9 Best Yoga for Depression and Anxiety Panic Attacks Relief

What is Yoga?

Yoga is a practice that is being used by many millions of people all over the world as a way to relieve the stress and anxiety through posture and specific movement. The practice and yoga for depression and anxiety panic attacks relief are taught in a number of different ways depending on the teacher.

Each of the poses has a specific purpose and when properly performed delivers one of the most spiritually and body healing results. It is believed that yoga can also help with the treatment of certain kinds of diseases and other possible health benefits.

Yoga Benefits

Yoga is highly recommended by many health experts for a number of reasons including for its promotion of relaxation, depression and anxiety relief. It also makes you sleep better. If you are suffering from insomnia try yoga!

There many different types of yoga poses and each one is usually associated with the benefits that it provides to the body. Therefore, below are the best yoga for depression and anxiety panic attacks relief you can practice at home for quick anxiety panic attacks relief.

Other Health Benefits of Yoga

For weight Loss – Burns body fat and tones skin
Stimulates the liver and kidneys
Stretches and tone the hamstrings, bum, calves, and hips
Strengthens the thighs, legs, and knees
Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
Improves digestion and Circulation
Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
Reduces tiredness and anxiety panic attacks
Cure depression and Insomnia
Increase testosterone and fertility
Relieves arthritis, back and legs pains

9 Yoga for Depression and Anxiety Panic Attacks Relief at Home

1. Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)

The Standing Forward Bend or Uttanasana as its official name is designed specifically for lowering stress levels and it also helps to stretch the hamstring muscles.

Steps for doing the pose:

Stand with your feet apart.
Put your arms straight above, with the palm facing inward.
Breath in while stretching spine.
Breath out and bring your hands down next to your feet while bringing your hips forward.

2. Seated Twist Pose (Ardha Matsyendrāsana)

Best Yoga for Depression and Anxiety Panic Attacks Relief

Image credit – Kennguru

The seated twist is designed to be a great way to detoxify the body and to be a calming effect on the nervous system.

Steps for the pose:

Sit on a yoga mat or blanket ( get one here )
Elongate your spine, inhale as you are placing your right-hand flat on the mat behind you and your left hand on your knee.
As you exhale move deeper into a twisting motion while looking over your shoulder.
Hold for a total of five breaths and switch sides.

3. Extended Puppy Pose

The extended puppy pose is good for relieving stress as it stretches the spine and shoulders. It also has a calming effect from panic attacks and invigorates the body.

Steps for doing the pose:

Starting in the downward facing dog position on the mat.
Move your chest downward ensuring that your arms are straight in front of you.
Once you have lower your head to the floor, hold the position with your forehead touching the floor and your hips on your heels.

4. Happy Baby

The happy baby helps to stretch the inner groin muscle and the spine. It helps to calm the brain and relieves stress and fatigue.

Steps for doing the pose:

Start with lying on your back, exhale and bend your knees into your belly.
Inhale and grip the outside of your feet with your hands and open your knees slightly wider than your torso and move them up toward your armpits.
Position the ankle over the knee so that the shin is perpendicular to the floor.
Flex through the heel.
To create some resistance push your feet up toward your hand and pull down with your hand at the same time.

5. Legs Up the Wall

Obligatory Credit – CAMERA PRESS/ Henry Arden

The legs up the wall are meant to help relax the body after a period of intense physical activity. This makes it one of the best yoga for depression and anxiety panic attacks relief

Steps for doing the pose

Start in a seated position facing the wall.
Lie on the back facing the wall extend your legs straight up and inch your way against the wall.
Pressing your sitting bones against the wall to ensure you are in the proper position and hold for 5 to 15 minutes.

6. Corpse Pose

The corpse pose is one of total body relaxation and helps to relieve stress and anxiety panic attacks.

Steps for doing the pose:

Start in a seated position with knees bent and feet on the floor, lean back on your forearms.
Then slowly push your pelvis off the mat with your hands and slowly return your pelvis to the floor.
Inhale and extend each leg and push through the heel. Release the legs and soften the groin area.
Using your hands lift your skull away from the back of the neck and release the back of the neck toward the tailbone. Broaden the base of the skull and lift the crease of the neck diagonally into the center of the head.
Raise your arms toward the ceiling and perpendicular to the floor while rocking side to side as to broaden the back of your ribs from the spine
Then release your arms and angle them relatively evenly to the midline of the torso.
Rest the back of your hands on the floor as comfortable as possible and ensure your shoulder blades are touching the floor. The spread your collarbones out.
To finish off you want to soften the root of the tongue, wings of the nose, channels of the inner ears and skin of the forehead.
Let your eye sink back into your head and gaze downward toward your chest and release the brain to the back of the head.

7. Eagle Pose (Garudasana)

Image credit – Kennguru

The eagle pose is great for relaxation and it helps to increase circulation to all of your joints, thus relieving joint pain

Steps for doing the pose:

From a standing position, bend your knees slightly lift your left foot up slowly, and balancing on your right foot, cross your left thigh or the right.
Point your left toes toward the floor, press the foot back, and then hook the top of the foot behind the lower right calf. Balance on the right foot.
Stretch your arms straight forward and parallel to the floor, and spread your scapulas wide across the back of your torso.
Cross your arms across the front of your torso so that the right arm is on the left, then bend your elbows.
Snug the right elbow in the crook of the left and raise your forearms perpendicular to the floor.
The backs of the hands should be facing each other.
Press the backs of your hands together with the thumb of your right hand passing the little finger on your left hand.
Now press your palms together, and lift your arms up and stretch your fingers toward the ceiling.
Remain in the position for 15 to 30 second and release and then repeat in the opposite direction.

8. Fish Pose

Fish pose makes our top 10 yoga for depression and anxiety panic attacks because it helps to stretch the hip flexors all the way to neck to help relieve the stresses of your day.

Steps for doing the pose:

Lie flat on your back on your mat with knees straight with legs and feet together.
Keeping your arms pressed against your torso and against the mat.
Inhale and lift your head and chest away from the floor. Arch your chest until you are halfway sitting up.
Then release your head toward the floor until it is touching the floor.
Be sure your legs stay straight and your thighs staying active and reaching toward your heels.
Ensure that you are supporting your body weight with your arms and not your head.
You should remember to lower your chest slightly so that you don’t cause any pain.
You want to hold this position for 3 to 6 full breaths.

Posts You Should Read:

9. Half Moon Pose

Image credit – Kennguru

The half moon pose is one of the standing yoga poses that helps to stretch the legs, improves balance and cure depression

Steps for doing the pose:

From a standing position with your feet wide apart, raise your right leg up to the side to a 90-degree angle while binding to side put a hand to side on the floor.
Hold this position as long and you can and return to a standing position.
Reverse the motion with the left leg and hold it as long as possible as well.

The key to yoga is to ensure that you perform each and every pose and movement carefully and not to overextend yourself as to cause pain. Since the whole idea is to complete relief from depression, stress and anxiety via yoga for depression and anxiety panic attacks relief practices.

Prev Article Next Article