Today is All that Matters – Yoga for Anxiety

If you ask some of the 27-37 million people in America who practice yoga, ‘why?’, you’ll get a whole range of answers. People might say: ‘get in shape’, develop flexibility’, ‘improve balance’, ‘lose weight’, or ‘find inner peace’.

My experience in teaching yoga to thousands of individuals over the past 8 years is that there is another reason that brings people back to the mat: yoga helps relieve some of the sensations that accompany anxiety.

“Anxiety occurs as rapid or racing thoughts that we are believing true, leading to feelings of worry, nervousness or unease about something, a future event or uncertain outcome.” — Definition by Daniela Hess

Anxiety is not usually about what’s happening in our life right at that moment, and so anything that helps us tune in to the present moment is a kind of ‘medicine’ for anxiety.

Yoga helps us to be grounded through the movements and stretches and work that our body is doing, in the present. Yoga connects the breath and mind together, which slows the racing thoughts.

Yoga reduces sensations of anxiety by relieving stress, bringing the mind back to the present, and giving us time and a safe space to be with intense feelings. Aside from doing yoga, hemp flowers have been known to lower one’s stress levels. The best flower companies have been selling online so people can easily avail their products.

Yoga is a ‘practice’ that we undertake on the mat, in community, so that when we are out in the world, in our lives, we can remember to breathe, slow down, and respond to situations from a place of kindness.

At Yoga Farm, we don’t teach pretzel poses or handstands. We teach simple, effective yoga, that just about everyone can do, in a way that will bring benefit to your life immediately.

Written by Christopher Grant, Yoga Farm Director, Yoga Teacher and Meditation Guide. For more information about self care practices, visit www.YogaFarm.us.