Why does Yoga help with Anxiety?

Anxiety is a complex issue, partially founded in an over or under production of certain key neurotransmitters (chemicals that carry signals in the brain) and in dysfunction in the vagus nerve carrying messages from the body to the brain. The brain can get stuck in believing we are under threat all the time and we stay in fight or flight mode.

Another trigger for anxiety is founded in the amount of pressure we put on ourselves to achieve an ideal or outcome that feels crucially important, but that has been over-emphasised in our psyches as an imperative eg if I am five minutes late this is the most terrible thing in the world and makes me a bad person who needs to be ashamed. This can be deep seated and difficult to let go of, and is many cases it is a case of the chicken and the egg, but it is possible. 

On one level, Yoga helps improve metabolic functions including neurotransmitter signalling, and when the focus is on the breath, that crucial connection between the body and the brain through the vagus nerve is strengthened and we can move from fight/flight to rest/digest.

On another level, practicing with attention to the breath brings us back to wholeness clearing blockages in our body and minds. This is very healing and reconnects us to ourselves, to life and to Reality, so we can step back from all those external triggers and see them for what they are. They then lose their power to disrupt peace of mind.

With time and a simple, consistent practice, behavioural patterns that establish themselves as a response to stress and the result of being stuck in fight/flight become redundant. Promise. Hope to see you soon.