2. Yoga for Anxiety
Big Toe Pose:
Stand upright with your inner feet parallel and
about six inches apart. Contract your front
thigh muscles to lift your kneecaps. Keeping
your legs completely straight, exhale and
bend forward from your hip joints, moving
your torso and head as one unit.
Slide the index and middle fingers of each
hand between the big toes and the second
toes. Then curl those fingers under and grip
the big toes firmly, wrapping the thumbs
around the other two fingers to secure the
wrap. Press your toes down against your
fingers. (If you can’t reach your toes without
overly rounding your back, pass a strap
under the ball of each foot and hold the
straps.)
3. With an inhalation, lift your torso as if you were going to stand
up again, straightening your elbows. Lengthen your front
torso, and on the next exhale, lift your sitting bones.
Depending on your flexibility, your lower back will hollow to a
greater or lesser degree. As you do this, release your
hamstrings and hollow your lower belly (below your navel) as
well, lightly lifting it toward the back of your pelvis.
Lift the top of your sternum as high as you can, but take care not
to lift your head so far that you compress the back of your
neck. Keep your forehead relaxed.
4. For the next few inhalations, lift your torso strongly as you
continue to actively contract your front thighs; on each
successive exhalation, strongly lift your sitting bones as you
consciously relax your hamstrings. As you do this, deepen
the hollow in your lower back.
Finally exhale, bend your elbows out to the sides, pull up on
your toes, lengthen the front and sides of your torso, and
gently lower into the forward bend.
5. If you have very long hamstrings, you can draw your forehead
toward your shins. But if your hamstrings are short, it’s better
to focus on keeping the front torso long. Hunching into a
forward bend isn’t safe for your lower back and does nothing
to lengthen your hamstrings.
Hold the final position for one minute. Then release your toes,
bring your hands to your hips, and re-lengthen your front
torso. With an inhale, swing your torso and head as a single
unit back to upright.
6. Bound Angle Pose
Sit with your legs straight out in front of you,
raising your pelvis on a blanket if your hips
or groins are tight. Exhale, bend your
knees, pull your heels toward your pelvis,
then drop your knees out to the sides and
press the soles of your feet together.
Bring your heels as close to your pelvis as
you comfortably can. With the first and
second finger and thumb, grasp the big toe
of each foot. Always keep the outer edges
of the feet firmly on the floor. If it isn’t
possible to hold the toes, clasp each hand
around the same-side ankle or shin.
7. Sit so that the pubis in front and the tailbone in back are
equidistant from the floor. The perineum then will be
approximately parallel to the floor and the pelvis in a neutral
position. Firm the sacrum and shoulder blades against the
back and lengthen the front torso through the top of the
sternum.
Never force your knees down. Instead release the heads of the
thigh bones toward the floor. When this action leads, the
knees follow.
Stay in this pose anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes. Then inhale, lift
your knees away from the floor, and extend the legs back to
their original position.
8. Bow Pose
Lie on your belly with your hands alongside
your torso, palms up. (You can lie on a
folded blanket to pad the front of your
torso and legs.) Exhale and bend your
knees, bringing your heels as close as you
can to your buttocks. Reach back with
your hands and take hold of your ankles
(but not the tops of the feet). Make sure
your knees aren’t wider than the width of
your hips, and keep your knees hip width
for the duration of the pose.
9. Inhale and strongly lift your heels away from your buttocks and,
at the same time, lift your thighs away from the floor. This will
have the effect of pulling your upper torso and head off the
floor. Burrow the tailbone down toward the floor, and keep
your back muscles soft. As you continue lifting the heels and
thighs higher, press your shoulder blades firmly against your
back to open your heart. Draw the tops of the shoulders away
from your ears. Gaze forward.
10. With the belly pressed against the floor, breathing will be
difficult. Breathe more into the back of your torso, and be
sure not to stop breathing.
Stay in this pose anywhere from 20 to 30 seconds. Release as
you exhale, and lie quietly for a few breaths. You can repeat
the pose once or twice more.
