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| I've been experiences anxiety attacks for approx. a month. What exercises are best for me? |
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| Not knowing what's going on in your life, I'd suggest looking into Pranayama. Breathing exercises can control anxiety attacks.
You also need to look at what's going on when the attacks occur. They're happening for a reason and until you address that reason they're going to continue.
Do Svanasana with your eyes open, focusing on a spot on the ceiling. Backbends, gentle ones. Sun Salutations done very slowly with deep even breaths. Movement.
Know that a strong yoga practice can bring out a lot of emotions, particularly hip openers. Forward bends can depress, so keep them to 1/2 forward bends.
I'm sorry you're going through this.
Christine |
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| Christine,
I had no idea about that an find it really interesting. Can you recommend any sites/books that I can go to to find out what the emotional/mental benefits of each pose are e.g. forward bends being depressive. I find my yoga practice at the moment very invigorating but it only extends to doing a short set of flowing poses each day from a video. I would be interested to know what kind of poses might suit my emotional make up and which poses to avoid.
Thanks
Alex |
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| Alex, stating that forward bends depress was probably a bad choice of words. They are calming and cooling, so for people with anxiety, depression or PTSD they can be a turning inwards that they do not need.
You're invigorated because of the movement involved in your practice.  It's a nice thing.
There are a couple of books I'd recommend, although you need to keep in mind that throwing humanity into the mix, there is no hard and fast rule on asana = xxxx, OK? Also, on my site YogaDancer.com I try to put in the narratives and benefits of asanas, so there is some (but by no means yet complete) information there, too.
Check out the asana descriptions in Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika. You'll notice that the basic poses list physical effects moreso than the more complicated ones. I find it interesting that Sivananda has 12 basic poses, and they're the ones most commonly found to have basic physical effects in this way.
Another interesting book that works with doshas is Yoga and Ayurveda by Frawley.
In a nutshell and not always applicable, you could say that forward bends are calming.
Backbends and inversions invigorate. Backbends can cause huge emotional releases, normally somewhat positive.
Hip work can allieviate tension but also release emotional issues. (We tend to carry stress and grief in our hips and psoas.)
Twists will further digestion and have a very cleansing effect, but physically and emotionally. (This only applies if the breath is worked appropriately with the asana.)
Standing poses build core strength and help with physical dexterity. They help with fears and recognizing courage, perhaps facing challenges.
What am I leaving out?
Although I hesitate to recommend anything yoga that's targeted to do a specific thing, some of those videos for emotional states use poses that are supposedly good for that given thing. For example, Yoga for stress relief is going to have some hip work, calming forward bends, and probably some chest opening.
If it's a video for a physical result, such as better abs, tighter butts, or blue hair it's kind of a waste of money and stupid. Each and every yoga pose uses every muscle in the body even if we don't feel it so. We generally only feel it where we're tight, right? Well, if you're using good muscle action, asanas are total body thing. So even while you're doing yoga for stress relief or yoga for happy thoughts, if you're really engaged and breathing, you're still getting a total body thing.
IOW, your short flowing series are probably doing some good things even as your emotional state changes from day to day. Ever notice how sometimes it's so hard to get started, but once you take that first, big inhalation and throw your arms up in Urdhva Hastasana, it's all smooth from there on? I love that about flow.
Anyway, I digress. I hope this gives you a place to start!
Christine |
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|  I'm glad I read this question and this answer, helps me out a lot too. Thanks!
I feel like there is so much to learn.
Maria |
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|  yo Calton. this is john from PA. I was diagnosed with GAD five years ago. But things have come back to almost normal now, that is generalized anxeity disorder. I train in yoga at least 3 times a week. I do 30 minutes ofvery slow strecthing, slow sun salutations, and slow poses. In fact I concentrate of whats going on right now in the poses. And i breathe deep and slow. It is not how much I do, it is the qaulaty of what I do. my e-mail is santana@sunlink.net.
We can write back to each other if you want. take care, john
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| This was great to read and good for my soul. I am having problems with anxiety and depression (early stages - for about 3 months now). I really do not want to go on any prescription meds and am trying to avoid that and do everything else that I need to do. Yoga and mediation was suggested to me and I am going to start. It gives me a happy heart to read that it has worked for you Santana!!! |
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| Calton - 2004-02-25 12:31 PM
I've been experiences anxiety attacks for approx.
You need to talk to a psychiatrist or psychologist to determine if you are experiencing "panic attacks", which is associated with panic disorder (PD).
Panic Attack Symptoms:
Terror.
Racing heartbeat.
Lightheadedness.
Nausea.
Difficulty breathing
Tingling or numbness in the hands.
Flushes or chills.
Sense of unreality.
Fear of losing control or going crazy.
Fear of dying...et al
If a determination is made that you are suffering from PD, you will have to undergo treatment in order to control the severity and frenquency of attacks, including anticipatory anxiety. Left untreated, it will only get worse.
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| To build upon Naturopath's post, note also that those symptoms listed are also affiliated with PTSD. So Panic/Post Traumatic Stress? The latter is frequently written off as the former unless therapy is able to eliminate the latter. Follow that? PTSD can come from some of the oddest experiences, even something as "simple" as having parents that screamed and yelled. The results in a child/adult manifest themselves in equally odd ways. Panic attacks, constant, low-grade illnesses, fear of committment and/or confrontation, mild, constant anger, jumpiness, flashbacks, racing heart and raised temperatures, and so on.
So as Naturopath pointed out, yoga is (again) not a magic pill. The root must be addressed, which meditation and asana might help with, but the underlying causes must be addressed.
Good luck,
Christine |
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| YogaDancer - interesting observation about panic attacks and PTSD. Many people associate it with combat veterans, yet as you point out, it can be induced by a variety of traumatic events. |
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| hi i find all the post intresting
it help me alot
baby |
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| Hey, I have a mild case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and have a tendency to obsess and worry about things endlessly, which causes me a high degree of anxiety. I've found that yoga is immensely helpful to me, but I also worked with a therapist and am on a very small dose of paxil. You may well find that yoga will help you best in tandem with other forms of treatment. You may or may not want or need the meds, but it's worth exploring. I also eliminated caffeine from my diet, which has helped a lot.
I find that what helps me most in yoga is not any particular asana, but simply the emphasis on breathing throughout the practice (and any shrink you go to about an anxiety disorder is probably eventually going to recommend some form of breathing control). One of my yoga instructors once said to me, "The state of your breath is the state of your mind," and it's really true! The next time you have an anxiety attack, if you can muster the presence of mind to take a few slow, deep breaths through the nose, maybe even counting on the inhale and exhale, it will help you tremendously.
I would just advise you to be conscious of your breathing throughout your practice. Every movement from one asana to another is supposed to be done either on an inhale or an exhale, so learn those rules and follow the breathing patterns religiously. As long as you're concentrating on your breathing, it's very hard to obsess, worry or freak out.
Keep at it! Yoga has really helped me and I'm sure it will help you if you keep working at it! |
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Anxietty
