Yoga for Mental Health: 5 Yoga Practices for Healing Stress and Anxiety

If you know me, you know that I preach that yoga is so much more than poses. However, that doesn’t mean that the poses themselves aren’t powerful in their own right, because they are. I just mean that in order to get the most out of your yoga practice, you must be using the three points of yoga: asana (poses), pranayama (breathing practices), and meditation to truly be engaging in the practice of yoga.

That being said, there are numerous combinations of asanas, pranayamas, and meditations that can all help with healing stress, anxiety, fatigue, addiction, and depression, just to name a few of the most diagnosed mental health issues our world is facing today. This speaks to the unbalanced nature of the modern society “norms” that have led so many of us to such a state, myself included. I first sought out yoga in my teen years as a means to connect to myself and heal from the pain of losing my mother unexpectedly at a young age, which had spiraled me through adolescence, and stumbled me to teenhood with recklessness and alcoholism. I was having what one might call “a rough time”.

But then came yoga.

I began my yogic journey with meditation, believe it or not, inspired by the book “The Buddha Said” by Osho. I had picked it up at a Barnes and Noble when I was 16 years old. And it was through the study of Buddhism and meditation that I discovered the path of yoga, and I just knew I had to learn more. In my small town, the best thing I could do was go to the local Walmart, walk to the DVD section, go to the fitness area, and try to find a yoga DVD. I think there was only 2 or 3 options, so I grabbed one called “Warrior Series” or something like that (I should dig that up for reference!), drove home in my dad’s old Ford truck, and went up to my room with my new piece of gold. The rest, is a very, very long story involving a Zen Buddhist center, an incredible little monk lady, journeys to India, fights with monkeys, and more for my upcoming book. Keep a watch out later for details!

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that without yoga, I would have never been able to heal myself so fully, wholly, or completely in any way shape or form. It is this practice that has changed my entire life, and is the reason I’m still here today. And I truly believe that yoga can heal anyone, from almost any mental health issue they may be struggling with today, in this moment. And that is why I continue to teach it. And you can simply learn from me, instead of being attacked by monkeys like I had to. LOL. But for real.

I can’t let you leave without my Top 5 Favorite Yoga Practices for Stress and Anxiety! Let’s go:

1.) Breath of Fire/Kapal Bhati- This is a great one for busting anxiety and relieving stress, check out my YouTube video for a quick overview of that practice here.

2.) 3 Sun Salutations in a Row– This is a quick physical practice that gets your whole body moving, energy flowing, and is great for shaking out unwanted stress, and grounding your energy.

3.) Wide-Legged Floor Stretch, Yin Style-Find a comfortable seat on the floor, and spread your heels apart as wide as possible while still keeping your legs straight. If your knees are uncomfortable, you can have a slight bend or place a folded blanket underneath each knee to help support the joints. Sit up straight through the spine, take a big inhale, and as you exhale slowly begin to reach the hands forward and lean forward, touching the floor or reaching out towards the legs/toes. Take long deep breaths and stay here for 10-15 minutes (Yin yoga focuses on deep tissue release, which can only be achieved through spending time in the pose while breathing slowly and deeply). The pelvic floor holds our emotional tension, and therefore is usually the tightest spot in the body, typically worse in males than females. So LET THAT SHIT GO. Sit in this pose, and breathe it all out my friend. Do not be alarmed if you feel intense emotions bubble up from nowhere in this pose, that just means your unlocking and releasing that emotional build-up and is very common.

4.) Lion’s Roar– This is a great practice for releasing stress and anger. It’s quite funny when you perform/do it, but it truly does work if you can get past the silliness aspect. But in all seriousness, this is an awesome practice for releasing energy you no longer want/need, and it makes you feel light, fresh, and powerful afterwards. No wonder Lions look so majestic all the freaking time. Done from sitting on the knees, hands planted into the ground in front of you. Open your mouth as wide as possible, letting the tongue lengthen down and flatten out. Take a deep breath, and when you exhale, you force it out with a large “AHH!” that sounds somewhat like a lions roar. Do this for 10 breaths in a row and see how you feel.

5.) Meditation– Now, I know when dealing with stress and anxiety, the LAST thing you want to do is just sit there with your thoughts. Trust me, I know. BUT, that is the one thing that will perhaps bring you the most clarity about what it might be that is causing the stress or anxiety to rise within you. I wouldn’t say to do this as your first practice, but maybe try one or two of the above practices, and THEN sit. See what comes up. Sit with it. Cry with it. Love it. Let it go. Surrender to what is and know you are love, and know you will be divinely fine.

So my dear, those are my top 5 quick stress busting yoga practices for you to try next time you’re feeling a little anxiety ridden, off balance, or simply want to shake up some unwanted stress energy. I hope these practices help you have a better moment, day, and life.

One love,

Kelsea