee offers poses from her new memoir, Yoga for Life, to release anxiety and trauma from body parts that commonly hold it.

Not drugs, therapy, or even asana quieted this yoga teacher’s anxiety. Get the trick that worked.

Teacher Alexandria Crow explains why yoga’s biggest benefits have nothing to do with mastering advanced asanas and everything to do with mastering the mind.

Move through and beyond loss with a practice that opens both heart and mind, offers strength and comfort in the present, and prepares you for the next leap of faith or love.

A panic disorder had Rashel Fitchett sick with anxiety and fear, until pranayama helped restore peace in her life.

You'll feel calmer and more centered after these practices.

Yoga proves to be an ideal approach to self-care for cancer survivors.

A proven antidote to anxiety, yoga nidra has been adopted by veterans, recovering addicts, and average stressed-out people.

Relieve anxiety naturally with poses that unlock your breath.

Learn to pay more attention to how you come in and out of Uttanasana and less to where you end up.

How can I not freak out in uncertain economic times?

Inversions are considered some of the most essential of yoga poses. Start getting the benefits of being upside down.

Yoga teacher Rod Stryker explains how yoga can help you unlock your life-force to feel happier and energized all day.

Try this pranayama technique, sometimes called Bee Breath, to soothe anxiety.

Learn how you can melt away anxiety's grip on your body and mind with a tension-taming practice.

Urdhva Hastasana translates to "Raised Hands Pose," but it is also sometimes called Talasana, the Palm Tree Pose.

Shiva Rea offers tips from yoga and Ayurveda for calming nervous energy and anxiety.

Battling depression can feel like a fight for your life. Yoga can help you stop struggling.

Therapists are catching on to what yogis have always known: Yoga for anxiety is one of the best ways to ease your mind. Melanie Haiken talks about how yoga has helped her overcome anxiety.

Check out Amy Weintraub's author page.

Check out YJ Editors's author page.

So many poses, so little time: It's easy to get overwhelmed just trying to figure out which asanas might calm you down.

Sometimes considered a preparation for pranayama, other times a formal practice in itself.

A cross between Child's Pose and Downward-Facing Dog, Extended Puppy Pose lengthens the spine and calms the mind.

This pose gently lengthens and strengthens even stubbornly tight hamstrings.

Check out Judith Hanson Lasater's author page.

Boost the body's energy and fight fatigue with Fish Pose, or Matsyasana in Sanskrit, while building confidence with a loving stretch in the shoulders. It is said that if you perform Matsyasana in water, you will be able to float like a fish.

Say hello to leg and ankle strength as you seek stability and extend into this balancing pose, Half Moon Pose.

Practicing Anjali Mudra is an excellent way to induce a meditative state of awareness.

Janu Sirsasana, or Head-to-Knee Pose, is appropriate for students of any level and melds a forward bend with a spinal twist.