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By Virginia Iversen The practice of Yoga offers us many tools to help manage our internal and physical states of being. One of the most challenging and sometimes debilitating internal states is that of unremitting anxiety. Anxiety can be defined as the fear of being hurt in the future, in one form or another. This internal alarm system can save our lives. For example, if you are alone in a train station late at night, and you begin to experience tendrils of anxiety because you feel like you are being watched, this heightened state of alertness may enable you to save your own life. However, if you are constantly feeling anxious at one level or another, your mental and physical health may be compromised. Anxious thoughts and feelings release adrenalin and cortisol to help you navigate out of a dangerous situation. If these hormonal levels are too high for an extended period of time, the functioning of your immune system will be lowered, your cardiac health may suffer and your serotonin level may decrease, leading to depression and even more anxiety.

Yoga poses are effective in treating depressions, anxiety and stress level. See this video for getting information on how hatha yoga asanas can provide you a natural remedy for these diseases.

By Gopi Rao Yoga can help a practitioner with releasing fear from every level of his or her mind and body. Fear resides in the body and mind in the form of anxiety. Anxiety is fueled by adrenalin and cortisol. A constant state of undifferentiated anxiety can lead to continually high levels of both of these stress hormones.

By Faye Martins A regular practice of Yoga poses, breathing exercises and meditation techniques is a very effective and hopefully enjoyable way to ease feelings of anxiety. There are many different Yoga poses that will help to release tension and anxiety. You may have heard about heart opening asanas (backbends), but forward bending Yoga poses are also soothing and nourishing. Forward Folds also help to calm you down because they encourage you to relax into the pose while pulling your senses inward, which allows you to rest for a few moments in your own inner essence. Forward Bending Yoga poses also allow you to curl your body into itself while protecting your heart and abdominal areas. Additionally, Forward Folds open up your hips and first chakra area, which releases stagnant survival energy and helps you to feel more empowered and grounded.

By Gopi Rao Yoga can help a practitioner to release fear from every level of his or her mind and body. Fear resides in the body and mind in the form of anxiety. Anxiety is fueled by adrenalin and cortisol. A constant state of undifferentiated anxiety can lead to continually high levels of both of these stress hormones.

How does yoga help the body and mind? Living in a fast-paced, stress-filled society, most people find that they are anxious even while trying to rest and sleep. Anxiety and stress have become an accepted part of life, although they can both be unhealthy for the mind and body. Yoga can help a person eliminate or reduce the chronic stress and anxiety that one feels so that he or she can begin a journey toward complete holistic health.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Helping teenagers cope is a positive side effect of Yoga practice. Many teenagers, today, struggle with a degree of anxiety and depression unknown to previous generations at the same young age. There is a great deal of pressure on teenagers from their parents, teachers, and work obligations. In addition, there is a substantial amount of peer pressure surrounding many teens - both at school and during extra-curricular activities. Some of these causative factors of anxiety and depression have not changed much from generation to generation. However, the contemporary context of a fast-paced, insular and impersonal world, with a distinct lack of family and community structure, in addition to an unclear set of expectations and ethics, can increase the physical and psychological isolation and vulnerability of teens.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Many teenagers, today, struggle with a degree of anxiety and depression unknown to previous generations at the same young age. There is a great deal of pressure on teenagers from their parents, teachers, and work obligations. In addition, there is a substantial amount of peer pressure surrounding many teens - both at school and during extra-curricular activities. Some of these causative factors of anxiety and depression have not changed much from generation to generation.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? What is the primary form of therapy for OCD? In what ways can Yoga training help as a form of therapy? Which combination of therapeutic methods would be most beneficial? Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is classified as an anxiety disorder. OCD is also classified as a psychiatric disorder. Either way, the person suffering from OCD experiences involuntary, intrusive thoughts. When a person begins to take these intrusive thoughts seriously, anxiety grows - based upon exaggerated internal fears, which are not based upon reality.

By Seema Deshpande Yoga can be practised in various forms - asanas or postures, meditation, positive affirmations, and pranayama or breathing exercises. All forms of yoga have countless advantages and can benefit human beings to the fullest if they practise any of these forms sincerely and consistently. In this article, we will specifically learn more about the benefits of practising pranayama, the safest and relatively easier forms of yoga. We will specifically examine if pranayama can help ease anxiety in people, which is the root cause of many psychological illnesses, and some physical disorders too.

By Faye Martins When we take a yoga certification course, each style has a different answer for dealing with anxiety. As a Yoga teacher, you may wonder about how to dial up a specific routine for each student's anxiety level. One idea is to have a gentle and a vigorous class (two separate classes) for specific personality types to help yoga students release mental, emotional, and physical tension.

By Faye Martins Have you had a student ask, "Will Yoga help fibromyalgia." Although fibromyalgia is a common disorder, its cause remains a mystery. Symptoms may begin after physical or emotional trauma, stress, or illness; but its onset may also be gradual with unknown triggers. Researchers think that it results when the body amplifies pain signals to the brain, causing conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, depression, and tension headaches.

So how can you help your Yoga students, who may be suffering from anxiety or a panic attack? Encourage awareness, throughout practice...

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 There are a variety of Yoga techniques that enhance intelligence and help one make intelligent choices. Yoga techniques, that enhance cognitive functioning of the brain, include inversion asanas that increase the circulation of new blood and oxygen into the brain. Yoga pranayama techniques, that help to quell anxiety, also support a Yoga practitioner in accurately accessing a situation, without the confusion of an anxious, racing, and overactive mind.

By Seema Deshpande Practising yoga consistently under the guidance of a trained and a qualified teacher can be extremely rewarding. Yoga has the potential to purify your mind, to keep you physically fit, and to equip you with energy to keep you going in this crazy, fast-paced world. Yoga in the form of yogasanas or yoga postures and pranayama or yogic breathing techniques can not only help you stay fit, but researchers have started to examine their therapeutic impact on various medical conditions as well. In fact, research studies have started to show that pranayama can have positive impact on anxiety and stress-related disorders. In this article, we will specifically focus on whether yoga, through its various forms, can help improve one's spinal health.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Parents often read or hear that Yoga will help their children. However, what can parents expect from Kids Yoga classes? Starting with the very first Yoga lesson, classes are a great way to constructively keep children active, teach them lifelong habits, reduce temper tantrums, and give them improved body awareness. The benefits of kids Yoga classes include increased flexibility and strength, improved focus and concentration, and an ability to cope with stress and anxiety. While children aren't necessarily aware of each of these benefits, the most important things they do know is that it's fun and it feels good. Parents, on the other hand, want to know precisely what they can expect when they enroll their kids in a Yoga class.

Yoga asanas helps to reduce the stress level and anxiety by unifying your body and mind. Therefore, practicing yoga can control and manage your blood pressure.

By Sangeetha Saran There are people who will tell you the best way to get through an anxious situation is to do some deep breathing. This isn't just an "old wives" tale, or some cliché way of thinking, the truth is that there is medical fact that backs up this advice. The more stressed a body gets, the less it takes in oxygen. Someone who is panicking is apt to not take deep breaths, meaning that they are not getting all of the oxygen they need for their body. By deep breathing, a body doesn't just get the oxygen that it needs; it also is a therapeutic act that gives the body, and the brain, something to focus on instead of the stress that they are feeling. With this in mind, one of the best ways to help lower one's anxiety level is to learn basic breathing techniques, and to also learn yoga techniques for breathing.

By Faye Martins There are a number of Yoga poses that effectively release tension in the shoulders. Many of these shoulder opening Yoga poses also help to release tension in the throat and neck areas. Our shoulders are often repositories of anxiety, anger, stress and unresolved emotions such as grief. When we hold our shoulders tensely, we are often holding our tongues as well. This emotional and muscular contraction will stagnant the free flow of energy throughout your body. Tension in the shoulders can also cause tension headaches as the muscle tightness creeps up into the neck area. Working at a computer or desk for several hours in a row may also create tension in the shoulders.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 How can Yoga improve the state of health for children? Hatha Yoga is an ancient series of physical postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques, which help to balance and rejuvenate the entire body-mind system. Practicing Yoga, on a regular basis, can tremendously support children's health, both physically and emotionally. A regular practice of Yoga, in the range of one to five times a week, has been shown to strengthen muscles, increase flexibility, heighten self-esteem, and lower stress and anxiety levels that can contribute to the development of depression.