While occasional anxiety is your brain’s natural response to perceived stress, if you persistently feel on the edge and are occupied with racing thoughts, it can be a sign of anxiety disorder. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, 4% of the global population experiences an anxiety disorder. This can manifest as muscle tension, aches and pains, rapid heartbeat, and restlessness, making it harder to focus, relax, or simply be present in the moment.
However, yoga for anxiety offers a simple and holistic solution to manage these symptoms. According to Ramanujan, a certified yoga coach at MyYogaTeacher, “Integrating poses, breathwork, and meditation in yoga creates present-moment awareness, helping you control racing thoughts and ground yourself.” He adds, “Over time, yoga helps you become more receptive to situations rather than reacting to them, easing anxiety and its symptoms gradually.”
Continue reading to learn more and discover the 10 best yoga poses for anxiety, along with breathing exercises for instant calm.
Anxiety often shows up in subtle ways before we even realize what's happening—tight shoulders, shallow breathing, restless sleep, or that constant sense of unease. To truly address it, we need to understand how it affects the whole body and how yoga can offer a holistic path to restore balance and calm.
How Anxiety Affects Your Body and Mind
Anxiety doesn’t just affect the mind, but also your body. When you're anxious, your body kicks into fight-or-flight mode. This includes:
However, yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system—often called the "rest and digest" system—which directly counters the effects of anxiety. Slow, mindful movements and intentional breathing signal your brain that you’re safe, calming the nervous system.
Studies also show that yoga can regulate cortisol levels and increase GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter known for promoting relaxation and reducing anxiety.
Modern research strongly supports yoga’s effectiveness in reducing both the mental and physical symptoms of anxiety:
These findings suggest that yoga doesn’t just create a temporary sense of calm but actively addresses the underlying neurological and physiological symptoms of anxiety, offering a holistic, evidence-based path to relief.
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If you're looking for immediate, natural ways to calm your mind and ease physical tension, these 10 yoga poses are a great place to start:
This deeply restorative pose helps quiet the mind, ground your body, and slow the breath, offering a safe, supported space for emotional release.
Modification: If your hips don’t reach your heels, place a folded blanket between them for extra support.
This gentle flow between two poses warms up the spine, connects movement to breath, and helps reduce physical and mental stiffness caused by anxiety.
Modification: If you have sensitive knees, place a blanket under them for cushioning.
This calming inversion relieves tension in the back and neck, reduces fatigue, and encourages a gentle turning inward—perfect for easing racing thoughts.
Modification: If your hands don’t reach the floor, rest them on a block, your shins, or a sturdy chair seat.
This gentle backbend lifts your mood, strengthens your back and glutes, and opens the heart, helping you feel more energized and uplifted.
Modification: For a restorative option, place a yoga block under your sacrum and rest your hips on it.
This is a go-to pose for instant calm. It soothes the nervous system, reduces swelling in the legs, and promotes relaxation.
Modification: Place a folded blanket or bolster under your hips for added comfort and a gentle backbend.
Warrior II builds strength and confidence while anchoring the mind in the present, making it ideal for combating anxiety.
Modification: Shorten your stance if balance is challenging, or practice near a wall for support.
This balancing pose enhances focus, body awareness, and calm presence, helping quiet a scattered, anxious mind.
Modification: Use a wall or chair nearby for stability until your balance improves.
This twist-and-bind posture helps flush tension from the shoulders and hips while improving focus and mind-body coordination.
Modification: If the full bind isn’t accessible, cross arms and legs comfortably and focus on alignment.
Twisting poses help detox stress from the body, massage internal organs, and calm the mind—perfect before bed or after a stressful day.
Modification: Place a pillow or bolster under the knees for a gentler twist.
This is the ultimate relaxation pose, allowing full integration of your practice and a complete nervous system reset.
Modification: Use a bolster under your knees or a folded blanket under your head for more comfort.
Want support from a certified teacher? Book your free 1-on-1 session and learn how to tailor these poses to your body and anxiety levels.
Yoga helps you learn how to control and regulate your breath, which signals safety to the brain, slows the heart rate, and shifts your body out of panic mode. Here are four powerful breathing techniques (pranayama) backed by both yogic tradition and science:
This technique is best for anxiety spikes and racing thoughts, and when you have trouble falling asleep. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system and helps slow down overactive brain patterns.
This technique balances the two brain hemispheres and calms the nervous system, making it great for mental clarity, emotional balance, and pre-sleep wind-down.
This breath stimulates the vagus nerve, which helps lower heart rate and blood pressure. It helps you ground during anxious moments, reconnecting to the body.
This technique builds focus and regulates the breath under pressure, making it ideal for workplace stress, performance anxiety, and high-alert situations.
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By building a simple daily routine, you train your nervous system to return to calm more quickly, especially during stressful moments.
Here’s how to integrate yoga into your everyday life, even with a busy schedule:
Anxiety doesn’t show up the same way for everyone. Social anxiety, panic attacks, generalized anxiety, and anxiety in teenagers and young adults can affect the body and mind differently. When adapted thoughtfully, yoga can meet each of these experiences where they are.
Here are some routines, adapted to your specific needs:
To address the fear of being judged, discomfort in groups, and overthinking after conversations, focus on confidence-building postures and calming breaths.
A yoga sequence that soothes the nervous system can help you address persistent worry that affects your sleep and concentration.
3. Panic Disorder
In case of sudden, overwhelming anxiety accompanied by shortness of breath or chest pain, prioritize grounding and breath control techniques that can be used in real-time.
To deal with school pressure, social comparison, body image concerns, and emotional overwhelm, go for poses and techniques that are engaging, accessible, and body-positive.
If you’re a beginner to yoga or simply need help with a routine, book a free 1-on-1 session today!
Yoga Nidra, or “yogic sleep,” is a guided meditation technique that induces deep relaxation without any physical movement. Practiced lying down, it helps calm the nervous system, reduce cortisol levels, and shift brain activity into healing states that counter anxiety and insomnia.
Want to learn how it works? Explore here:
Want a guided experience? Sign up for this Yoga Nidra Class to unwind and relax.
Anxiety may feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to control your life. With just a few minutes of intentional movement and mindful breath each day, yoga for anxiety offers a powerful way to reconnect to calm, clarity, and control. Here’s how to get started and keep at it:
Every breath, every stretch, every moment of stillness counts.
For personalized guidance, book your free 1-on-1 session with a certified Indian yoga teacher to explore techniques that work for your body, your schedule, and your anxiety patterns.
Yoga helps regulate the nervous system by reducing cortisol (stress hormone) levels, increasing calming neurotransmitters like GABA, and activating the parasympathetic "rest and digest" response. It combines movement, breath, and mindfulness to ease both mental and physical symptoms of anxiety.
Best yoga poses for anxiety include:
These postures promote calm, improve focus, and help release muscle tension.
Many people notice benefits within 2–4 weeks of consistent practice. Even 10 minutes a day of yoga and breathwork can reduce anxiety symptoms, improve sleep, and increase resilience.
Yoga is a powerful complementary tool, but it should not replace prescribed medication without medical supervision. Many people use yoga alongside therapy and medication to enhance emotional regulation and well-being.
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