Practice Yoga for Stress and Anxiety Relief

{"slug":"yoga-for-stress-and-anxiety","recentPosts":[{"id":"clgc1nu7j1uwk0birznqai3x1","slug":"10-yoga-poses-for-multiple-sclerosis","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":"will-1","pictureUrl":"will.jpeg"},"title":"10 Yoga Poses to Enhance Wellness for Multiple Sclerosis Patients","subTitle":null,"seoTitle":null,"seoDescription":"Learn about Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis and how it can help manage symptoms. Improve your quality of life with these yoga poses.","readTime":null,"excerpt":"Discover yoga for multiple sclerosis - improve your quality of life with these poses.","tags":[],"createdAt":"2023-04-11T09:12:29.35505+00:00","coverUrl":"aydrjq4doquwuaot8kt7.jpg","content":{"text":"Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. It can cause a range of symptoms, including fatigue, muscle weakness, and difficulty with balance and coordination. While there is no cure for MS, practicing yoga can help manage symptoms and improve overall health and well-being. Before starting a yoga practice, it's important to consult with a healthcare provider to ensure safety and effectiveness.\\n\\nBenefits of Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis\\nStress and Fatigue Reduction: Yoga provides a calming and relaxing effect on the body and mind, which can help ease the mental and physical stresses of MS. It can lead to a reduction in fatigue levels and promote a more peaceful state of mind.\\nImproved Balance and Coordination: MS can cause issues with balance and coordination, but yoga can help improve these areas. The practice of yoga involves movements that require balance and coordination, which can improve the function of the nervous system.\\nIncreased Flexibility and Strength: Yoga poses require the use of muscles that may not be utilized in everyday activities. Practicing yoga regularly can lead to increased flexibility and strength, which can improve overall fitness levels.\\nRespiratory Function Improvement: MS can affect respiratory function, but yoga can help improve breathing patterns. Certain yoga practices involve deep breathing exercises that can help increase lung capacity and oxygenation of the body.\\nPain Management: MS can cause pain and discomfort, but yoga can be an effective tool for managing these symptoms. The gentle movements of yoga can help relieve tension and tightness in the muscles, which can reduce pain and improve overall comfort.\\nImproved Overall Health and Well-Being: By providing a range of physical and mental benefits, yoga can improve overall health and well-being for individuals with MS. Regular practice can promote a sense of inner calm and peacefulness, which can positively impact all areas of life.\\n\\nYoga Poses for Multiple Sclerosis Symptom Management\\nSeated or chair yoga poses are ideal for individuals with limited mobility, while standing poses are suitable for those with greater mobility. Focus on poses that improve balance, coordination, and flexibility, such as:\\n\\n1.Child's Pose (Balasana): \\n\\nSit on your heels with your knees apart, and fold your torso forward, resting your forehead on the floor. Stretch your arms forward, palms facing down. Hold for 5-10 deep breaths.\\n\\n2.Cat-Cow (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana): \\n\\nStart on your hands and knees, with your wrists under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Inhale and lift your chest and tailbone towards the ceiling (Cow pose), and exhale, rounding your spine towards the ceiling (Cat pose). Repeat for 5-10 breaths.\\n\\n3.Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II): \\n\\nFrom a standing position, step your left foot back and turn it out 90 degrees. Bend your right knee, keeping it directly over your ankle. Extend your arms out to the sides, and gaze over your right hand. Hold for 5-10 breaths and repeat on the other side.\\n\\n4.Tree Pose (Vrksasana): \\n\\nStand with your feet hip-distance apart, and shift your weight onto your left foot. Place your right foot on your left thigh, and balance here. Place your hands in prayer position at your heart or extend your arms overhead. Hold for 5-10 breaths and repeat on the other side.\\n\\n5.Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana): \\n\\nFrom a tabletop position, walk your hands forward and lift your hips up and back, forming an inverted V-shape with your body. Press your hands and feet into the ground and hold for 5-10 breaths.\\n\\n6.Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I): \\n\\nFrom a standing position, step your left foot back and turn it out 45 degrees. Bend your right knee, keeping it directly over your ankle. Extend your arms overhead and gaze forward. Hold for 5-10 breaths and repeat on the other side.\n\\n7.Sphinx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana): \\n\\nLie on your stomach with your elbows under your shoulders and forearms on the ground. Press into your forearms and lift your chest up, keeping your shoulders relaxed. Hold for 5-10 breaths.\n\\n8.Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana): \\n\\nLie on your back with your knees bent and feet hip-distance apart. Press into your feet and lift your hips up, keeping your arms and shoulders on the ground. Hold for 5-10 breaths.\\n\\n9.Triangle Pose (Trikonasana): \\n\\nFrom a standing position, step your left foot back and turn it out 90 degrees. Extend your arms out to the sides and reach forward with your right hand, placing it on your shin or a block. Gaze up at your left hand. Hold for 5-10 breaths and repeat on the other side.\\n\\n10.Corpse Pose (Savasana): \\n\\nLie on your back with your arms and legs extended. Close your eyes and focus on your breath, allowing your body to fully relax. Stay here for at least 5-10 minutes.\\n\\nBreathing and Meditation Practices for Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis\\nHere are some breathing and meditation practices that can be incorporated into a yoga practice for multiple sclerosis symptom management:\\n\nDeep Breathing: Sit comfortably and take deep, slow breaths through the nose, filling the lungs completely. Exhale slowly through the nose, releasing all the air. Repeat for several minutes.\\nAlternate Nostril Breathing: Sit comfortably and use the thumb to close one nostril while inhaling through the other. Then, use the ring finger to close the opposite nostril while exhaling through the first. Repeat for several minutes.\\nMindful Breathing: Focus on the sensation of the breath as it enters and leaves the body. If the mind wanders, gently bring the focus back to the breath.\\nBody Scan Meditation: Lie down or sit comfortably and bring attention to each part of the body, starting from the toes and moving up to the head. Notice any sensations or tensions and release them as you move through each part.\\n\\nConclusion\\nPracticing yoga can provide many benefits for individuals with multiple sclerosis, including reduced stress and fatigue, improved balance and coordination, and increased flexibility and strength. Incorporating yoga poses and practices into your routine can help manage symptoms and improve overall health and well-being. Remember to consult with a healthcare provider and find a qualified yoga teacher to begin a safe and effective practice."},"category":["fitness"]},{"id":"clg55sr3657wd0airoeszt66q","slug":"yoga-for-carpal-tunnel-syndrom","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":"will-1","pictureUrl":"will.jpeg"},"title":"Yoga for Carpal Tunnel: Top 10 Yoga Poses, Benefits, FAQs","subTitle":null,"seoTitle":null,"seoDescription":"Alleviate carpal tunnel symptoms with yoga! Discover 10 poses to reduce pain and improve wrist and hand health. Learn best practices and protect yourself.","readTime":null,"excerpt":"Relieve carpal tunnel with yoga! 10 poses to manage symptoms and improve wrist and hand health.","tags":[],"createdAt":"2023-04-06T13:33:53.820514+00:00","coverUrl":"fyzezortjqar8ovbd4vf.jpg","content":{"text":"Do you ever experience pain or tingling in your hands and fingers? It could be carpal tunnel syndrome, a common condition that affects many people who use their hands and wrists frequently. Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by the compression of the median nerve in the wrist, which can lead to discomfort, numbness, and weakness in the hand and fingers.\\nFortunately, yoga can offer a natural and effective way to manage carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. In this article, we'll explore some yoga poses and practices that can help relieve pain and improve flexibility in the wrists and hands.\n\n\\nBenefits of Yoga for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome\\nYoga has many benefits for overall health and wellness, and it can be particularly helpful for managing carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. Here are just a few of the benefits:\\nReducing pain:\\n Certain yoga poses can help stretch and strengthen the muscles in the wrist and hand, which can reduce pain and discomfort.\\nImproving flexibility: \\nTight muscles and tendons in the wrist and hand can exacerbate carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms, but yoga can help improve flexibility and mobility.\\nReducing stress:\\n Stress and tension in the body can contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms, but yoga can help reduce stress levels and promote relaxation.\n\\n\\nYoga Poses for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Relief\\nYoga poses, or asanas, can be a powerful tool for managing carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. Here are a few poses to try:\\n\n\\n1.Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose): \\n\\nThis pose can help stretch the wrists and forearms, reducing pain and stiffness. To perform this pose, sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. Bend your right knee and place your right foot on the floor, outside your left thigh. Bring your left heel toward your right buttock. Cross your left arm over your right arm and bring your palms together. Hold for 5-10 breaths, then switch sides.\\n\n\\n2.Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose): \\n\\nThis pose can help stretch the muscles in the hands, wrists, and arms, improving flexibility and reducing pain. Start on your hands and knees, with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Lift your hips up and back, straightening your arms and legs. Press your hands into the floor and lengthen through your spine. Hold for 5-10 breaths.\\n\n\\n3.Garudasana (Eagle Pose): \\n\\nThis pose can help strengthen the muscles in the hands and wrists, which can improve grip strength and reduce pain. To perform this pose, stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your sides. Bring your right arm under your left arm, and bend both elbows to bring your palms together. Cross your right thigh over your left thigh. Balance on your left foot and hold for 5-10 breaths, then switch sides.\\n\n\\n4.Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle Pose): \\n\\nThis pose can help stretch the wrists and forearms, promoting flexibility and reducing pain. To perform this pose, stand with your feet about 3-4 feet apart. Turn your right foot out 90 degrees and your left foot in slightly. Reach your right arm forward and hinge at your hip to reach your right hand toward your right shin or the floor. Extend your left arm straight up toward the ceiling. Hold for 5-10 breaths, then switch sides.\\n\n\\n5.Padangusthasana (Big Toe Pose): \\n\\nThis pose can help stretch the muscles in the hands, wrists, and arms, improving flexibility and reducing pain. To perform this pose, stand with your feet hip-width apart. Inhale and lift your arms up overhead. Exhale and fold forward, reaching for your big toes with your hands. Hold for 5-10 breaths.\\n\\n6.Marjariasana (Cat Pose): \\n\\nThis pose can help stretch and mobilize the wrists, reducing stiffness and promoting flexibility. To perform this pose, start on your hands and knees, with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Inhale and arch your back, lifting your tailbone and dropping your belly. Exhale and round your spine, tucking your chin to your chest. Repeat for several breaths.\n\\n7.Bitilasana (Cow Pose): \\n\\nThis pose can help stretch and mobilize the wrists, reducing stiffness and promoting flexibility. To perform this pose, start on your hands and knees, with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Inhale and arch your back, lifting your tailbone and dropping your belly. Hold for a breath or two, then return to neutral spine.\n\\n8.Matsyasana (Fish Pose):\\n\\nThis pose can help stretch the chest and shoulders, relieving tension in the upper body and reducing carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. To perform this pose, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Lift your hips and slide your hands, palms down, under your buttocks. Press your forearms and elbows into the floor and lift your chest. Hold for 5-10 breaths.\\n\\n9.Baddha Konasana (Butterfly Pose):\\n \\n\\nThis pose can help stretch the inner thighs, hips, and groin, which can alleviate pressure on the wrists and hands. To perform this pose, sit on the floor with the soles of your feet together and your knees bent out to the sides. Hold your ankles or feet with your hands and gently press your knees down toward the floor. Hold for 5-10 breaths.\n\\n10\\n.\\nUttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)\\n: \\n\\nThis pose can help stretch the muscles in the hands, wrists, and arms, reducing stiffness and promoting flexibility. To perform this pose, stand with your feet hip-width apart. Inhale and lift your arms up overhead. Exhale and fold forward, reaching for the floor with your hands. Hold for 5-10 breaths. If you have difficulty reaching the floor, you can place your hands on blocks or a chair seat.\n\n\\nBreathing and Meditation Practices for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Relief\\nIn addition to yoga poses, breathing exercises and meditation can be helpful for managing carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. Here are a few practices to try:\\nDeep Breathing:\\n Taking slow, deep breaths can help reduce stress and tension in the body, which can contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms.\\nGuided Meditation:\\n Guided meditations can help promote relaxation and reduce stress, which can in turn reduce carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms.\\nVisualization:\\n Visualizing the body healing and repairing itself can help reduce pain and promote healing in the wrists and hands.\n\\n\\nTips for Practicing Yoga with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome\\nWhen practicing yoga with carpal tunnel syndrome, it's important to listen to your body and modify your practice as needed. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:\\nUse Props\\n: Props like blocks or straps can help make poses more accessible and comfortable.\\nModify Poses\\n: If a pose is too painful or uncomfortable, modify it or skip it altogether.\\nBe Mindful\\n: Pay attention to your body and how it feels during your practice. If a certain pose or practice is causing pain or discomfort, stop and modify or skip it.\\n\\nConclusion:\\nManaging carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms can be a challenge, but incorporating yoga into your routine can be a natural and effective way to find relief. By practicing yoga poses, breathing exercises, and meditation regularly, you can improve flexibility, reduce pain, and promote relaxation in your wrists and hands. Give it a try and see how yoga can benefit your carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms today!\n\n\\nFrequently Asked Questions about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome\\n\\nQ1. How can yoga help people with carpal tunnel syndrome?\\nAns: \\nYoga is a great way to manage carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms! Certain yoga poses can help stretch and strengthen the muscles in the wrists, hands, and arms, which can relieve pressure on the median nerve and reduce symptoms like pain, numbness, and tingling. Plus, practicing yoga can help reduce inflammation, increase flexibility, and improve circulation in the affected area.\\n\\nQ2. What yoga poses should you avoid with carpal tunnel?\\nAns:\\n If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, it's important to avoid yoga poses that put too much pressure on the wrists or require excessive bending or flexing of the hands. Poses like Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose), Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose), and Plank Pose can worsen carpal tunnel symptoms and should be avoided. Instead, focus on poses that gently stretch and strengthen the wrists and hands.\n\\nQ3.What are the best practices for carpal tunnel?\\nAns:\\n In addition to practicing yoga, there are several other best practices for managing carpal tunnel syndrome. These include taking frequent breaks from repetitive tasks that strain the wrists and hands, using ergonomic tools and equipment to reduce strain, maintaining good posture, and engaging in regular exercise and stretching to promote overall health and flexibility. It's important to take care of yourself both on and off the mat!\n\\nQ4.How can you protect yourself from carpal tunnel?\\nAns:\\n There are several steps you can take to protect yourself from developing carpal tunnel syndrome. Using ergonomic tools and equipment, taking frequent breaks from repetitive tasks, and maintaining good posture can all help reduce your risk. Engaging in regular exercise and stretching can also help keep your hands and wrists healthy and flexible. Remember to listen to your body and take action if you notice any symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, such as pain, numbness, or tingling in the hands or wrists. A healthcare provider can help diagnose and treat any issues before they become more serious."},"category":["fitness"]},{"id":"clg3manw0c2300bk8q089x7gd","slug":"yoga-for-improved-mobility","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":"will-1","pictureUrl":"will.jpeg"},"title":"Top 10 Yoga Poses for Improved Mobility: Unlock Your Body's Potential","subTitle":null,"seoTitle":null,"seoDescription":"Yoga is an incredibly efficient tool for improving your mobility for the better, regardless of your age, background, or ability.","readTime":null,"excerpt":"Learn about the best yoga poses for improving your mobility.\n","tags":[],"createdAt":"2023-04-05T11:40:10.955124+00:00","coverUrl":"mo0n5st8ek3dj2p0m8ib.jpg","content":{"text":"We know that yoga can help elevate your mental and emotional wellbeing, but it’s actually an incredibly efficient tool for improving your mobility for the better, regardless of your age, background, or ability.\\nWhat do we mean by mobility, and why is it important? Mobility refers to the level of ease with which you can move your body. This affects your ability to walk, run, lift, and engage in physical activities like sports, dancing, or just playing in the backyard with your kids or grandkids. Your level of mobility directly translates to your overall well-being, and it can greatly influence whether or not you experience chronic pain.\\n\\nHow Yoga Improves Mobility?\\nA typical yoga practice includes performing a holistic routine of stretches that work to improve your flexibility, balance, and strength — which all directly impact your mobility. Let’s break down how each of those factors work.\\nFlexibility refers to the range of motion between your joints and muscles, and an inflexible body is rigid, stiff, and achy, with a relatively small range of motion. A regular yoga routine can help lengthen and strengthen your muscles, improving your range of motion while preventing injury and reducing your risk for chronic pain. Along with increasing mobility, improving your flexibility also puts less strain on your body overall.\\nBuilding strength is crucial to achieve better mobility, since stronger muscles give you better stability, balance, and control over your movements. Yoga targets muscle groups and makes them stronger, more toned, and more capable of increased movement with more control. Increasing strength also helps prevent injury, improves your sense of balance, and reduces your risk for issues later in life – like osteoporosis.\\nIt may be surprising to learn that yogic breathing can also help improve your mobility. By calming your mind, improving your awareness, and relaxing your body, you can build a greater connection with your physical self and reduce tension. This can lead to an increase in your range of motion and a better understanding of your personal limitations.\\nThe best part about yoga is that it's low impact, and it's approachable for everyone. It doesn’t matter how old you are, or whether or not you’re a beginner. You can start out with slow, gentle movements that can greatly improve your mobility without the risk of injury. You can also practice yoga in the comfort of your own home, by following the sequence below or working with one of the many qualified yoga instructors available here at \\nMyYogaTeacher\\n.\\n\\nYoga Poses for Better Mobility\\nTo get started practicing yoga for improved physical mobility, try performing the poses below several times per week over an extended period of time. \\n1.Sun Salutations\\n\\nStart at the top of your mat in Mountain pose, with your hands in prayer position. With flowing, dynamic movement, progress through the following postures 3 or more times:\\nUpward Salute\\nStanding Half-Forward Bend\\nStanding Forward Fold\\nLow Lunge (left foot forward)\\nPlank\\nFour-Limbed Staff pose\\nUpward Facing Dog or Cobra\\nDownward Facing Dog\\nLow Lunge (right foot forward)\\nStanding Half-Forward Bend\\nStanding Forward Fold\\nUpward Salute\\nReturn to Mountain pose\\nRepeat\\n\\n2. Chair Pose\\n\\nStand in Mountain pose at the top of your mat, with your hands at your sides and feet hip distance apart. As you inhale, raise your hands over your head, with your arms parallel with your ears. As you exhale, hinge slightly at your waist, bend your knees and lower your torso forward as if you were about to sit down in a chair. Keep your core engaged and your spine straight while you hold this posture for several breaths.\\n\\n3. Downward Facing Dog\\n\\nStart in a tabletop position, with your hands and knees on your mat. Push up from your hands and knees, lifting your hips until you are balanced on your hands and feet, with your body resembling an inverted “v.” Keep your head in between your arms, ears balanced over your shoulders, and stay in this pose for several breaths.\\n\\n4. Low Lunge\\n\\nFrom your position in Downward Dog, you can easily transition to Low Lunge by bringing your left foot forward and bending your left leg at the knee. With your right leg behind you, gently kneel on your right knee. Inhale as you reach your arms up over your head, parallel with your ears. Expand your chest, lengthen your spine, keep your chin level and your gaze focused forward in front of you.\\n\\n5. Plank\\n\\nLie face down on your mat, and using your palms to push up from the floor, lift your body until you are balanced on your palms and the toes of your feet. In this pose, your body should be positioned in a straight line, with your gaze directed at the floor in front of you. Hold for a few breaths, or for 30-60 seconds if you are feeling strong in this pose.\\n\\n6. Cobra Pose\\n\\nStart by laying with your stomach facing down on the floor, with your legs straight and your arms folded under your head. Place your palms on the mat parallel to your chest. Slightly lift your head off the mat, keeping your head and back aligned, and press your thighs together. Now, steadily pull your elbows towards your rib cage keeping your hands underneath your shoulders. With a deep inhale, press your hands into the mat, curl your shoulders backward, and lift your upper body off the mat, arching your back. Hold this position for a few breaths and then rest.\\n\\n7. Cat-Cow Pose\\n\\nStart in a tabletop position with your hands and knees on the floor. Inhale and look up, lifting your chin and gently arching your spine. As you exhale, drop your chin and look down toward your naval as you curl your spine forward. Continue this movement 5-10 times.\\n\\n8. Bow Pose\\n\\nLie down on your stomach with your forehead against the mat and your hands resting at your sides. Inhale and engage your core, slightly lifting your torso up, bending your legs and grabbing your ankles with each hand. Open your chest and lift your chin, so that your gaze is facing forward. Maintain a steady breath while holding this pose, allowing your body to gently rock back and forth with each inhale and exhale. Release after 20-30 seconds.\\n\\n9. Bridge Pose\\n\\nStart by lying on your back with your knees bent. On your next exhale, tuck your chin and lift your hips, being careful not to allow your knees to splay outward. Interlace your fingers on the floor underneath you and lift your hips higher, while staying in the pose for 5-10 breaths.\\n\\n10. Corpse Pose\\n\\nSit on your yoga mat and lower your body to the floor, relaxing your legs and letting your arms rest on the floor at your sides, palms up. Keep your eyes closed and focus on your breathing. Relax the muscles in your face and neck, and visualize every part of your body letting go of all tension. Hold this pose for 5-7 minutes.\\n"},"category":[]},{"id":"clg0gw3o0ycc30ak0rlfm4ea9","slug":"yoga-for-endometriosis","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":"will-1","pictureUrl":"will.jpeg"},"title":"Yoga for Endometriosis: 6 Easy Poses to Try at Home","subTitle":null,"seoTitle":null,"seoDescription":"Yoga can help ease symptoms of endometriosis, and it’s a great option for women who are looking for a low-risk, low impact way to cope with the condition.","readTime":null,"excerpt":"Learn the best yoga poses for endometriosis symptoms.\n","tags":[],"createdAt":"2023-04-03T06:45:34.990165+00:00","coverUrl":"htglzgglkwtr6is6mzmi.jpg","content":{"text":"Endometriosis is a disorder that affects about 190 million women worldwide, causing painful periods, infertility, and other severe symptoms that can significantly reduce the overall quality of their lives. While science is still working to fully understand endometriosis, right now there are a few ways in which women can manage the symptoms of this painful condition, including medication, surgery and various forms of therapy. Yoga can also help ease symptoms, and it’s a great option for women who are looking for a low-risk, low impact way to cope with endometriosis.\\nYoga helps reduce the troubling symptoms of endometriosis in a few different ways. The overall practice of yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for operating the body's relaxation and digestive responses. These responses tell your body to slow down and rest, which are crucial when it comes to reducing the pain, anxiety, and stress that comes with endometriosis.\\nYoga also enhances blood flow to your reproductive organs, which can help reduce inflammation and promote healing. Yoga poses work to stretch the muscles and tissues around your uterus and ovaries, which can help reduce the intensity and duration of menstrual cramps.  Endometriosis commonly causes intense chronic pain in the pelvis, lower back, and hips, which yoga can help alleviate through gentle stretches and movement that help open up and relax the muscles in these areas.\\nEndometriosis can also cause infertility due to scarring around the reproductive organs, but yoga can help offset this issue by increasing blood flow to the area and lowering inflammation. Yoga also works to balance your hormones by reducing cortisol and other stress hormones and regulating your menstrual cycle.\\nIn terms of mental health, yoga is one of the most effective tools in managing anxiety and depression, which are common symptoms of endometriosis. This condition can cause immense chronic pain, which typically results in emotional distress that yoga can help alleviate. Yoga sends signals to your mind and body that encourage both to relax, reducing tension, calming anxious thoughts, and improving your sense of well-being.\\n\\nWhat Types of Yoga are Best for Endometriosis?\\nThere are many different kinds of yoga, but if you’re experiencing symptoms of endometriosis you may want to stick with gentle postures like those you would perform in Hatha, Restorative, Gentle, or Yin yoga. These types of yoga focus on easy, low-impact movement, along with relaxation and stress reduction, and they typically involve some type of yogic breath work – which can also help reduce inflammation and chronic pain.\\nIf you’re considering yoga for managing your symptoms of endometriosis, there are certain precautions you should take in order to avoid making those symptoms worse. While you’re on your period, it’s important to avoid inverted postures that might interrupt or change your body’s natural flow. If a specific posture causes pain or discomfort, exit the pose immediately and take a break. It’s important to listen to your body and avoid any kind of position that doesn’t feel good. If you’re unsure about your alignment or you’d like some guidance on how to practice yoga for endometriosis, you can enroll in an online class or book a private session with one of the instructors here at \\nMyYogaTeacher\\n.\n\\n6 Easy Yoga Poses for Endometriosis\\nIf you’re experiencing the painful symptoms of endometriosis, try the gentle poses below for some relief.\\n1.Child’s Pose\\n\\nStart on your hands and knees and then lower yourself down so that your backside is resting on your heels, and your big toes are touching each other. Move your hands forward, palms down, so that your forehead is resting on the floor. Allow your spine to lengthen and your neck muscles to fully relax. Breathe deeply and mindfully while staying in this pose for 5-6 minutes.\n\\n2. Cat-Cow Pose\\n\\nStart in a tabletop position with your hands and knees on the floor. Inhale and look up, lifting your chin and gently arching your spine. As you exhale, drop your chin and look down toward your naval as you curl your spine forward. Continue this movement 5-10 times.\\n\\n3. Fixed Angle Pose\\n\\nSit on your yoga mat with your knees bent and the soles of your feet pressed against each other. With your spine straight, press your hands behind you and gently open up your chest and tuck in your abdomen. Hold the pose for 1-2 minutes.\\n\\n4. Seated Forward Fold Pose\\n\\nSit in the center of your mat with your legs stretched out in front of you. Take a deep inhale and raise your arms directly over your head. As you exhale, slowly lean forward and place your head and chest on top of your legs, and grab your big toes with both of your hands. Tuck your chin and curl abdomen, relaxing your lower back as you sink into this pose. Hold for one minute.\\n\\n5. Supine Twist Pose\\n\\nLie on the floor with your knees bent and bring them to your chest. Slowly and mindfully drop your left side while extending your arms outward in a “t” shape. Hold this pose for about 30 seconds while breathing mindfully. Bring your knees back to your chest, and then repeat on your right side.\\n\\n6. Legs Up The Wall Pose\\n\\nPlace a folded blanket parallel against a wall. Sit sideways in the middle of the blanket, and turn yourself toward the wall, lifting your legs up and propping them against the wall. Lay back comfortably, rest your head and neck on the floor, and fully straighten your legs. Spread your arms out to your sides with your palms facing up. Allow your chest, abdomen, and pelvis to completely relax. Breathe evenly and mindfully while holding this pose for 5-8 minutes.\\n\\nPranayama for Endometriosis\\nYogic breath work can help ease feelings of stress and anxiety, while giving you tools with which to manage pain. Try these breathing exercises to encourage a sense of calm and relaxation.\\n1.Nadi Sodhana or “Alternate Nostril Breathing”\\nExhale completely, and then place your right index finger onto your right nostril, and breathe deeply in through the left. Alternate and place your thumb over your left nostril, and exhale through your right. Continue alternating, repeating at least 10 times.\\n\\n2. Ujjayi or Ocean’s Breath\\nStart by breathing in through your mouth. As you exhale, pull in your chin in toward your body and so that your throat is partly constricted. Then, breathe in and out through your nose, making a slight sound that is similar to the ocean.\\n"},"category":["yoga_poses"]},{"id":"clg0fojrzxeqr0biq6yvfzdjk","slug":"yoga-for-acid-reflux","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":"will-1","pictureUrl":"will.jpeg"},"title":"Yoga and Digestion: 8 Poses to Help Ease Acid Reflux Symptoms","subTitle":null,"seoTitle":null,"seoDescription":"Yoga helps alleviate symptoms of acid reflux and prevent onset by reducing stress and anxiety, activating your digestive system, and improving your posture.","readTime":null,"excerpt":"Learn the best poses for reducing acid reflux.\n","tags":[],"createdAt":"2023-04-03T06:11:42.97583+00:00","coverUrl":"ckauzlgegiwd249grkhg.jpg","content":{"text":"If you experience acid reflux on a regular basis, then you’re already familiar with how it typically unfolds. It often starts with a burning sensation in your chest and the repeated urge to burp and let go of accumulated gas. There are lots of reasons why acid reflux occurs, including a number of lifestyle factors like poor diet and emotional stress. Thankfully, yoga can help manage symptoms and reduce episodes if they are stress-related. \\n\\nHow Yoga Helps with Acid Reflux\\nOne of the ways that yoga helps reduce acid reflux is by reducing stress and anxiety. These are the common culprits for acid reflux, because they cause your body to engage in a cascade of fight/flight/freeze responses that includes increased production of stomach acid. By reducing your stress and anxiety, you can help your body avoid switching on that fight/flight/freeze response.\\nAnother way that yoga can reduce acid reflux is through improving your posture and alignment. Poor posture can contribute to chronic acid reflux by placing too much pressure on your stomach and esophagus. Yoga postures that correct your alignment — like Downward Facing Dog and Standing Forward Fold — help relieve this pressure and prevent the onset of acid reflux. It’s important to note that in order to truly improve your posture, you need to practice these poses regularly and for the long term – over time they can help reduce your risk of developing acid reflux in the first place.\\nYoga can also help regulate your digestive system, which is another factor that contributes to acidity. When food gets stuck in your digestive tract, it can cause gas and bloating, slowing your entire digestive system down, which eventually manifests in your stomach with an acidic reaction. By stimulating your digestive system, you can help your body move and process food smoothly through your digestive tract without gas, bloating, or acidity.\\nOne of the most important ways yoga can help prevent acid reflux is by strengthening your diaphragm, which is the muscle that prevents acid from moving up into your esophagus. When the diaphragm is weak or tense, it can actually allow acid reflux to rise up from your stomach and push its way into your esophagus, which is what causes that uncomfortable burning sensation in your chest. Yoga postures that promote diaphragmatic breathing, such as Seated Forward Fold and Corpse pose can help strengthen this muscle and prevent acid reflux.\n\\n\\n8 Effective Yoga Poses for Acid Reflux\\nIn order to get the most benefit from practicing yoga for acid reflux, it’s recommended that you develop a regular routine that involves performing yoga at least 3-4 times per week for 6-9 months. This isn’t a quick fix, but with a long term commitment you can reduce the onset of acid reflux and improve your overall quality of life.\\nThe poses below are basic, primary yoga poses you can practice in your very own home. If you’re unsure how to practice the postures, or you’d like some professional guidance, try working with one of our certified yoga instructors at \\nMyYogaTeacher\\n.\\n1.Mountain Pose\\n\\nStart by standing at the top of your mat with your feet hip distance apart. Balance your weight evenly on both feet. Keep your arms relaxed at your sides, with your spine straight and your chest lifted. Your gaze should be focused straight ahead of you while you breathe easily and gently. Hold the pose for 1-2 minutes.\n\\n2. Standing Forward Fold\\n\\nStand at the front of your mat, feet hip distance apart. Exhale and bend forward from the waist, with your knees slightly bent and touching your hands to the floor in front of your feet. Inhale and exhale, allowing your torso to extend without rounding your back. Lengthen and soften your neck, and let the muscles of your thighs and lower back open and release any built-up tension. Hold the pose for 1-2 minutes.\\n\\n3. Downward Facing Dog Pose\\n\\nWith your hands and knees on the floor, push your hips upward until you are balancing on your hands and feet, and your body resembles an inverted “v” shape. Reach your heels toward the floor, stretching your hamstrings and activating your thighs. Keep your head between your arms, lengthening your side-body as you stretch. Stay here for several breaths.\\n\\n4. Seated Spinal Twist Pose\\n\\nSitting with your knees bent and your feet tucked in next to your left butt cheek, inhale with your spine straight, lifting your chest. As you exhale, rotate your torso to your right. Position your right hand on the floor just slightly behind you, and rest your left hand on your right knee. On your next breath, rotate a little more as you exhale, turning your head to look over your right shoulder. Hold this pose for 20 to 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side.\\n\\n5. Cat-Cow Pose\\n\\nStart with your hands and knees on the floor. Inhale and look up, lifting your chin and gently arching your back. As you exhale, drop your chin and look down toward your naval as you curl your spine forward. Continue this movement 5-10 times.\\n\\n6. Child’s pose Pose\\n\\nStart on your hands and knees and then lower yourself down so that your backside is resting on your heels, and your big toes are touching each other. Move your hands forward, palms down, so that your forehead is resting on the floor. Allow your spine to lengthen and your neck muscles to fully relax. Breathe deeply and mindfully while staying in this pose for 5-6 minutes.\n\\n7. Seated Forward Fold Pose\\n\\nStart by sitting on your yoga mat with your legs stretched out in front of you. Come onto your sit bones and inhale with a straight spine. Raise your arms over your head and as you exhale, begin to bend forward by hinging at your waist. Slowly lower your torso toward the tops of your legs, allowing your spine to curve forward as you reach your legs. Hold this pose for 30-60 seconds.\\n\\n8. Corpse Pose\\n\\nSit on your yoga mat and lower your body to the floor, relaxing your legs and letting your arms rest on the floor at your sides, palms up. Keep your eyes closed and focus on your breathing. Relax the muscles in your face and neck, and visualize every part of your body letting go of all tension. Hold this pose for 5-7 minutes."},"category":["yoga_poses"]}],"randomPosts":[{"id":"cldx0h500c8050ak0xb99x0a8","slug":"yoga-for-ptsd","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":"will-1","pictureUrl":"will.jpeg"},"title":"Yoga for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) ","createdAt":"2023-02-09T11:23:19.818187+00:00","coverUrl":"dtpo9accj7tbhoqtqsix.jpg","content":{"text":"Feelings of overwhelm, stress, depression, and intense anxiety are just a few of the common symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Brought on through the experience of a traumatic life event, PTSD can last for months or years, and can profoundly affect a person’s life and relationships.\\nResearch about PTSD and techniques for managing it are still being discovered, but a\\n \\nrecent scientific study\\n about PTSD in women found that yoga could alleviate some of the symptoms associated with the disorder. Through regular yoga sessions that focused on compassionate self-observation and connections between the mind and body, the participants of the study experienced a reduction in psychological distress.\\nWhat does this tell us? The innate, building blocks of yoga centered around mindfulness and body awareness can help patients with PTSD improve their quality of life. For those who are managing this disorder over the long term, yoga can be used as an effective tool to regulate the nervous system and bring about calm in moments of stress.\\n\\nTips and Precautions when treating PTSD\\nYoga alone cannot completely cure the disorder, and may not accelerate the process to overcome the effects PTSD can have on the mind and body. Yoga should be used in conjunction with other therapies, such as talk therapy, somatic therapy, and support groups. For some patients, medication can provide some help with the guidance of a specialized physician. Studies are also underway to explore the use of psychedelics in treating PTSD, providing positive outcomes for patients who are struggling.\\nIf you are looking to try yoga for treatment of PTSD, it’s important to practice in an environment where you feel comfortable and at ease. \\nMyYogaTeacher\\n offers online courses where you can practice in the familiar environment of your own home. You can also take a private, 1-on-1 class with an instructor who can help you build connections with your mind and body safely. \\nWhile practicing yoga, if you feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed at any point, feel free to take a break. Yoga can release emotions in your body, and these emotions can be difficult at times. Be easy on yourself, and give yourself the space you need to process these emotions.\\n\\n5 Best Yoga Poses to ease PTSD Symptoms\\nTo get started with your own yoga journey to help heal PTSD, you can begin with some of the following poses and techniques. Below you’ll find various yoga asanas to help you cope with feelings of stress and overwhelm, along with meditation and breathing techniques designed to calm your body and regulate your nervous system. \\nYou can practice the following poses wherever you feel comfortable — in your home, your backyard, a yoga studio, or anywhere you can take a break and experience stillness.\\n\n1. Child’s pose\\n\\nThis primary yoga pose is a great option anytime you need to de-stress, relax, and feel safe.\\nStart on your hands and knees and then lower yourself down so that your backside is resting on your heels, and your big toes are touching each other. Move your hands forward, palms down, so that your forehead is resting on the floor. Allow your spine to lengthen and your neck muscles to fully relax. Breathe deeply and mindfully while staying in this pose for 5-6 minutes.\\nChild’s pose lowers your blood pressure, relieves stress, and relaxes your body. This pose also helps you feel more calm and centered.\\n\n2. Cat Cow Pose\\n\\nYou can practice this pose anytime you feel the need to reconnect with your body. By focusing on the movement, you can help regulate your parasympathetic nervous system and restore calm.\\nStart with your hands and knees on the floor. Inhale and look up, lifting your chin and gently arching your back. As you exhale, drop your chin and look down toward your naval as you curl your spine forward. Continue this movement 5-10 times.\\nCat-cow increases flexibility in your back and spine, massages your digestive organs, and provides gentle, easy movement that you can perform anywhere.\\n\n3. Chair Pose\\n\\nWhen experiencing overwhelming emotions, it can be helpful to practice a pose that grounds and strengthens your mind and body.\\nStand in Mountain pose at the top of your mat, with your hands at your sides and feet hip distance apart. As you inhale, raise your hands over your head, with your arms parallel with your ears. As you exhale, hinge slightly at your waist, bend your knees and lower your torso forward as if you were about to sit down in a chair. Keep your core engaged and your spine straight while you hold this posture for several breaths.\\nChair pose strengthens your glutes, quads and core muscles, while physically grounding you for greater strength and fortitude.\\n\n4. Legs Up The Wall\\n\\nLegs Up The Wall is a pose that can help you quickly unwind by supporting your legs with the wall and letting your upper body fully relax.\\nPlace a folded blanket parallel against a wall. Sit sideways in the middle of the blanket, and turn yourself toward the wall, lifting your legs up and propping them against the wall. Lay back comfortably, rest your head and neck on the floor, and fully straighten your legs. Spread your arms out to your sides with your palms facing up. Allow your chest, abdomen, and pelvis to completely relax. Breathe evenly and mindfully while holding this pose for 5-8 minutes.\\nThis pose is effective in relieving stress and anxiety, as well as improving circulation, relaxing the body, and lowering blood pressure.\\n\n5. Corpse pose\\n\\nTypically practiced at the end of a sequence of yoga postures, Corpse pose can help you reach a state of full relaxation.\\nSit on your yoga mat and lower your body to the floor, relaxing your legs and letting your arms rest on the floor at your sides, palms up. Keep your eyes closed and focus on your breathing. Relax the muscles in your face and neck, and visualize every part of your body letting go of all tension. Hold this pose for 5-7 minutes.\\nCorpse pose soothes the nervous system, bringing you peace of mind, relaxing your body, and alleviating physical symptoms of stress.\\n\\nYoga Breathing Techniques for PTSD\\nYogic breathing, or pranayama, can also help regulate your nervous system and ease feelings of anxiety, stress, depression and overwhelm. You can use the following techniques anytime you need to reconnect with your body and calm your mind. Pranayama can be practiced while sitting comfortably in a chair, in Easy pose, or while lying down.\\n1. Nadi Sodhana or Alternate Nostril Breathing\\nThis breathing technique can quickly calm the mind and body, and reduce anxiety and stress.\\nExhale completely, and then place your right index finger onto your right nostril, and breathe deeply in through the left. Alternate and place your thumb over your left nostril, and exhale through your right. Continue alternating, repeating at least 10 times.\\n2. Brahmari or Humming Bee Breath\\nHumming Bee Breath is effective at releasing built-up tension in the body. \\nPracticing this technique is really very easy. Simply inhale and make an audible humming sound as you exhale — mimicking the sound of a bumble bee.\\n3. Ujjayi or Ocean’s Breath\\nThis yogic breathing exercise is helpful when you are feeling depressed and need to lift your spirits.\\nStart by breathing in through your mouth. As you exhale, pull in your chin in toward your body and so that your throat is partly constricted. Then, breathe in and out through your nose, making a slight sound that is similar to the ocean.\\n\\nYoga Meditation for PTSD\\nOne of the best yogic tools for relaxation, Yoga Nidra is a meditation designed to help your body unwind and calm down. Since this meditation is also known as the “Yoga of Sleep,” you should practice this technique in a reclined position in your home or somewhere you can allow yourself to deeply relax. \\n\\nYoga Nidra for PTSD\\nYoga Nidra is typically practiced as a guided meditation. You can find a multitude of audio Yoga Nidra meditations online to choose from, or you can take yourself through the process if a guided meditation is not available to you.\\nStart by lying down or reclining in a comfortable chair. Relax and focus on the rise and fall of your own breath. Once you’ve tuned into your breath, begin a scan of your entire body. Notice each finger, toe, limb — go through every body part and focus on relaxing each one. Make sure as you continue your scan, that you release any feelings of negativity or judgment. If an area of your body feels tense or resistant to relaxation, gently accept those feelings and continue to move through the rest of your body. Allow any thoughts to float past your awareness and disintegrate as you continue your scan. When you are finished, express gratitude for your body, your nervous system, and your mind for keeping you safe.\\n\\nFAQs about Yoga for PTSD\\n\\nWhat type of yoga is good for PTSD?\\nThere isn't one specific type of yoga that's best for PTSD, as every individual is unique and may respond differently to different styles of yoga. However, many people with PTSD find that gentle and restorative forms of yoga, such as Hatha or Yin yoga, can be particularly helpful in reducing symptoms of anxiety and stress. These styles of yoga focus on relaxation, mindfulness, and breathing, which can help to calm the nervous system and reduce feelings of hyperarousal.\\n\\nCan yoga help with PTSD?\\nYes, yoga has been shown to be an effective tool for managing symptoms of PTSD. Regular yoga practice can help to reduce stress and anxiety, improve mood, and increase self-awareness, which are all important for individuals with PTSD. In addition, many yoga poses have a grounding and calming effect on the nervous system, which can be especially beneficial for those who have experienced trauma.\\n\\nWhat type of exercise is good for PTSD?\\nExercise in general can be beneficial for individuals with PTSD, as it helps to reduce stress, improve mood, and increase physical strength and endurance. In addition to yoga, other forms of exercise that may be helpful include low-impact activities such as walking, cycling, and swimming, as well as mindfulness-based practices such as tai chi and qigong. The key is to find an activity that you enjoy and that helps you to feel more relaxed and centered.\\n\\nHow does yoga heal trauma?\\nYoga can help to heal trauma by addressing both the physical and emotional symptoms of PTSD. Physically, yoga can help to reduce muscle tension, improve circulation, and increase flexibility, all of which can help to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. Emotionally, yoga can help to increase mindfulness and self-awareness, which can make it easier to identify and process traumatic experiences. Additionally, the focus on breathing and relaxation in many styles of yoga can help to calm the nervous system and reduce feelings of hyperarousal, which are common symptoms of PTSD.\\n\\nDoes yoga release trapped trauma?\\nWhile there is no evidence that yoga can literally \"release\" trapped trauma, many people who have experienced trauma find that yoga can help to reduce symptoms such as anxiety and stress and make it easier to process and cope with traumatic experiences. The physical and mental benefits of yoga can help to create a sense of grounding and stability, which can make it easier to work through and integrate traumatic memories.\\n\\nWhat yoga poses release trauma?\\nThere isn't a specific set of yoga poses that are considered to \"release\" trauma, as every individual is unique and may respond differently to different poses. However, some yoga poses that can be helpful for reducing symptoms of PTSD include Child's Pose (Balasana), Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), Corpse Pose (Shavasana), Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II), and Cat-Cow Stretch (Chakravakasana)."}},{"id":"clct29qar2mln09k7b9xhmih5","slug":"8-yoga-poses-for-psoas-pain-relief","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":"will-1","pictureUrl":"will.jpeg"},"title":"8 Yoga Poses for Psoas Pain Relief","createdAt":"2023-01-12T12:22:46.336259+00:00","coverUrl":"fitbgltpzxzyqblmzhjg.jpg","content":{"text":"Possibly the most integral muscle group in your entire body, the psoas governs the central functioning of your core. Without it, you wouldn’t be able to move properly, walk, stand, or do much of anything, because the muscles in this group also attach your legs to your spine.\\n\\nIssues with your psoas can be deeply painful, and it’s a difficult area to massage. The psoas major, psoas minor, and iliacus combined make up your iliopsoas, commonly referred as simply the psoas. And when the psoas is unhappy, it can cause symptoms with a range of severity, from slightly uncomfortable to totally debilitating, like difficulty walking or standing upright, lower back pain, and pelvic pain. \n\\nAthletic injuries, prolonged periods of sitting and surgery can affect the health of your psoas, and if you’re experiencing a tight and shortened psoas, it’s likely you’re also suffering from weakness and pain. You can relieve your symptoms and fully recover from psoas issues by stretching and strengthening this important muscle group with yoga. \n\\nHow to Relieve Psoas Pain\\n\\nPsoas pain can affect the entire structure of your body, causing adjoining muscles to become overworked and your posture to become off-kilter, leading to widespread chronic pain. Yoga can help correct issues with your psoas and get you back to feeling balanced again. By practicing a few specific yoga poses, you can directly stretch the psoas and surrounding areas, relieving tension, pain, and stiffness.\\n\\nIt’s important to also strengthen the psoas to enable your body to function properly. A weak psoas can put enormous strain on your surrounding muscles and joints, and a strong core is essential for your physical health. By lengthening and strengthening your psoas at the same time, you can correct issues and reduce pain.\n\\nIf you’re suffering from a tight or weak psoas, try practicing the yoga poses below on a regular basis to start the healing process.\n\\n8 Yoga Poses for Psoas Pain Relief\\n\n\\n1. Low Lunge Pose\\n\\nLow Lunge is an easy pose to start lengthening your psoas muscles, and you can adjust this position to stretch as deeply as you feel comfortable.\\nFrom a kneeling position, start by bringing your left foot forward and bending your left leg at the knee. Inhale while reaching your arms over your head, keeping them parallel with the sides of your head. Allow your chest to expand and lengthen your spine. Remember to keep your chin level and your gaze focused straight ahead. Repeat on the other side.\\n \\n2.  Tree Pose\\n\\nTree pose strengthens and stretches your psoas muscles by isolating the area building strength through balance.\\nStand in Mountain pose and place your feet hip distance apart, arms relaxed at your sides. Gently shift your body weight to your left foot and bending your right knee, lifting it upward. Place the sole of your right foot on the inside of your left thigh. Keep your spine and head straight, with your gaze facing forward. Give yourself a moment to steady your balance, bring your hands together in Namaste formation. Hold for 5-6 deep breaths.\\n \\n3. Boat Pose\\n\\nOne of the best asanas for your core, Boat pose strengthens your abdominal muscles for better balance and posture.\\nStart by sitting with your legs stretched out in front of you and your arms at your sides. Lean back slightly so that your weight is evenly balanced. Inhale, engage your core, and exhale as you lift both your legs to a 45 degree angle, and extend your arms straight out alongside your legs. If this pose feels too difficult, try bending your knees and bringing your hands behind your knees for support. Keep your spine long and your core engaged as you hold this pose for 30-45 seconds.\\n \\n4. Knee-To-Chest Pose\\n\\nWhen your psoas is in pain and walking or standing upright feels difficult, Knee-To-Chest pose offers a supine stretch that can relieve your symptoms.\\nLie down flat on your back with your arms at your sides. Inhale, and then as you exhale, bring your right knee to your chest. Thoughtfully extend and stretch your left leg until you feel the tension begin to release from your abs and inside your hip. As you hug your knee to your chest, remember to breathe and focus on allowing your core to fully relax. Hold for 30-60 seconds and repeat on the other side.\\n \\n5. Dancer’s Pose\\n\\nLike Tree pose, Dancer’s pose works to strengthen your psoas through balance, with a deep stretch that lengthens all of the muscles in the front side of your torso. \\nStand in the middle of your mat with your weight evenly balanced on both feet. Transfer your weight onto your left foot while bending your right knee and grabbing your right foot with your right hand. Lift your left arm up toward the ceiling. Bend at your waist and slowly lean forward, lifting your right leg and engaging your core. You can deepen the stretch by creating some resistance — simply push outward with your right foot while pulling in with your right hand. For better balance, focus your gaze on a fixed point in front of you. Hold for 3-5 breaths, then repeat on the other side.\\n \\n6. Supported Bridge Pose\\n\\nSupported Bridge pose uses a yoga block to both support your weight and lengthen the muscles in your core and inside your hips.\\nStart by lying on your back with your knees bent and a yoga block placed nearby. On your next exhale, tuck your chin and lift your hips, being careful not to allow your knees to splay outward.  Take your yoga block and place underneath your lower back, supporting your weight and providing a deep stretch to the frontside of your pelvis. Stay in the pose for 30-60 seconds.\\n \\n7. Reclining Hero’s Pose\\n\\nBy modifying Hero’s pose to a reclining position, you can gently lengthen your psoas and stretch your quad muscles.\\nKneel on your yoga mat and rest your buttocks on the backs of your heels. Sit with your spine straight and inhale, and as you exhale, begin to gently lower your torso to the floor. You can move slowly, lowering yourself onto your back one vertebrae at a time. Rest your hands on your chest or reach your arms above your head to increase the stretch. Once your are resting on your back, you can also bring your focus to your hips and allow them to rise slightly upward for a greater stretch in your psoas minor.\\n \\n8. Cobra Pose\\n\\nCobra pose lengthens your abdominal muscles and releases tension in your lower back.\\nLie on your stomach with your legs extended, arms folded under your head and your chin resting on your forearms. Place your hands at the level of your chest and press down with your hands. Slightly lift your head off the mat, keeping your head and back aligned, and press your thighs together. Now, steadily pull your elbows towards your ribs and align your hands and shoulders. On a deep inhale, press your hands into the mat, curl your shoulders backward, and lift your upper body off the mat. Make sure to gaze upward and press your hips into the mat to target your psoas. Hold this position for a few breaths and then rest."}},{"id":"cl4gxopn3hs4z0ck3ie9pn663","slug":"myyogateacher-reviews","author":{"name":"Jitendra","teacherMytSlug":null,"pictureUrl":"jitendra1.png"},"title":"MyYogaTeacher Reviews! What People Are Saying About The Online Yoga Platform","createdAt":"2022-06-16T11:23:34.459237+00:00","coverUrl":"isq4hw4ivknbxwkgziz0.jpg","content":{"text":"MyYogaTeacher now has over \\n105,400 \\nstudents and a 4.9 star rating with 73,653 reviews!\\n\\nApple App Store Reviews: 4.9 out of 5 star rating - 1,010 reviews\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nGoogle Play Store Reviews: 4.7 out of 5 star rating - 596 reviews\\n\\n\\n\\n100+ Expert Indian Yoga Teachers – 40+ Daily Classes (Live & Interactive) – Affordable 1-on-1 Sessions – All Online, All Free to Try!\\n\\n[CTA-DEFAULT]\\n⁠MyYogaTeacher made its debut in September of 2019, and ever since then, the team has strived to provide not only high quality yoga instruction, but more importantly, a phenomenal yoga community experience!\\nWith over 100 expert yoga teachers from India, over 40 different types of group yoga classes, and the opportunity for affordable, 1-on-1 superb yoga instruction, the MyYogaTeacher community continues to grow, grow, grow!\\nWe are humbled by our community growth, and excited for the future!\\n\\n\\nNot familiar with MyYogaTeacher yet?\\nThe experienced, expert yoga teachers at MyYogaTeacher all teach from the roots of yoga and tradition. And they are not just invested in your yoga journey. They’re invested in \\nyou\\n. Your health, life, goals, successes and failures.\\nWe walk alongside our students, helping them in more than just their yoga practice. Because humans were built for connection. They were not built to do this life (or yoga) on their own.\n⁠\n⁠If you haven’t experienced virtual private yoga classes yet, MyYogaTeacher makes 1:1 classes affordable and accessible! PLUS, with your membership, you get:\\nRadiance! More energy, peace of mind, and better health & fitness\\n42+ daily group yoga classes, 100% live!\\nDiscounted yoga workshops, all live and interactive!\\nMaking new like-minded friends from around the world\\n\\nGrab your 2-week free trial and check out your membership options here!\\n\\nMyYogaTeacher was co-founded by Jitendra Gupta. His mission is to give people all over the world access to top-notch yoga instruction because he knows and understands how it can positively impact your physical and mental health. Jitendra wants to help empower you to take positive steps forward in your life, to heal from pain and illnesses. And he knows firsthand that yoga can do just that!\\nBut for Jitendra, it was never about getting MyYogaTeacher reviews. It’s about helping humans.\\nSo we’ve created an online yoga community that provides the highest quality, traditional, authentic yoga instruction via two-way live streaming. So you can practice yoga anywhere and everywhere you want, connect with your yoga instructors, get personalized feedback and corrections, make friends from all over the world, and grow in your yoga journey. And also grow as a human.\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nHow does MyYogaTeacher work?\\nWhen you sign up to be a MyYogaTeacher member, you’ll have the opportunity to view all our group classes (over 40 of them!), which you can filter by class, teacher, or type – like \\nVinyasa\\n, \\nPower Yoga\\n, \\nHatha\\n and more unique classes like ‘\\nChakra and Sound Healing\\n’, ‘\\nGentle Yoga\\n’, ‘\\nStretch and Breathe\\n’ and ‘\\nKriya, Pranayama, and Meditation’\\n. You’ll see all the different class times and you’ll be able to check out the teacher profile for each yoga class instructor.\\nOnce you sign up for a class day and time that fits your schedule, you’ll receive a confirmation in your email, which will have the Zoom link you’ll use to join the class! You’ll also get an email reminder for your class. Additionally, you always have the option to chat with your yoga teacher in the MyYogaTeacher \\napp\\n or on your desktop if you’re logged into the MyYogaTeacher platform\\nOnce your class begins, you can choose to have your camera on or off, as well as your microphone, and you may chat with your instructor via the chat function in Zoom. He or she will often have someone modeling the yoga poses correctly for your reference or will be doing it with you. \\nYou will also have the opportunity to tell your instructor about any medical concerns, illnesses, injuries, or prior injuries you may have, and ask for modifications for those concerns. \\nBenefits of yoga at home (or anywhere you have WiFi!)\\nHere at MyYogaTeacher, we understand that many people don’t feel comfortable participating in an in-person group yoga class. Or they just don’t have the time and energy to make travel to a gym or yoga studio. So they either don’t try or do yoga at all or they rely on pre-recorded yoga from random yoga instructors they found on the internet. \\nNeither of these are great options!\\nWhile yoga at home is very beneficial, it can be harmful without proper guidance from an experienced, expert instructor. However, with MyYogaTeacher the benefits of yoga at home (or anywhere you feel comfortable) abound! Benefits like…\\nPersonalized attention -\\n Each class is like having a yoga teacher in your home\\nIndividual corrections - \\nGiven with compassion, explanation, and encouragement\\nWearing what you want - \\nNo need to worry about being judged for your attire\\nNo more travel time - \\nSave money, time, and gas\\nUsing your own yoga equipment - \\nNo need to borrow a mat or blocks from the studio or gym that may have not been cleaned\\nPractice any time - \\nMyYogaTeacher offers live classes at many different times of day and night\\nMonthly workshops - \\nWe offer all kinds of workshops for you to explore and grow in your life journey\\nDoing yoga at home doesn’t have to mean you miss out on quality yoga instruction, connection with other yogis, or “in-person” attention from your yoga teacher! \\nOur private yoga instructors are all about giving yogis individualized attention, focused instruction, and modified poses that keep yogis coming back for more every week. MyYogaTeacher yoga teachers are highly experienced, expert yoga instructors who offer 1-on-1 yoga classes for people just like you!\\nWhen you sign up for a 1:1 membership with us you get:\\n102 expert\\n, highly qualified yoga instructors to choose from\\nThe ability to switch instructors\\n or take classes with only your faves\\nAccess to unlimited group classes\\n, taught \\nlive\\nPersonalized instruction\\n and work out, diet, and lifestyle plans\\nTo be a member of a HUGE community\\n of happy yogis from around the world\\nYoga teachers who become friends\\n, who truly care about you!\\nIf you haven’t checked us out already, \\ngrab two free 1:1 sessions with your 2-week free trial here\\n!\\nListen to what some of our amazing yoga students have to say about the benefits of doing yoga at home with MyYogaTeacher!\\n\\n"}}],"relatedPosts":[{"id":"clbuw5g08lm6z09kb5z7ov6xy","slug":"yoga-for-hypertension","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":"will-1","pictureUrl":"will.jpeg"},"title":"Yoga For Hypertension: 5 Yoga Asanas to Lower Your Blood Pressure","createdAt":"2022-12-19T14:27:18.678542+00:00","coverUrl":"nlkokdgzajyx8iqo77r6.jpg","content":{"text":"Hypertension or high blood pressure is a common condition that can affect your arteries. Nearly one in three people experience hypertension each year. Since yoga is great for calming the body, it’s great to help you regulate your blood pressure. A regular yoga practice is shown to lower blood pressure naturally over time. According to Yoga Journal, A recent study tested the use of yoga three times a week for people being treated for high blood pressure. The results showed those who practiced yoga experienced a significant reduction in their blood pressure compared to those who did not. Ready to add yoga into your routine to balance your health? \\nJoin us for a class on our online platform!\\n\\nWhy is Yoga Good for People with Hypertension?\\nBecause we practice deep breathing in yoga, and we give the body permission to “slow down”, our blood pressure will lower while we’re on our mat and long after. While yoga makes us more flexible in life and our body, the same goes for our arteries. Yoga will make our blood vessels more flexible which lowers your risk of hypertension as well as long term effects. If you’re looking to reduce meds and try something more natural, a regular yoga practice is shown to reduce blood pressure by about three to five points.\\n\n\\n5 Yoga Asanas to Lower Blood Pressure\\n1. Child's Pose (Balasana)\\n\\nThis relaxing asana provides a chance to slow down and breathe deeply while also releasing stress and tension from the hips and back. \\n\\n2. Bound angle (Baddha Konasana)\\n\\nThis hip opener helps with blood flow by increasing circulation.\\n\\n3. Seated forward fold (Paschimottanasana)\\n\\nThis pose promotes calmness as all forward bends because your spine controls your body’s nervous system. \\n\\n4. Bridge pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)\\n\\nThis powerhouse pose regulates blood pressure as well as opening the lungs and your heart chamber. \\n\\n5. Corpse Pose (Savasana)\\n\\nNever skip this resting pose. After a long day of our busy lives, savasana gives us the opportunity to slow down, breath deep and release all our tension and stress. \\n\\nOther Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure\\nAyurveda, an alternative medicine system that’s closely related to yoga suggest lifestyle changes to improve hypertension. Some of which include waking up with the sun, morning movement (like a walk or yoga), gargling warm water and sesame oil, and different combinations of herbs like thyme, ginger and garlic  you can add to your meals. \\nCut back on “bad habits”. Reduce your salt intake, limit your alcohol and quit smoking.\\nBe conscious of your rest time. Getting a good night’s sleep can help lower your blood pressure. Aim for a bedtime and try to keep your sleep on track\\nPractice breathwork (pranayama) to reduce stress.You cannot control the world around you, but you can always control your breathing. Adding breathwork practices into your day can help you lower your blood pressure and remain calm in stressful situations. \\nSukha Pranayama \\nis the breath practice most commonly used with patients with hypertension.  “To perform this pranayama, sit with the eyes closed and spine straight as in padmasana or sukhasana. After a few normal breaths, inhale slowly for six counts, hold for six counts, exhale slowly for six counts and hold the breath for six counts. This is one round. Complete six to nine rounds then relax for at least five minutes.”-Yogapedia \\n\n\\nWhat type of yoga should I take to balance my blood pressure?\\nWhen choosing a class to take, you want to pick the right class for your condition. These styles will help you slow down your breath and calm the body so you can reduce anxiety to lower your blood pressure naturally. Join us for class to relax and restore.\\n\\nGentle Yoga\\n. In this class you’ll move slowly through asanas taking time for meditation and breathwork. \\n\\nRestorative\\n. This class is great for anyone suffering from any chronic pain or illness. With the help of props, you will hold 4-6 poses throughout the practice which will reduce stress, pain and fatigue. \\n\\nTotal body Yin\\n. This slow meditative practice is a great way to reset and restore. Need an escape from the mundane? Try this class if you’re looking to take a journey on your mat. \n\\nStudies show just 10 minutes of deep breathing can reduce your blood pressure. So grab your mat and join us for a class! The benefits will be long lasting! Ready to get started? Grab your \\nfree two week trial now\\n & join us for hundreds of classes, 1-on-1 sessions events and mor\\n"}},{"id":"clabcglv4n3fc0ais6yxjyhtq","slug":"yoga-before-and-after-workout","author":{"name":"Will","teacherMytSlug":"will-1","pictureUrl":"will.jpeg"},"title":"Yoga Before and After Workout: When is yoga best for you and your body?","createdAt":"2022-11-10T17:28:47.493944+00:00","coverUrl":"dirnebto7s5zxueovsfw.jpg","content":{"text":"Yoga has so many benefits for the body on its own. But if you’re trying to kick your routine into high gear, consider adding yoga onto your other workouts for an extra bang for your buck. If you’re new to yoga and wondering how adding it into your workout routine can benefit you, no worries! We’re here to help! We'll help you figure out where to schedule yoga into your routine.\\n\\nBenefits of Adding Yoga to your Workout:\\n\\n1. Flexibility\\nIf flexibility is one of your fitness goals, yoga is a great way to achieve more physical flexibility. It’s also great to take the place of your stretching routine pre or post workout. Yoga can increase range of motion and help in muscle recovery. \\n\\n2. Conditioning\\nLove HIIT? Yoga is a great way to step up your fitness intensity by helping you condition your body with more stamina and longer breathing patterns for increased cardio abilities. It’s also proven to increase coordination. \n\\n3. Strength\\nLove to go to the gym for cardio but hate to hit the weight rack? No worries, yoga can take the place of strength training by just using your body weight. Through repetition yoga builds muscle and endurance for strength. No weights required!\\n\\n4. Mental Clarity\\nFor most people, working out is a great way to increase endorphins and reduce stress. However, if your workout leaves you too tightly wound or doesn’t do the job of lifting your mental load, a slow flow can help bring you down and help you rebalance. \n⁠\n\\nWhy You Should do Yoga Before Workout? (Pre Workout) \\nIf you’re strength training, or going for an easy walk on your rest day, yoga is great for before your workout. Do you like to get up with the sun and start your day with a workout? Well, starting your day with yoga will bring you clarity and get your body ready to move. \\nMyYogaTeacher\\n is a great place to start your practice and your day. Even if it's gross outside you can still get your practice in. You can pull up our app on your phone or our website right on your computer for 24/7 access to live classes with expert Indian instructors.\\n\\nYou can also use yoga as your warm up! If you’re just waking up or it’s a cold weather season, yoga will help you keep your muscles strong and flexible. If you’re going to the gym for targeted strength training, it can help you focus on balance and alignment to keep your body in check through your workout. Yoga will help you stay balanced and avoid injury by increasing mobility in the body. And finally, Yoga puts your mental health in check. Adding in a moving meditation or some breath work before your workout will keep your body calm, help you align with your goals and avoid the flight or fight symptoms that can come on during an intense or tough workout. \n⁠\\n\\n5 Yoga Poses to Practice Before Your Workout:\n⁠\\n1. Child's Pose\\nThis pose will help you open your hips and reduce injury on core or leg days.\\n\\n\\n2. Cat Cow Pose\\nMoving through your spine slowly with these stretches will help increase mobility in the back. \\n\\n\\n3. Downward Dog Pose\\nPushing up into a downdog to start your day will stretch your entire lower body from your toes to your hips.\\n\\n\\n4. Forward Fold Pose\\nFolding forward increases the blood flow in the body and helps us maintain spine and core stability. \\n\\n\\n5. Mountain Pose\\nThis pose helps us to establish alignment and increase body awareness before a workout! \\n\\n\\n\\nYoga Classes to Try Before your Workout \\n\\nRise and shine 30 min flow\\n : Start your day with this quick flow. This class is meant to increase your physical fitness and help build your stamina so you can workout longer!\\n\\nHatha Vinyasa\\n : Gain mental clarity at the beginning of your workout with this traditional hatha flow. \\n\\nSlow Flow Vinyasa\\n : Start your day slow and steady for your mind and body. The slow pace of this class allows us to connect with our bodies and minds as we focus on our breath and alignment. This class helps to build strength, improve flexibility and stability. \n\\nWhy you should do yoga post workout ?\\nIf your workout is more high energy like kickboxing, zumba, cycling etc, yoga after may be best for bringing your body back to homeostasis. Yoga naturally brings down heart rate and reduces stress on the body and mind . You can use Yoga as a cool down or stretching portion of your workout to bring muscles into recovery while extending your burn a little longer. Are you a nighttime warrior? If you tend to work out at night, ending your routine with yoga will help you get a better night’s sleep. \\n\\n5 Yoga Poses to Practice After your Workout:\\n\\n1. Wide Leg Forward Fold Pose\\nWide leg forward fold releases our lower back. Reaching down towards the floor will give our calves a much needed stretch post workout!\\n\\n\\n2. Pigeon Pose\\nThis pose will help to open tight and tired hips and hamstrings. \\n\\n\\n3. Bound Angle Pose\\nThis hip opener stretches your adductors and quadriceps. Try this pose after a run or cardio workout. \\n\\n\\n4. Seated Forward Fold Pose\\nThis pose provides a full body stretch from your head to your heels! \\n\\n\\n5. Happy Baby Pose\\nThis pose helps to alleviate or avoid lower back pain post workout. It can also reduce any stress or anxiety caused by your workout. \\n\\n\\nYoga Classes to Try After your Workout\\n\\nBreath and Flow\\n : This full body flow will help stretch and rejuvenate your muscles as well as relax your mind with meditation and pranayama techniques. \\n\\nYoga Fusion for Joints\\n : This conditioning class combines light weights and foam roller stretches for an active recovery post workout. \\n\\nBreath and Meditation\\n : Join this class to slow down the body and refocus your breathing. Ideal for end of the day or transitions. \\n\\nNo matter what time of day you choose to workout, adding yoga 2 to 3 times a week will extend the life of your routine and help you maintain a positive outlook on your fitness goals. You can add yoga to your workout anytime with us here at \\nMyYogaTeacher\\n by creating an account, logging in and joining us for class! "}},{"id":"ckmfcdrvk0p4k0c29d8c2imwz","slug":"ashtanga-yoga-eight-limbs","author":{"name":"Rohan","teacherMytSlug":null,"pictureUrl":null},"title":"What Is Ashtanga Yoga? Explaining the 8 Limbs","createdAt":"2021-03-18T20:44:43.961653+00:00","coverUrl":"ckmfcdrvk0p4k0c29d8c2imwz.jpg","content":{"text":"Sometimes yoga words can be complicated. Especially if you’re a new yogi.\\n\\nComplicated words and descriptions mean people get overwhelmed and uncomfortable when they think about doing yoga. And that’s definitely not what myYogaTeacher is all about!\\n\\nYoga is a practice that incorporates philosophy, meditation, breathwork, behavioral principles, and physical exercise into one’s life. It’s a lifestyle.\\n\\nWe want everyone who comes to us, from young to old, from out of shape to fitness fanatics, to feel like our virtual yoga studio is a safe space to learn about and practice yoga. No judgement. Every question is a good question.\\n\\nThat’s why I wanted to talk to you about ashtanga yoga. What does that word mean anyway, you ask?\\n\\nI’m going to explain what it is and why it’s even important to know what it is. If you’re interested in experiencing ashtanga yoga in action, I invite you to try my \\nAshtanga Yoga Class on myYogaTeacher\\n! \n⁠\\n[CTA-DEFAULT]\\n\\nThe Sanskrit word ashtanga means “8 limbs.” Let’s explore what those are so we can understand and deepen our yoga practice!\\n\\n1. Yama - Attitude towards environment\\n\\nThe word “yama” originally meant “bridle” or “rein.”  You can think of it similarly to how a bridle works when placed on a horse. It is a means to control how you interact with your environment, including other people.\\n\\nThe yamas of yoga are there to help yogis live an ethical life. A life that is peaceful and that promotes healthy relationships with others. A huge part of a solid yoga practice is creating self-awareness and learning how your yoga practice helps you relate to the world. \\n\\nThere are 5 yamas in ashtanga yoga:\\n\\nAhimsa:\\n Non violence and non harming of animals.\\nSatya:\\n Truthfulness, honesty in words and actions.\\nAsteya:\\n Not stealing other people’s time or possessions.\\nBrahmacharya:\\n Sexual restraint, fidelity, chastity.\\nAparigraha:\\n Non coveting.\\n\\nThese are what we work on as a part of an ashtanga yoga practice. They are important to creating a calm and peaceful life.\\n\\n2. Niyama - attitude towards ourselves\\n\\nEqually important to our attitude towards our environment is the attitude we have towards ourselves. The Niyamas are the second limb of ashtanga yoga.\\n\\nDo we show self love? Self compassion? Are we practicing self care regularly? \\n\\nDeeper questions to ask ourselves would be if we’re content, self-disciplined, and how we feel spiritually.\\n\\nThe Niyamas of ashtanga yoga address all of these things. If we aren’t loving ourselves, our attitude towards others and our environment will become increasingly negative.\\n\\nThe word “niyama” means “moral observance.” There are 5 niyamas that are the focus of ashtanga yoga:\\n\\nPurity\\nContentment\\nSelf-discipline\\nSelf-study\\nSurrender to a higher source\\n\\nNo matter your religion or belief system, these niyamas are important to mastering yourself and creating a moral compass.\\n\\n3. Asanas - physical postures\\n\\nThe asanas are what most yogis are probably the most familiar with.\\n\\nThese are the postures that you move through when you’re practicing any kind of yoga, not just ashtanga. Asanas are the third limb of ashtanga yoga. There are 84 yoga asanas!\\n\\nWe don’t learn them all in my Ashtanga Yoga Class, but we definitely build up a sweat going through a bunch of them. If you want to learn even more asanas and the correct way to do them, \\ntry a 2-week free trial of myYogaTeacher and get access to 35+ classes every day!\\n\\n\\n\\n4. Pranayama - restraint or expansion of breath\\n\\nYou may or may not have heard this word before. There are yoga practices that specifically revolve around pranayama.\\n\\nPranayama is the fourth limb of ashtanga yoga and consists of synchronizing the breath with the asanas or movements between asanas.\\n\\n“Prana” means life energy. Yama means control.\\n\\nIn ashtanga yoga, we literally learn how to control our life energy. It’s an exercise in using our breath to create mental and physical wellness. Even in a vigorous practice, ashtanga asanas will work with the breath, not against it, and you will quickly realize that controlling your heavy breathing is vital to the flow of your life energy!\\n\\n5. Pratyahara - withdrawal of the senses\\n\\nMost yoga students are confused by the fifth limb of ashtanga yoga. Pratyahara is “the conscious withdrawal of energy from the senses.” \\n\\nThis often occurs when we do Savasana, at the end of a yoga practice. Maybe you recognize the feeling of almost falling asleep but not. You still maintain consciousness and contact with the present, but you feel far away from it. \\n\\nIn pratyahara, you are not affected by the disturbances of the surrounding environment. You know they’re there and are aware of them, but you do not react to them. You are in a sort of haven of silence.\\n\\n6. Dharana - concentration\\n\\nThe sixth limb of ashtanga yoga is all about fixing your mind on one point. Maybe it’s a chakra or maybe you bind your mind to one place, object, or idea. \\n\\nWhatever the case, dharana is a step towards deep meditation. The point is to hold that concentration, to maintain that thought without wavering from it for an extended period of time.\\n\\n7. Dhyana - meditation\\n\\n\\nMeditation\\n. Elusive for some, meditation is the complete withdrawal of the mind from environmental and inner world distractions.\\n\\nMeditation is the ultimate state of awareness, peace, and being present in the moment. It is built upon the other six limbs of ashtanga yoga, postures, breathwork, control of senses.\\n\\nDhyana is the union of all the limbs. The attainment of full self-realization.\\n\\n\\n8. Samadhi - integration\\n\\nThe eighth limb of ashtanga yoga is enlightenment! \\n\\nSamadhi is the highest state of mental concentration that one can achieve without actually leaving their body. It is total and complete liberation. In Sanskrit, samadhi means “self-collectedness.”\\n\\nComplete and ultimate bliss. That is samadhi.\\n\\n\\nNow that you have a better understanding of \\nashtanga yoga\\n and the stages, maybe it won’t seem so overwhelming! My hope is that you will feel comfortable practicing yoga and reaching towards the goal of mastering the \\n8 limbs\\n of ashtanga yoga.\\n\\nThere is nothing I could want more for you than complete and total bliss!\\n\\nAre you ready to experience it firsthand? All are welcome to my fast-paced, high-energy \\nAshtanga Yoga Class\\n. If you haven’t yet, \\ntake advantage of myYogaTeacher’s offer of a 2-week free trial and get access to my class and many, many more!\\n All taught by highly experienced yoga teachers from India.\\n\\n"}}],"blogContent":{"id":"cknfz1b6ocvjy0a81nie3aq02","slug":"yoga-for-stress-and-anxiety","author":{"name":"Rohan","teacherMytSlug":null,"pictureUrl":null},"title":"Practice Yoga for Stress and Anxiety Relief","createdAt":"2021-04-13T11:58:36.28949+00:00","updatedAt":"2022-09-22T19:38:18.138719+00:00","coverUrl":"yoga_for_stress_and_anxiety.jpg","seoDescription":"Stressed out? Anxious? Here's how to use yoga for stress and anxiety management. Plus, sign up for a free two-week trial!","content":{"text":"We've all experienced stress and anxiety at some point. It's a natural, human response to stressful situations and can even save us from danger. Sometimes, it can go deeper than that and become a full-blown anxiety disorder that disrupts our lives.\\n\\nMy class, \\nYoga for Stress and Anxiety\\n can help!\\n\\nYoga for Stress and Anxiety: The Research\\nSince the 1970s, researchers have been looking into stress-reduction techniques and tools. Meditation is one such technique that you hear a lot about, but yoga as a whole practice hasn't gotten the same level of attention until recent decades.\\n\\nAccording to researchers at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, a new study from August 2020 found that yoga was significantly more effective for generalized anxiety disorder than simple education on stress management.\\n\\nAnother study from the Ilam University of Medical Sciences (February 2018) found that yoga plays an effective part in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. The study went on to conclude that yoga can be used as complementary medicine for these conditions.\\n\\nYet another study from The Center for Health Behavior Research at the University of Mississippi (2011) found that yoga offers a host of benefits: enhanced muscular strength and body flexibility, improved respiratory and cardiovascular function, recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduction in stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improved sleep patterns, and enhanced overall well-being and quality of life.\\n\\nIf you're not using yoga for stress and anxiety management, now's a great time to start. \\nSign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher\\n and get access to my class as well as more than 35 other live, online yoga courses every single day.\\n\\nWhat Do Stress and Anxiety Look Like?\\n\\nStress and anxiety can look and feel different for different people. For some, it might be a feeling like waiting for the other shoe to drop. For others, it might be all-consuming. Here are some of the symptoms that typically signal stress and anxiety:\\nPersistent feelings of uneasiness, panic, and fear\\nMuscle tension\\nHeart palpitations or a rapid heartbeat\\nDifficulty sleeping\\nIrritability\\nConstricted breathing\\nCold, sweaty palms\\nRumination on unhelpful, negative thoughts\\nIf your feelings of stress and anxiety are keeping you from living your life, we recommend talking to your doctor about treatment options. But don't forget to practice your yoga!\\n\\nAlleviating Stress and Anxiety Through Yoga\\nOur bodies are pretty miraculous, especially with the body's ability to heal itself. Of course, stress and anxiety can drastically reduce that healing. Fortunately, yoga can help us bring calm, peace, and stillness back into our lives.\\n\\nYoga helps to modulate stress response systems, reducing the stress and anxiety we feel. And, yoga can even help us respond to stress more easily.\\n\\nWe recommend a complete yoga practice that includes more than just asanas. In addition to poses and movement (asanas), you'll want to incorporate \\npranayamas (breathing techniques)\\n, meditation, and yoga philosophy.\\n\\nYoga Practices to Alleviate Stress and Anxiety\\n\\nIn this section, we're going to talk about specific asanas, pranayamas, meditations, and mudras that will help you ease stress and anxiety with yoga. While you can absolutely practice this on your own, I would love to have you join my Yoga for Stress and Anxiety class on myYogaTeacher. You can \\nsign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher\\n and not only get access to my class but access to 35+ other live, online group classes every single day.\\n\\nYoga Poses\\nThere are several yoga poses that can help alleviate stress and anxiety. Here's a short sequence that you can practice at any time. Start seated in a comfortable position and move through the poses as feels comfortable and soothing for you.\\nSeated neck rolls\\nMarjariasana (cat pose)\\nBalasana (child's pose)\\nAdho Mukha Shvanasana (downward-facing dog pose)\\nUttanasana (standing forward bend)\\nVrikshasana (tree pose)\\nJanu Shirasasana (one-legged seated forward bend)\\nPaschimottanasana (two-legged seated forward bend)\\nSetu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose)\\nSarvangasana (shoulder stand)\\nMatsyasana (fish pose)\\nDhanurasana (bow pose)\\nSavasana (corpse pose)\\nPranayama (Breathing)\\nBreathing is a powerful tool for combating stress and anxiety. Here are a few different breathing exercises you can try when you feel stress or anxiety creeping up:\\nDeep breathing\\nNadi Shodhan Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing)\\nBhastrika Pranayama (bellows breathing)\\nUjjayi Pranayama (ocean breathing)\\nBhramari Pranayama (bee breathing)\\nMeditation\\nMeditation helps you calm yourself, grounding you and producing feelings of stability. There are several different types of meditation to choose from, but research has shown that mindful meditations are great for reducing stress and anxiety. Here's a mindful meditation that walks you through progressive relaxation:\\nFind a quiet place where you won't be disturbed and make yourself comfortable. Close your eyes.\\nStarting with your head, tense the muscles in your face and scalp. Hold this as you inhale for a count of eight.\\nOn the exhale, relax your face completely. Unclench your jaw, relax your forehead and eyes, let everything just fall away. Repeat this clenching and relaxing until your face feels completely relaxed.\\nRepeat this process down your entire body: neck, shoulders, chest, abdomen, right arm, right forearm, right hand, left arm, left forearm, left hand, buttocks, right leg, lower right leg, right foot, left leg, left foot.\\nIf you're short on time, you can focus on just your four main muscle groups.\\n\\nMudras\\nMudras can also help you combat stress and anxiety.\\n\\nA mudra is a symbolic or ritual gesture done with the hands and used in combination with Pranayama. They activate our body's potential for healing and growth, stimulating different parts of the body to improve the flow of energy.\\n\\nHere are five mudras I recommend for stress and anxiety:\\nGyan Mudra: Join the tips of your index fingers and thumbs with the other fingers outstretched and together in a relaxed position.\\nAgni Shakti Mudra: Touch all four fingers on each hand to the palms of the same hand (almost in a fist shape). Then, join the tips of the thumbs together.\\nKalesvara Mudra: Bring the tips of the middle fingers together and the first and middle joints of the index fingers together. Then, bring the thumbs together, creating a heart shape, and gently curl the rest of the fingers in. Connect the thumbs to the sternum and reach your elbows out to the side.\\nApan Vayu Mudra: Fold the index fingers to touch the tip to the base of the thumb. Then, bring the tips of the middle and ring fingers to the tips of the thumbs. The pinky finger stays straight and points outward.\\nUttarabodhi Mudra: Interlock the fingers of both hands together and keep the thumbs and index fingers extended and touching. Point the tips of extended index fingers up and the thumbs down.\\nWrapping Up\\nThere's a lot of research that indicates yoga is a wonderful way to reduce stress and anxiety. But we're all different. If you have stress or anxiety that is debilitating, please be sure to reach out to your doctor.\\n\\nIt's also possible that yoga can reveal strong feelings and emotions that you've been suppressing. Practice yoga in a place that makes you feel safe and secure. And don't forget to \\nsign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher\\n so you can join my next class!","html":"<p>We&#39;ve all experienced stress and anxiety at some point. It&#39;s a natural, human response to stressful situations and can even save us from danger. Sometimes, it can go deeper than that and become a full-blown anxiety disorder that disrupts our lives.</p><p></p><p>My class, <a target='_blank' title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/yoga-for-stress-and-anxiety-beginner-level-by-Nandeep\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/yoga-for-stress-and-anxiety-beginner-level-by-Nandeep\">Yoga for Stress and Anxiety</a> can help!</p><p></p><h3>Yoga for Stress and Anxiety: The Research</h3><p>Since the 1970s, researchers have been looking into stress-reduction techniques and tools. Meditation is one such technique that you hear a lot about, but yoga as a whole practice hasn&#39;t gotten the same level of attention until recent decades.</p><p></p><p>According to researchers at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, a new study from August 2020 found that yoga was significantly more effective for generalized anxiety disorder than simple education on stress management.</p><p></p><p>Another study from the Ilam University of Medical Sciences (February 2018) found that yoga plays an effective part in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. The study went on to conclude that yoga can be used as complementary medicine for these conditions.</p><p></p><p>Yet another study from The Center for Health Behavior Research at the University of Mississippi (2011) found that yoga offers a host of benefits: enhanced muscular strength and body flexibility, improved respiratory and cardiovascular function, recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduction in stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improved sleep patterns, and enhanced overall well-being and quality of life.</p><p></p><p>If you&#39;re not using yoga for stress and anxiety management, now&#39;s a great time to start. <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">Sign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher</a> and get access to my class as well as more than 35 other live, online yoga courses every single day.</p><p></p><h3>What Do Stress and Anxiety Look Like?</h3><img src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=width:800,height:450/mjiPDjW1T1eIIisbqGI3\" alt=\"How to Identify Stress & Anxiety?\" title=\"identifying stress and anxiety.png\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" /><p>Stress and anxiety can look and feel different for different people. For some, it might be a feeling like waiting for the other shoe to drop. For others, it might be all-consuming. Here are some of the symptoms that typically signal stress and anxiety:</p><ul><li><div>Persistent feelings of uneasiness, panic, and fear</div></li><li><div>Muscle tension</div></li><li><div>Heart palpitations or a rapid heartbeat</div></li><li><div>Difficulty sleeping</div></li><li><div>Irritability</div></li><li><div>Constricted breathing</div></li><li><div>Cold, sweaty palms</div></li><li><div>Rumination on unhelpful, negative thoughts</div></li></ul><p>If your feelings of stress and anxiety are keeping you from living your life, we recommend talking to your doctor about treatment options. But don&#39;t forget to practice your yoga!</p><p></p><h3>Alleviating Stress and Anxiety Through Yoga</h3><p>Our bodies are pretty miraculous, especially with the body&#39;s ability to heal itself. Of course, stress and anxiety can drastically reduce that healing. Fortunately, yoga can help us bring calm, peace, and stillness back into our lives.</p><p></p><p>Yoga helps to modulate stress response systems, reducing the stress and anxiety we feel. And, yoga can even help us respond to stress more easily.</p><p></p><p>We recommend a complete yoga practice that includes more than just asanas. In addition to poses and movement (asanas), you&#39;ll want to incorporate <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/kriya-pranayama-and-meditation-by-rohan\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/kriya-pranayama-and-meditation-by-rohan\">pranayamas (breathing techniques)</a>, meditation, and yoga philosophy.</p><p></p><h2>Yoga Practices to Alleviate Stress and Anxiety</h2><img src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=width:800,height:450/0FSVm5yTsal4rO4X58jg\" alt=\"Yoga For Stress and Anxiety\" title=\"complete yoga practice.png\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" /><p>In this section, we&#39;re going to talk about specific asanas, pranayamas, meditations, and mudras that will help you ease stress and anxiety with yoga. While you can absolutely practice this on your own, I would love to have you join my Yoga for Stress and Anxiety class on myYogaTeacher. You can <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">sign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher</a> and not only get access to my class but access to 35+ other live, online group classes every single day.</p><p></p><h3>Yoga Poses</h3><p>There are several yoga poses that can help alleviate stress and anxiety. Here&#39;s a short sequence that you can practice at any time. Start seated in a comfortable position and move through the poses as feels comfortable and soothing for you.</p><ul><li><div>Seated neck rolls</div></li><li><div>Marjariasana (cat pose)</div></li><li><div>Balasana (child&#39;s pose)</div></li><li><div>Adho Mukha Shvanasana (downward-facing dog pose)</div></li><li><div>Uttanasana (standing forward bend)</div></li><li><div>Vrikshasana (tree pose)</div></li><li><div>Janu Shirasasana (one-legged seated forward bend)</div></li><li><div>Paschimottanasana (two-legged seated forward bend)</div></li><li><div>Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose)</div></li><li><div>Sarvangasana (shoulder stand)</div></li><li><div>Matsyasana (fish pose)</div></li><li><div>Dhanurasana (bow pose)</div></li><li><div>Savasana (corpse pose)</div></li></ul><h3>Pranayama (Breathing)</h3><p>Breathing is a powerful tool for combating stress and anxiety. Here are a few different breathing exercises you can try when you feel stress or anxiety creeping up:</p><ul><li><div>Deep breathing</div></li><li><div>Nadi Shodhan Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing)</div></li><li><div>Bhastrika Pranayama (bellows breathing)</div></li><li><div>Ujjayi Pranayama (ocean breathing)</div></li><li><div>Bhramari Pranayama (bee breathing)</div></li></ul><h3>Meditation</h3><p>Meditation helps you calm yourself, grounding you and producing feelings of stability. There are several different types of meditation to choose from, but research has shown that mindful meditations are great for reducing stress and anxiety. Here&#39;s a mindful meditation that walks you through progressive relaxation:</p><ul><li><div>Find a quiet place where you won&#39;t be disturbed and make yourself comfortable. Close your eyes.</div></li><li><div>Starting with your head, tense the muscles in your face and scalp. Hold this as you inhale for a count of eight.</div></li><li><div>On the exhale, relax your face completely. Unclench your jaw, relax your forehead and eyes, let everything just fall away. Repeat this clenching and relaxing until your face feels completely relaxed.</div></li><li><div>Repeat this process down your entire body: neck, shoulders, chest, abdomen, right arm, right forearm, right hand, left arm, left forearm, left hand, buttocks, right leg, lower right leg, right foot, left leg, left foot.</div></li></ul><p>If you&#39;re short on time, you can focus on just your four main muscle groups.</p><p></p><h3>Mudras</h3><p>Mudras can also help you combat stress and anxiety.</p><p></p><p>A mudra is a symbolic or ritual gesture done with the hands and used in combination with Pranayama. They activate our body&#39;s potential for healing and growth, stimulating different parts of the body to improve the flow of energy.</p><p></p><p>Here are five mudras I recommend for stress and anxiety:</p><ul><li><div>Gyan Mudra: Join the tips of your index fingers and thumbs with the other fingers outstretched and together in a relaxed position.</div></li><li><div>Agni Shakti Mudra: Touch all four fingers on each hand to the palms of the same hand (almost in a fist shape). Then, join the tips of the thumbs together.</div></li><li><div>Kalesvara Mudra: Bring the tips of the middle fingers together and the first and middle joints of the index fingers together. Then, bring the thumbs together, creating a heart shape, and gently curl the rest of the fingers in. Connect the thumbs to the sternum and reach your elbows out to the side.</div></li><li><div>Apan Vayu Mudra: Fold the index fingers to touch the tip to the base of the thumb. Then, bring the tips of the middle and ring fingers to the tips of the thumbs. The pinky finger stays straight and points outward.</div></li><li><div>Uttarabodhi Mudra: Interlock the fingers of both hands together and keep the thumbs and index fingers extended and touching. Point the tips of extended index fingers up and the thumbs down.</div></li></ul><h3>Wrapping Up</h3><p>There&#39;s a lot of research that indicates yoga is a wonderful way to reduce stress and anxiety. But we&#39;re all different. If you have stress or anxiety that is debilitating, please be sure to reach out to your doctor.</p><p></p><p>It&#39;s also possible that yoga can reveal strong feelings and emotions that you&#39;ve been suppressing. Practice yoga in a place that makes you feel safe and secure. And don&#39;t forget to <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">sign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher</a> so you can join my next class!</p>"},"category":["therapy","mental_health"],"utmCampaign":null,"utmMedium":null,"utmContent":null,"utmSource":null,"utmTerm":null,"utmSearchString":null,"imageHyperlink":[]},"loading":false,"blog_content":[{"type":"HTML","value":"<p>We&#39;ve all experienced stress and anxiety at some point. It&#39;s a natural, human response to stressful situations and can even save us from danger. Sometimes, it can go deeper than that and become a full-blown anxiety disorder that disrupts our lives.</p><p></p><p>My class, <a target='_blank' title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/yoga-for-stress-and-anxiety-beginner-level-by-Nandeep\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/yoga-for-stress-and-anxiety-beginner-level-by-Nandeep\">Yoga for Stress and Anxiety</a> can help!</p><p></p><h3>Yoga for Stress and Anxiety: The Research</h3><p>Since the 1970s, researchers have been looking into stress-reduction techniques and tools. Meditation is one such technique that you hear a lot about, but yoga as a whole practice hasn&#39;t gotten the same level of attention until recent decades.</p><p></p><p>According to researchers at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, a new study from August 2020 found that yoga was significantly more effective for generalized anxiety disorder than simple education on stress management.</p><p></p><p>Another study from the Ilam University of Medical Sciences (February 2018) found that yoga plays an effective part in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. The study went on to conclude that yoga can be used as complementary medicine for these conditions.</p><p></p><p>Yet another study from The Center for Health Behavior Research at the University of Mississippi (2011) found that yoga offers a host of benefits: enhanced muscular strength and body flexibility, improved respiratory and cardiovascular function, recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduction in stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improved sleep patterns, and enhanced overall well-being and quality of life.</p><p></p><p>If you&#39;re not using yoga for stress and anxiety management, now&#39;s a great time to start. <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">Sign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher</a> and get access to my class as well as more than 35 other live, online yoga courses every single day.</p><p></p><h3>What Do Stress and Anxiety Look Like?</h3>\n            <picture>\n              <source \n                type=\"image/webp\"\n                srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:930,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:webp/compress/resize=width:800,height:450/mjiPDjW1T1eIIisbqGI3\" \n                alt=\"How to Identify Stress & Anxiety?\"\n                title=\"How to Identify Stress & Anxiety?\"\n                \n                \n                class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n              />\n              <source \n                type=\"image/jpg\"\n                srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:930,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:jpg/resize=width:800,height:450/mjiPDjW1T1eIIisbqGI3\"\n                alt=\"How to Identify Stress & Anxiety?\"\n                title=\"How to Identify Stress & Anxiety?\"\n                \n                \n                class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n              />\n              <img \n                srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:930,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:jpg/resize=width:800,height:450/mjiPDjW1T1eIIisbqGI3\"\n                alt=\"How to Identify Stress & Anxiety?\"\n                title=\"How to Identify Stress & Anxiety?\"\n                \n                \n                class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n              />\n          </picture>\n        <p>Stress and anxiety can look and feel different for different people. For some, it might be a feeling like waiting for the other shoe to drop. For others, it might be all-consuming. Here are some of the symptoms that typically signal stress and anxiety:</p><ul><li><div>Persistent feelings of uneasiness, panic, and fear</div></li><li><div>Muscle tension</div></li><li><div>Heart palpitations or a rapid heartbeat</div></li><li><div>Difficulty sleeping</div></li><li><div>Irritability</div></li><li><div>Constricted breathing</div></li><li><div>Cold, sweaty palms</div></li><li><div>Rumination on unhelpful, negative thoughts</div></li></ul><p>If your feelings of stress and anxiety are keeping you from living your life, we recommend talking to your doctor about treatment options. But don&#39;t forget to practice your yoga!</p><p></p><h3>Alleviating Stress and Anxiety Through Yoga</h3><p>Our bodies are pretty miraculous, especially with the body&#39;s ability to heal itself. Of course, stress and anxiety can drastically reduce that healing. Fortunately, yoga can help us bring calm, peace, and stillness back into our lives.</p><p></p><p>Yoga helps to modulate stress response systems, reducing the stress and anxiety we feel. And, yoga can even help us respond to stress more easily.</p><p></p><p>We recommend a complete yoga practice that includes more than just asanas. In addition to poses and movement (asanas), you&#39;ll want to incorporate <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/kriya-pranayama-and-meditation-by-rohan\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/kriya-pranayama-and-meditation-by-rohan\">pranayamas (breathing techniques)</a>, meditation, and yoga philosophy.</p><p></p><h2>Yoga Practices to Alleviate Stress and Anxiety</h2>\n            <picture>\n              <source \n                type=\"image/webp\"\n                srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:930,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:webp/compress/resize=width:800,height:450/0FSVm5yTsal4rO4X58jg\" \n                alt=\"Yoga For Stress and Anxiety\"\n                title=\"Yoga For Stress and Anxiety\"\n                \n                \n                class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n              />\n              <source \n                type=\"image/jpg\"\n                srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:930,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:jpg/resize=width:800,height:450/0FSVm5yTsal4rO4X58jg\"\n                alt=\"Yoga For Stress and Anxiety\"\n                title=\"Yoga For Stress and Anxiety\"\n                \n                \n                class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n              />\n              <img \n                srcset=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=w:930,fit:crop/quality=value:75/output=format:jpg/resize=width:800,height:450/0FSVm5yTsal4rO4X58jg\"\n                alt=\"Yoga For Stress and Anxiety\"\n                title=\"Yoga For Stress and Anxiety\"\n                \n                \n                class=\"lazyLoadingImg\"\n              />\n          </picture>\n        <p>In this section, we&#39;re going to talk about specific asanas, pranayamas, meditations, and mudras that will help you ease stress and anxiety with yoga. While you can absolutely practice this on your own, I would love to have you join my Yoga for Stress and Anxiety class on myYogaTeacher. You can <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">sign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher</a> and not only get access to my class but access to 35+ other live, online group classes every single day.</p><p></p><h3>Yoga Poses</h3><p>There are several yoga poses that can help alleviate stress and anxiety. Here&#39;s a short sequence that you can practice at any time. Start seated in a comfortable position and move through the poses as feels comfortable and soothing for you.</p><ul><li><div>Seated neck rolls</div></li><li><div>Marjariasana (cat pose)</div></li><li><div>Balasana (child&#39;s pose)</div></li><li><div>Adho Mukha Shvanasana (downward-facing dog pose)</div></li><li><div>Uttanasana (standing forward bend)</div></li><li><div>Vrikshasana (tree pose)</div></li><li><div>Janu Shirasasana (one-legged seated forward bend)</div></li><li><div>Paschimottanasana (two-legged seated forward bend)</div></li><li><div>Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose)</div></li><li><div>Sarvangasana (shoulder stand)</div></li><li><div>Matsyasana (fish pose)</div></li><li><div>Dhanurasana (bow pose)</div></li><li><div>Savasana (corpse pose)</div></li></ul><h3>Pranayama (Breathing)</h3><p>Breathing is a powerful tool for combating stress and anxiety. Here are a few different breathing exercises you can try when you feel stress or anxiety creeping up:</p><ul><li><div>Deep breathing</div></li><li><div>Nadi Shodhan Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing)</div></li><li><div>Bhastrika Pranayama (bellows breathing)</div></li><li><div>Ujjayi Pranayama (ocean breathing)</div></li><li><div>Bhramari Pranayama (bee breathing)</div></li></ul><h3>Meditation</h3><p>Meditation helps you calm yourself, grounding you and producing feelings of stability. There are several different types of meditation to choose from, but research has shown that mindful meditations are great for reducing stress and anxiety. Here&#39;s a mindful meditation that walks you through progressive relaxation:</p><ul><li><div>Find a quiet place where you won&#39;t be disturbed and make yourself comfortable. Close your eyes.</div></li><li><div>Starting with your head, tense the muscles in your face and scalp. Hold this as you inhale for a count of eight.</div></li><li><div>On the exhale, relax your face completely. Unclench your jaw, relax your forehead and eyes, let everything just fall away. Repeat this clenching and relaxing until your face feels completely relaxed.</div></li><li><div>Repeat this process down your entire body: neck, shoulders, chest, abdomen, right arm, right forearm, right hand, left arm, left forearm, left hand, buttocks, right leg, lower right leg, right foot, left leg, left foot.</div></li></ul><p>If you&#39;re short on time, you can focus on just your four main muscle groups.</p><p></p><h3>Mudras</h3><p>Mudras can also help you combat stress and anxiety.</p><p></p><p>A mudra is a symbolic or ritual gesture done with the hands and used in combination with Pranayama. They activate our body&#39;s potential for healing and growth, stimulating different parts of the body to improve the flow of energy.</p><p></p><p>Here are five mudras I recommend for stress and anxiety:</p><ul><li><div>Gyan Mudra: Join the tips of your index fingers and thumbs with the other fingers outstretched and together in a relaxed position.</div></li><li><div>Agni Shakti Mudra: Touch all four fingers on each hand to the palms of the same hand (almost in a fist shape). Then, join the tips of the thumbs together.</div></li><li><div>Kalesvara Mudra: Bring the tips of the middle fingers together and the first and middle joints of the index fingers together. Then, bring the thumbs together, creating a heart shape, and gently curl the rest of the fingers in. Connect the thumbs to the sternum and reach your elbows out to the side.</div></li><li><div>Apan Vayu Mudra: Fold the index fingers to touch the tip to the base of the thumb. Then, bring the tips of the middle and ring fingers to the tips of the thumbs. The pinky finger stays straight and points outward.</div></li><li><div>Uttarabodhi Mudra: Interlock the fingers of both hands together and keep the thumbs and index fingers extended and touching. Point the tips of extended index fingers up and the thumbs down.</div></li></ul><h3>Wrapping Up</h3><p>There&#39;s a lot of research that indicates yoga is a wonderful way to reduce stress and anxiety. But we&#39;re all different. If you have stress or anxiety that is debilitating, please be sure to reach out to your doctor.</p><p></p><p>It&#39;s also possible that yoga can reveal strong feelings and emotions that you&#39;ve been suppressing. Practice yoga in a place that makes you feel safe and secure. And don&#39;t forget to <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">sign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher</a> so you can join my next class!</p>"},{"type":"CTA","value":"[CTA-DEFAULT]"}],"isSlugACategory":false,"searchCategory":"yoga-for-stress-and-anxiety","showPopUp":false,"popUpType":null,"showedPopup":false,"windowWidth":null,"ctaPath":"free-trial-o","redirectURL":"#","current_url":"https://www.myyogateacher.com/articles/yoga-for-stress-and-anxiety","student_details":"","facebookUrl":"","twitterUrl":"","copyUrl":"","emailUrl":"","ctaContent":[{"id":"ckxrz2i14tov40c25g1dpicsg","name":"[CTA-DEFAULT]","description":{"html":"<p><strong>Get 2 free private yoga sessions and 2 weeks of unlimited group classes</strong> with authentic yoga teachers. 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No credit card required when you sign up today!</p>"},"title":{"html":"<p><strong>Online Yoga Classes – </strong><u><strong>Live &amp; Interactive</strong></u></p><p><strong>Practice Kriya, Pranayama, and Meditation Today!</strong></p>"},"linkText":"Start Free Trial","linkUrl":"https://www.myyogateacher.com/signup"},{"id":"ckyitxgyg2pot0b79lu1fcpp1","name":"[CTA-BREATH]","description":{"html":"<p><strong>Get 2 free private yoga sessions </strong>for yogic breathing techniques (pranayama) and <strong>2 weeks of unlimited group classes</strong>, like ‘Stretch and Breathe’, ‘Kriya, Pranayama, and Meditation’, and many others. No credit card required when you sign up today!</p>"},"title":{"html":"<p><strong>Online Yoga Sessions – </strong><u><strong>Live &amp; Interactive</strong></u></p><p><strong> Learn Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Pranayama!</strong></p>"},"linkText":"Start Free Trial","linkUrl":"https://www.myyogateacher.com/signup"},{"id":"ckykb6i2o1o7f0b368s1m7qow","name":"[CTA-LYMPHATIC]","description":{"html":"<p><strong>Get 2 free private yoga sessions</strong> for lymphatic drainage &amp; immunity enhancement. <strong>PLUS 2 weeks of unlimited group yoga classes</strong> (including daily yin-yoga) when you sign up today! No credit card required to sign up.</p><p></p>"},"title":{"html":"<p><strong>Online Yoga Sessions –  </strong><u><strong>Live &amp; Interactive</strong></u></p><p><strong>for Lymphatic Drainage &amp; Boosting Your Immune System!</strong></p>"},"linkText":"Start Free Trial","linkUrl":"https://www.myyogateacher.com/signup"},{"id":"cl2vqlpyfe3yh0biohgxyx2hg","name":"[CTA-LEAD]","description":{"html":"<p>Lead Form</p>"},"title":{"html":"<p>Lead Form</p>"},"linkText":"Start Free Trial","linkUrl":"https://www.myyogateacher.com/signup"},{"id":"cl4gnwnrlga640ck37gutx7sn","name":"[CTA-GC]","description":{"html":"<p>CTA-GC</p>"},"title":{"html":"<p>CTA-GC</p>"},"linkText":"Start Free Trial","linkUrl":"https://www.myyogateacher.com/signup"}],"post":{"id":"cknfz1b6ocvjy0a81nie3aq02","slug":"yoga-for-stress-and-anxiety","author":{"name":"Rohan","teacherMytSlug":null,"pictureUrl":null},"title":"Practice Yoga for Stress and Anxiety Relief","createdAt":"2021-04-13T11:58:36.28949+00:00","updatedAt":"2022-09-22T19:38:18.138719+00:00","coverUrl":"yoga_for_stress_and_anxiety.jpg","seoDescription":"Stressed out? Anxious? Here's how to use yoga for stress and anxiety management. Plus, sign up for a free two-week trial!","content":{"text":"We've all experienced stress and anxiety at some point. It's a natural, human response to stressful situations and can even save us from danger. Sometimes, it can go deeper than that and become a full-blown anxiety disorder that disrupts our lives.\\n\\nMy class, \\nYoga for Stress and Anxiety\\n can help!\\n\\nYoga for Stress and Anxiety: The Research\\nSince the 1970s, researchers have been looking into stress-reduction techniques and tools. Meditation is one such technique that you hear a lot about, but yoga as a whole practice hasn't gotten the same level of attention until recent decades.\\n\\nAccording to researchers at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, a new study from August 2020 found that yoga was significantly more effective for generalized anxiety disorder than simple education on stress management.\\n\\nAnother study from the Ilam University of Medical Sciences (February 2018) found that yoga plays an effective part in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. The study went on to conclude that yoga can be used as complementary medicine for these conditions.\\n\\nYet another study from The Center for Health Behavior Research at the University of Mississippi (2011) found that yoga offers a host of benefits: enhanced muscular strength and body flexibility, improved respiratory and cardiovascular function, recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduction in stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improved sleep patterns, and enhanced overall well-being and quality of life.\\n\\nIf you're not using yoga for stress and anxiety management, now's a great time to start. \\nSign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher\\n and get access to my class as well as more than 35 other live, online yoga courses every single day.\\n\\nWhat Do Stress and Anxiety Look Like?\\n\\nStress and anxiety can look and feel different for different people. For some, it might be a feeling like waiting for the other shoe to drop. For others, it might be all-consuming. Here are some of the symptoms that typically signal stress and anxiety:\\nPersistent feelings of uneasiness, panic, and fear\\nMuscle tension\\nHeart palpitations or a rapid heartbeat\\nDifficulty sleeping\\nIrritability\\nConstricted breathing\\nCold, sweaty palms\\nRumination on unhelpful, negative thoughts\\nIf your feelings of stress and anxiety are keeping you from living your life, we recommend talking to your doctor about treatment options. But don't forget to practice your yoga!\\n\\nAlleviating Stress and Anxiety Through Yoga\\nOur bodies are pretty miraculous, especially with the body's ability to heal itself. Of course, stress and anxiety can drastically reduce that healing. Fortunately, yoga can help us bring calm, peace, and stillness back into our lives.\\n\\nYoga helps to modulate stress response systems, reducing the stress and anxiety we feel. And, yoga can even help us respond to stress more easily.\\n\\nWe recommend a complete yoga practice that includes more than just asanas. In addition to poses and movement (asanas), you'll want to incorporate \\npranayamas (breathing techniques)\\n, meditation, and yoga philosophy.\\n\\nYoga Practices to Alleviate Stress and Anxiety\\n\\nIn this section, we're going to talk about specific asanas, pranayamas, meditations, and mudras that will help you ease stress and anxiety with yoga. While you can absolutely practice this on your own, I would love to have you join my Yoga for Stress and Anxiety class on myYogaTeacher. You can \\nsign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher\\n and not only get access to my class but access to 35+ other live, online group classes every single day.\\n\\nYoga Poses\\nThere are several yoga poses that can help alleviate stress and anxiety. Here's a short sequence that you can practice at any time. Start seated in a comfortable position and move through the poses as feels comfortable and soothing for you.\\nSeated neck rolls\\nMarjariasana (cat pose)\\nBalasana (child's pose)\\nAdho Mukha Shvanasana (downward-facing dog pose)\\nUttanasana (standing forward bend)\\nVrikshasana (tree pose)\\nJanu Shirasasana (one-legged seated forward bend)\\nPaschimottanasana (two-legged seated forward bend)\\nSetu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose)\\nSarvangasana (shoulder stand)\\nMatsyasana (fish pose)\\nDhanurasana (bow pose)\\nSavasana (corpse pose)\\nPranayama (Breathing)\\nBreathing is a powerful tool for combating stress and anxiety. Here are a few different breathing exercises you can try when you feel stress or anxiety creeping up:\\nDeep breathing\\nNadi Shodhan Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing)\\nBhastrika Pranayama (bellows breathing)\\nUjjayi Pranayama (ocean breathing)\\nBhramari Pranayama (bee breathing)\\nMeditation\\nMeditation helps you calm yourself, grounding you and producing feelings of stability. There are several different types of meditation to choose from, but research has shown that mindful meditations are great for reducing stress and anxiety. Here's a mindful meditation that walks you through progressive relaxation:\\nFind a quiet place where you won't be disturbed and make yourself comfortable. Close your eyes.\\nStarting with your head, tense the muscles in your face and scalp. Hold this as you inhale for a count of eight.\\nOn the exhale, relax your face completely. Unclench your jaw, relax your forehead and eyes, let everything just fall away. Repeat this clenching and relaxing until your face feels completely relaxed.\\nRepeat this process down your entire body: neck, shoulders, chest, abdomen, right arm, right forearm, right hand, left arm, left forearm, left hand, buttocks, right leg, lower right leg, right foot, left leg, left foot.\\nIf you're short on time, you can focus on just your four main muscle groups.\\n\\nMudras\\nMudras can also help you combat stress and anxiety.\\n\\nA mudra is a symbolic or ritual gesture done with the hands and used in combination with Pranayama. They activate our body's potential for healing and growth, stimulating different parts of the body to improve the flow of energy.\\n\\nHere are five mudras I recommend for stress and anxiety:\\nGyan Mudra: Join the tips of your index fingers and thumbs with the other fingers outstretched and together in a relaxed position.\\nAgni Shakti Mudra: Touch all four fingers on each hand to the palms of the same hand (almost in a fist shape). Then, join the tips of the thumbs together.\\nKalesvara Mudra: Bring the tips of the middle fingers together and the first and middle joints of the index fingers together. Then, bring the thumbs together, creating a heart shape, and gently curl the rest of the fingers in. Connect the thumbs to the sternum and reach your elbows out to the side.\\nApan Vayu Mudra: Fold the index fingers to touch the tip to the base of the thumb. Then, bring the tips of the middle and ring fingers to the tips of the thumbs. The pinky finger stays straight and points outward.\\nUttarabodhi Mudra: Interlock the fingers of both hands together and keep the thumbs and index fingers extended and touching. Point the tips of extended index fingers up and the thumbs down.\\nWrapping Up\\nThere's a lot of research that indicates yoga is a wonderful way to reduce stress and anxiety. But we're all different. If you have stress or anxiety that is debilitating, please be sure to reach out to your doctor.\\n\\nIt's also possible that yoga can reveal strong feelings and emotions that you've been suppressing. Practice yoga in a place that makes you feel safe and secure. And don't forget to \\nsign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher\\n so you can join my next class!","html":"<p>We&#39;ve all experienced stress and anxiety at some point. It&#39;s a natural, human response to stressful situations and can even save us from danger. Sometimes, it can go deeper than that and become a full-blown anxiety disorder that disrupts our lives.</p><p></p><p>My class, <a target='_blank' title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/yoga-for-stress-and-anxiety-beginner-level-by-Nandeep\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/yoga-for-stress-and-anxiety-beginner-level-by-Nandeep\">Yoga for Stress and Anxiety</a> can help!</p><p></p><h3>Yoga for Stress and Anxiety: The Research</h3><p>Since the 1970s, researchers have been looking into stress-reduction techniques and tools. Meditation is one such technique that you hear a lot about, but yoga as a whole practice hasn&#39;t gotten the same level of attention until recent decades.</p><p></p><p>According to researchers at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, a new study from August 2020 found that yoga was significantly more effective for generalized anxiety disorder than simple education on stress management.</p><p></p><p>Another study from the Ilam University of Medical Sciences (February 2018) found that yoga plays an effective part in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. The study went on to conclude that yoga can be used as complementary medicine for these conditions.</p><p></p><p>Yet another study from The Center for Health Behavior Research at the University of Mississippi (2011) found that yoga offers a host of benefits: enhanced muscular strength and body flexibility, improved respiratory and cardiovascular function, recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduction in stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improved sleep patterns, and enhanced overall well-being and quality of life.</p><p></p><p>If you&#39;re not using yoga for stress and anxiety management, now&#39;s a great time to start. <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">Sign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher</a> and get access to my class as well as more than 35 other live, online yoga courses every single day.</p><p></p><h3>What Do Stress and Anxiety Look Like?</h3><img src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=width:800,height:450/mjiPDjW1T1eIIisbqGI3\" alt=\"How to Identify Stress & Anxiety?\" title=\"identifying stress and anxiety.png\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" /><p>Stress and anxiety can look and feel different for different people. For some, it might be a feeling like waiting for the other shoe to drop. For others, it might be all-consuming. Here are some of the symptoms that typically signal stress and anxiety:</p><ul><li><div>Persistent feelings of uneasiness, panic, and fear</div></li><li><div>Muscle tension</div></li><li><div>Heart palpitations or a rapid heartbeat</div></li><li><div>Difficulty sleeping</div></li><li><div>Irritability</div></li><li><div>Constricted breathing</div></li><li><div>Cold, sweaty palms</div></li><li><div>Rumination on unhelpful, negative thoughts</div></li></ul><p>If your feelings of stress and anxiety are keeping you from living your life, we recommend talking to your doctor about treatment options. But don&#39;t forget to practice your yoga!</p><p></p><h3>Alleviating Stress and Anxiety Through Yoga</h3><p>Our bodies are pretty miraculous, especially with the body&#39;s ability to heal itself. Of course, stress and anxiety can drastically reduce that healing. Fortunately, yoga can help us bring calm, peace, and stillness back into our lives.</p><p></p><p>Yoga helps to modulate stress response systems, reducing the stress and anxiety we feel. And, yoga can even help us respond to stress more easily.</p><p></p><p>We recommend a complete yoga practice that includes more than just asanas. In addition to poses and movement (asanas), you&#39;ll want to incorporate <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/kriya-pranayama-and-meditation-by-rohan\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/group_classes/kriya-pranayama-and-meditation-by-rohan\">pranayamas (breathing techniques)</a>, meditation, and yoga philosophy.</p><p></p><h2>Yoga Practices to Alleviate Stress and Anxiety</h2><img src=\"https://media.graphcms.com/resize=width:800,height:450/0FSVm5yTsal4rO4X58jg\" alt=\"Yoga For Stress and Anxiety\" title=\"complete yoga practice.png\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" /><p>In this section, we&#39;re going to talk about specific asanas, pranayamas, meditations, and mudras that will help you ease stress and anxiety with yoga. While you can absolutely practice this on your own, I would love to have you join my Yoga for Stress and Anxiety class on myYogaTeacher. You can <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">sign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher</a> and not only get access to my class but access to 35+ other live, online group classes every single day.</p><p></p><h3>Yoga Poses</h3><p>There are several yoga poses that can help alleviate stress and anxiety. Here&#39;s a short sequence that you can practice at any time. Start seated in a comfortable position and move through the poses as feels comfortable and soothing for you.</p><ul><li><div>Seated neck rolls</div></li><li><div>Marjariasana (cat pose)</div></li><li><div>Balasana (child&#39;s pose)</div></li><li><div>Adho Mukha Shvanasana (downward-facing dog pose)</div></li><li><div>Uttanasana (standing forward bend)</div></li><li><div>Vrikshasana (tree pose)</div></li><li><div>Janu Shirasasana (one-legged seated forward bend)</div></li><li><div>Paschimottanasana (two-legged seated forward bend)</div></li><li><div>Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose)</div></li><li><div>Sarvangasana (shoulder stand)</div></li><li><div>Matsyasana (fish pose)</div></li><li><div>Dhanurasana (bow pose)</div></li><li><div>Savasana (corpse pose)</div></li></ul><h3>Pranayama (Breathing)</h3><p>Breathing is a powerful tool for combating stress and anxiety. Here are a few different breathing exercises you can try when you feel stress or anxiety creeping up:</p><ul><li><div>Deep breathing</div></li><li><div>Nadi Shodhan Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing)</div></li><li><div>Bhastrika Pranayama (bellows breathing)</div></li><li><div>Ujjayi Pranayama (ocean breathing)</div></li><li><div>Bhramari Pranayama (bee breathing)</div></li></ul><h3>Meditation</h3><p>Meditation helps you calm yourself, grounding you and producing feelings of stability. There are several different types of meditation to choose from, but research has shown that mindful meditations are great for reducing stress and anxiety. Here&#39;s a mindful meditation that walks you through progressive relaxation:</p><ul><li><div>Find a quiet place where you won&#39;t be disturbed and make yourself comfortable. Close your eyes.</div></li><li><div>Starting with your head, tense the muscles in your face and scalp. Hold this as you inhale for a count of eight.</div></li><li><div>On the exhale, relax your face completely. Unclench your jaw, relax your forehead and eyes, let everything just fall away. Repeat this clenching and relaxing until your face feels completely relaxed.</div></li><li><div>Repeat this process down your entire body: neck, shoulders, chest, abdomen, right arm, right forearm, right hand, left arm, left forearm, left hand, buttocks, right leg, lower right leg, right foot, left leg, left foot.</div></li></ul><p>If you&#39;re short on time, you can focus on just your four main muscle groups.</p><p></p><h3>Mudras</h3><p>Mudras can also help you combat stress and anxiety.</p><p></p><p>A mudra is a symbolic or ritual gesture done with the hands and used in combination with Pranayama. They activate our body&#39;s potential for healing and growth, stimulating different parts of the body to improve the flow of energy.</p><p></p><p>Here are five mudras I recommend for stress and anxiety:</p><ul><li><div>Gyan Mudra: Join the tips of your index fingers and thumbs with the other fingers outstretched and together in a relaxed position.</div></li><li><div>Agni Shakti Mudra: Touch all four fingers on each hand to the palms of the same hand (almost in a fist shape). Then, join the tips of the thumbs together.</div></li><li><div>Kalesvara Mudra: Bring the tips of the middle fingers together and the first and middle joints of the index fingers together. Then, bring the thumbs together, creating a heart shape, and gently curl the rest of the fingers in. Connect the thumbs to the sternum and reach your elbows out to the side.</div></li><li><div>Apan Vayu Mudra: Fold the index fingers to touch the tip to the base of the thumb. Then, bring the tips of the middle and ring fingers to the tips of the thumbs. The pinky finger stays straight and points outward.</div></li><li><div>Uttarabodhi Mudra: Interlock the fingers of both hands together and keep the thumbs and index fingers extended and touching. Point the tips of extended index fingers up and the thumbs down.</div></li></ul><h3>Wrapping Up</h3><p>There&#39;s a lot of research that indicates yoga is a wonderful way to reduce stress and anxiety. But we&#39;re all different. If you have stress or anxiety that is debilitating, please be sure to reach out to your doctor.</p><p></p><p>It&#39;s also possible that yoga can reveal strong feelings and emotions that you&#39;ve been suppressing. Practice yoga in a place that makes you feel safe and secure. And don&#39;t forget to <a title=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\" href=\"https://www.myyogateacher.com/free-yoga-classes.html\">sign up for a free two-week trial of myYogaTeacher</a> so you can join my next class!</p>"},"category":["therapy","mental_health"],"utmCampaign":null,"utmMedium":null,"utmContent":null,"utmSource":null,"utmTerm":null,"utmSearchString":null,"imageHyperlink":[]},"recommendations_group_class":[{"session_uuid":"e4a2e14b-1c25-49b0-92be-9a46eb247e00","student_uuid":"966c283b-9897-4a22-8d52-fc5514f37415","teacher_uuid":"ffdf8a79-d986-4ab3-8fe8-b28ca7ad6a9c","teacher_name":"Rohan Shroff","teacher_first_name":"Rohan ","teacher_slug":"rohan-1","teacher_photo":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dgerdfai4/image/upload/v1663072548/teacher/photos/qww2qflht6gf4emjllie.jpg","group_session_name":"Kriya, Pranayama and Meditation: Inner Awakening","group_session_description":"Unlock your inner potential with our Kriya, Pranayama, and Meditation class. 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