What is anxiety and how can yoga-therapy-for-anxiety help?

 Anxiety is your body's natural response to stress and perceived threat. It is a normal human experience and it initiates protective and pensive behaviours. Anxiety can be triggered by external events or by your own thoughts, memories, beliefs and sensations. Although the reasons we experience anxiety differ, the way we experience it in the mind and body are similar. It is these symptoms that we tailor Yoga-therapy-for-anxiety to treat. 

Anxiety is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide spectrum of symptoms and disorders and is one of the most common mental health conditions in the UK. Common symptoms include rapid heartbeat, trembling, shallow breathing, a ‘knot’ in the stomach, dread, repetitive negative thoughts, heightened sensory awareness, an urgent desire to escape, sleep disorder, shakiness and hyperventilation. 

There are seven anxiety spectrum disorders, the most common being generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), which is defined as excessive and persistent worry that is hard to control. Other disorders are separation anxiety, selective mutism, specific phobia, social phobia, panic disorder and agoraphobia.

Anxiety, mental health and inequity

Anxiety and many other mental health conditions are increasingly recognised as an issue of inequity. Women, communities of colour and vulnerable people are disproportionately experiencing anxiety. Furthermore, alternative practices like yoga-therapy for mental wellness are often exclusive and unattainable for many people. Mindwalk Yoga’s mission is to reach everyone, regardless of circumstance or background.

How does yoga-therapy-for-anxiety treat symptoms of anxiety?

Yoga-therapy-for-anxiety combines breathing practices, mindfulness, applied neuroscience and tailored yoga postures to treat the common symptoms of anxiety in the mind and body. Breathing practices are a primary focus for yoga-therapy-for-anxiety because breathing is the only autonomic function that can be controlled voluntarily. This means if we regulate our breathing then we can regulate our emotional and mental state. We can create stability in our minds and bodies. We can control that part of our nervous system -  and therefore our mental state - through our breath.

The style is nurturing with a focus on mindful movements coordinated with the rhythm of the breath. It is an accessible practice for all ages and abilities.