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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 Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 Yoga is a great relief from feelings of anxiety, but anxiety is part of life; and some of us have more anxiety than others. No matter how many years you practice Yoga, you are still human. You are bound to have feelings of frustration, angst, irritation, and anxiety.

By Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 A panic, or anxiety attack, describes the rapid onset of psychosomatic symptoms related to increased fear or overwhelming anxiety. Symptoms include difficult, labored, or rapid breathing, rapid heart rate or palpitations, dizziness, nausea, and trembling or shaking. Many sufferers feel such intense physical symptoms that they think they are having a heart attack. Often, the panic attack starts out as a feeling of vague anxiety that does not pass, but intensifies over time. Sometimes, the attack is triggered by a known cause, like fear of flying, but often the individual has no idea what brought the panic attack on.

By Kimaya Singh Yoga offers many ways for coping with anxiety. Anxiety is a huge problem in our society. Many people struggle with daily anxiety over a variety of problems and in doing so, often exaggerate those problems. Some of the areas that produce the most stress for people are fear over losing their jobs, health issues, their own personal concerns about the probability of a solid financial future, as well as concerns over the current economic state of the world. People also struggle with having an overly-packed schedule with many obligations to attend to on a daily basis.

Yoga offers many ways to cope with anxiety. Anxiety is a huge problem in our society. Many people struggle with daily anxiety over a variety of problems...

By Virginia Iversen Anxiety is often defined as the fear of being hurt in the future. Anxiety is a form of fear, fear of physical or emotional harm in some form. Anxious feeling may be completely appropriate for the situation we are in, or the anxious feelings may be dramatically disproportionate for the situation at hand. In either case, the physical and emotional reactions to anxiety will remain similar in each situation. Your palms may sweat and your heart may beat faster. You may find yourself perspiring more and experiencing digestive distress. All of these physical reactions occur in order to prepare the body to fight or flee a dangerous situation.

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 Dr. Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500 What is the quickest technique for anxiety? Pranayama is the practice of breath control. Pranayama is an extremely important tool, when practiced in Yoga, which can harness one's anxiety, reduce stress levels, and control energy flow. At the same time, controlling the flow of "prana" (vital energy), throughout one's body, is important to maintain one's emotional stability.

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.

By Faye Martins If you practice and teach Yoga daily, you probably have a handle on anxiety. One intern in a Yoga teacher training intensive had entered the course to master a method that would reduce or eliminate his anxiety. A few years later, he let us know that it had worked for him. His objective was self-mastery first and possibly to teach Yoga classes down the road.

By Michael Gleason Life is getting faster and faster - both physically and virtually. And while getting a lot accomplished in the course of a work day is good, as is completing many overdue chores on the weekend that does not mean we as human beings experience anxiety and burnout. Thankfully there is yoga for anxiety.[1] Sally Susinno, RYT-200 of Wellesley, Massachusetts, pointed out that more and more people are waking up and drinking larger and larger flagons of sweetened coffee drinks and diet colas which make their bodies more and more wound up. Caffeine is also a diuretic which can lead to dehydration, or just not enough water consumption over the course of the day. At the end of the day, the sweeteners and the stimulants have people reaching for sleeping pills - both over the counter and prescription strength.

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 Faye Martins Fans of yoga claim that yoga is proven to provide anxiety relief. Given that an estimated 20 percent of Americans now take some sort of pill for a psychological problem, anxiety relief is a major selling point for yoga. However, is there anything more than anecdotal evidence to support this claim? The next time a yoga student asks you this question, here's how you can respond.

By Michael Gleason Life is getting faster and faster - both physically and virtually. And while getting a lot accomplished in the course of a work day is good, as is completing many overdue chores on the weekend that does not mean we as human beings experience anxiety and burnout. Thankfully there is yoga for anxiety.[1] Sally Susinno, RYT-200 of Wellesley, Massachusetts, pointed out that more and more people are waking up and drinking larger and larger flagons of sweetened coffee drinks and diet colas which make their bodies more and more wound up. Caffeine is also a diuretic which can lead to dehydration, or just not enough water consumption over the course of the day. At the end of the day, the sweeteners and the stimulants have people reaching for sleeping pills - both over the counter and prescription strength.

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 Rachel Holmes I realize that many of our readers are certified yoga teachers with decades of experience and knowledge. The following information may be of more use as a handout for your students. Please feel free to share the following information with your students. I will point out three simple asanas that can be practiced for an anxiety flare up or a full blown attack. There are many additional asanas, mantras and pranayama techniques, but here are three easy asanas for your students to choose from.

Let's now study what pranayama can do to reduce or lessen anxiety and stress in people. The Sanskrit word pranayama means controlling breath, and breath...

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: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed As more and more people continue to suffer from anxiety, depression and insomnia, researchers are finding that spending time outdoors in nature has a very soothing and balancing effect on the nervous system and on the mind. The body's ability to become entrained with the natural rhythms of the sun and the moon has been known for a millennium. As many us continue to spend the majority of our waking hours indoors and in front of an electric screen of some sort, the incidence of anxiety, depression and insomnia will continue to rise.