Hannah Barrett shows us how YOGA can help us to find inner peace.

More than 1 in 10 people are likely to have a ‘disabling anxiety disorder’ at some stage in their life… 

Stress and anxiety can affect how you think, feel, what you do and how your body functions.  Common signs of stress include:

-     sleeping problems,

-     loss of appetite,

-     difficulty concentrating,

-     low self-esteem,

-     anxiousness

-     headaches, and

-     sweating.

Stress causes a fight or flight response in our bodies which, if present for too long, can cause other health problems such as chronic pain, poor sleep and IBS. Yoga can be really beneficial for treating stress as it releases endorphins (our happy hormones) and incorporates mindfulness and meditation (all shown to help reduce stress and anxiety).

By bringing attention to your breath and the movement of your body, as encouraged during a yoga class, you stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (our rest and digest system). This allows our muscles to relax, our inflammatory levels to lower and our gut to digest our food more efficiently which helps control symptoms such as pain and indigestion

When you feel stress coming on and your mind going a million miles an hour, try this simple yoga flow to help ground you and bring you back to the present. Bring your focus to your breath, moving slowly and mindfully and noticing how each movement feels. One of the most important things to remember is that help is out there, and speaking with your GP, a friend or trusted family member can be a great start for specific guidance.

 NADI SHODHANA / ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING

This breathing technique, helps to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, reversing any stress response in the body, helping to restore balance in the mind and body, promoting a state of calm.  Breathe consciously, staying aware of your breath throughout.

-     Sit with a straight spine, in a comfortable cross-legged position and with the eyes closed.

-     Tuck the index and middle fingers of your right hands into your palm (“Vishnu Mudra”) and exhale fully to begin.

-     Bring the right thumb to your face and close the right nostril. Take a full and slow inhale through the left nostril. Close the left nostril with the ring finger then release the right nostril and exhale slowly and fully. Take a full and slow inhale through the right nostril. Close the right nostril with the thumb then release the left nostril and exhale slowly and fully. This is one round.

-     Repeat for 8-12 rounds.

 CHILD’S POSE / BALASANA

Child’s pose can help to release tension in the back, neck and shoulders which are all common areas we hold stress.  This pose can be used at any point during your yoga practice as a place of rest, to slow the breath and calm the mind.

-  Kneel on the floor with the big toes together and the knees about hip width.
-  Exhale and lay the torso down between the thighs keeping the spine long.
-  Stretch the arms forwards feeling a stretch from the tailbone out through the fingertips.  Alternatively, bring the arms back and the hands on the floor alongside the torso with the palms up. Release the fronts of the shoulders toward the floor.
-  Rest here for five slow breaths or longer if required.

CAT COW

Moving through cat and cow brings fluidity into the body and helps open the chest and back.  When stressed our bodies can hold a lot of tension and this can help alleviate it.

-  Starting in tabletop, wrists under shoulders, knees under hips.

- Inhale into cow pose, gazing forwards, arching the spine, keeping the neck long and breathing the chest forwards (keep engaging the core by drawing the navel in).
-  Exhale into cat pose tucking the pelvis under, rounding the back, relaxing the head and pushing
the ground away to pull the shoulder blades away from the spine.
-  Continue moving through cow and cat for five full breaths.
 

FORWARD FOLD / UTTANASANA

Uttanasana helps to calm the mind and can help to relieve tension headaches.  It also helps to stretch the lower back and hips.

- Starting at the top of your mat, exhale and slowly bend forward from the hip joints.  Find length in the spine as you fold forwards, bending the knees if required.

- Bring the palms or fingertips to the floor, onto blocks or to the backs of your ankles. Press the whole foot into the floor and lift the sit bones towards the ceiling, turning the top of the thighs slightly in.  Hug the lower belly up and in and let the head hang between the arms.

- stay here for five deep breaths or more and with each inhale find a little more length in the torso and with each exhale release a little more into the fold.

RESTORATIVE FISH POSE / MATSYASANA

Helps to relieve tension in the neck and shoulders, open the chest allowing us to deepen the breath and improves blood circulation in the spine thereby helping to alleviate back pain.

-  Place a pillow, bolster or block horizontal to the short edge of your mat about a foot and a half away from the back of the mat.
-  Option to place another pillow or block for your head at the back of the mat. Gently lie back over the prop(s) bringing the bottom edge just below the tips of the shoulder blades (approximately level with where the bottom of your bra strap sits) and the other under your head (if desired).
-  Melt the body over the prop and place the arms to the side or overhead - whatever is most comfortable. Stay for 1-2 minutes or more. When exiting the pose gently roll to one side and remove the prop(s).

LEGS UP THE WALL

Legs up the wall is one of the best stress relieving poses.  It helps regulate blood pressure, calm the nervous system and quieten the mind, reducing insomnia, drain fluid from the legs and can improve your digestion.

-  Bring the hips to the wall, with the upper body flat and sit bones as close to the wall as is comfortable.
-  Gently raise the legs straight up, resting them against the wall.
-  Option to place a bolster under your sacrum to ease any discomfort in the lower back and help to hinge at the hips (rather than pulling on the lower back).
-  If you have time, stay here for 5-15 minutes (or longer).

Yoga Instructor, Author and Postnatal Health & Fitness Specialist Hannah Barrett: https://www.yogagirllondon.com/  (@hannahbarrettyoga)