Day Two: Before Work Yoga/Poses for Anxiety/Stress

Today before work I completed a couple of poses and made polaroids of these - I will add these later as I left them at work!

This evening I did poses for anxiety/stress as part of the idea was to create a more calm me..

curious mind magazine yoga poses beginners anxiety stress relief

I did these poses and they did make me feel calmer and more relaxed I am going to try to do these on a daily basis.  The article that was with these poses states;
'Harvard Medical School writes about the way yoga supports mental health. Namely, when we practice yoga, our heart rate slows down and we breathe more easily. One study even proved that yoga practitioners have higher pain tolerance as a result of practicing yoga.' (Williams E. 2015)

I like the improved breathing as I used to practice yoga tranquillising breathes quite often as these really did used to make a difference.  Looking into this further I found the breaths that used to help me and these are called Nadi Shodhana Pranayama (Alternate-Nostril Breathing) and these breathes should help to lower blood pressure and studies show that these had an effect within seven days.

Here is a visual guide to the technique it should be repeated 3-5 times 

Alternate nostril breathing

I am going to practice these before bed...good night and sweet dreams everyone..

References 

Williams E. (2015) Curious Mind Magazine Yoga Poses for Anxiety & Stress Relief [Online] Availabel from: https://curiousmindmagazine.com/yoga-poses-beginners-anxiety-stress-relief/ (Accessed 12th April 2019)

Levine J. (17th June 2015) Yoga Journal 5 Pranayama Techniques With the Power to Transform Your Practice—& Your Life [Online] Available From: https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/importance-breath-yoga (Accessed 12th April 2019)