Yoga For Anxiety: Why more and more doctors are prescribing yoga for anxiety
I had suffered for years with panic and anxiety (and its related symptoms: depersonalization, dizziness, panic) before I finally got the nerve (so to speak) to confront my family physician about it. I went into his office expecting him to write me a prescription (which he did) and that would be the end of it.
He went on to explain the benefits of yoga: yoga is an extremely potent formula for burning of excess energy….it can calm you mind enough to see the logical side of your situation so you are not so wrapped up in the emotional-based anxiety. He went on to explain that meditation had similar benefits.
While my experimentation with meditation didn’t catch on right away, it didn’t take long for me to see the value of yoga. After my first session with it, I felt more relaxed that I’ve felt in years. The are a couple things about yoga that I think can account for this. First is the concentration. It takes a tremendous amount of concentration to balance. Some of the poses require you to balance in ways you may have never done before. Even if you get a few laughs out of your inability to balance, it will at the very least focus your attention on something other than stress. The concentration that balance forces onto you will without a doubt get your mind off of your fears.
The second aspect of yoga that I think can account for its stress-relieving abilities is stretching. After my first yoga session, I couldn’t believe how many muscles in my body had gone years without a proper stretch! No wonder my muscles are always so tense..they had not been given the proper attention for quite some time.
After my first session with yoga, it really felt as if I had worked out…rather than doing a series of poses. I felt great!
Yoga is a great natural combatant against panic and anxiety. There are many other natural ways to defeat anxiety that you should know about, as eastern philosophy is just the tip of the iceberg.