15 Yoga Poses To Relieve Stress And Anxiety

By Jola @YolaYoga | January 21, 2022

Yoga is considered one of the alternative healing approaches. The practice of yoga brings together physical and mental disciplines that may help you achieve peacefulness of the body and mind. This can help you relax, and to relieve stress and anxiety.

Stress is a significant common risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, preterm delivery, osteoporosis, as well as periodontal disease. Reducing stress levels can greatly improve one’s health and quality of life. Studies show that yoga is one of the best overall systems ever invented for stress reduction. This ancient method gives an insight into the link between the physical body and the state of mind, and any system of yoga can greatly help to reduce stress levels.

Hatha Yoga in particular, which is practiced at a slower pace, may be a good choice for stress management. It includes 3 components:

Poses (Asanas). Yoga poses, are a series of movements designed to increase strength and flexibility. Poses also stimulate the nervous system, which is found to function in alleviating stress.
Breathing (Pranayama). Controlling your breathing is an important part of yoga. Yoga teaches that controlling your breathing can help you control the body and quiet the mind.
Meditation (Dyana). In yoga, you may incorporate meditation or relaxation. Meditation may help you learn to be more mindful and to live in the present moment.

Yoga Poses To Relieve Stress and Anxiety

You can release stress and anxiety every day in just minutes with these 15 simple poses. It is important to do them in the order they appear in this article, however. We highly suggest doing this yoga sequence 5 times per week!

1. Child’s Pose – Balasana

This pose calms the mind and draws the attention inward. If at any point during your practice you need a break, return to this pose.

Begin by coming to your hands and knees. Separate your knees wider than your hips and bring your big toes together. Sit back onto your heels.
Allow your belly to drop between your thighs as your ribs rest on the inner thighs. Bring your forehead to the floor. Keep your arms alongside you.
Close your eyes and bring awareness inward. Hold for from 5 to 10 breaths.

Modifications: If it is difficult to sit back on your heels, place a rolled towel or blanket under the ankles and sit on that.

2. Cow / Cat Pose – Viralasana

Come to your hands and knees. Place your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. As you inhale drop your belly. Let your tailbone reach toward the ceiling and keep your chest wide. This is Cow – the image on the left.
To come into Cat from Cow, exhale. Press into your hands evenly and round through your upper back. Draw your chin to your chest and round through your spine.
Continue to move with your breath, alternating between Cat and Cow to create movement in your spine. Keep the awareness on the spine. Do this for at least 10 breaths.

3. Downward Facing Dog – Adho Mukha Svanasana

This pose calms the mind and helps to relieve stress. It also stretches the shoulders, hamstrings, and calves.

To start come toyour hands and knees. Spread your fingers wide on the floor. Make sure your hands are shoulder-distance apart. Tuck your toes under.
To come to position press into the palms and lift your hips up and back to create a “V” shape with your body. Press the heels down toward the floor.
While in pose straighten your arms and roll the inner part of the elbow forward while pressing evenly through all fingers. Allow the head to release down. Look toward feet. Bring the awareness to calf or hamstrings.Take 10 breaths. Come down to your fours or Child Pose (pose 1) if you are tired. Repeat 2x.

4. Triangle Pose – Trikonasana

Triangle pose opens the hips and chest and stretches the legs. It also
relieves backaches.

Begin with comfortable wide stand. Turn your right foot 90 degrees out and your left foot slightly in. Bring the right heel in line with the left heel.
On the exhalation shift your hips to the left and tilt your torso to the right while reaching to the right side as far as you can. Let your right palm come down to rest either on your thigh, shin or on the floor. Reach straight up with your other hand. Keep the torso aligned with hips. The back heel is pressing to the floor. Keep the knees straight and lift the knee caps up. Gaze towards the raised hand.
Lengthen through both sides of your waist. Bring the awareness to the hip and side of torso. Take a 5 breaths. Repeat 2x.

5. Half Moon Pose – Ardha Chandrasana

Start in Triangle pose on the right side. Fix your vision in one point on the floor in front of your right foot and bend your right knee.
Shift your weight onto your right leg, straighten right knee as you lift your left leg so it is parallel to the floor. Place right hand on the ground or a block and extend your other hand straight up. Gaze first toward the floor. Later you can start turning the chest forward and gazing towards top hand.
While in pose flex your back heel and keep your neck in line with spine. Take a 5 breaths. To come out from position just bend the right knee and bring back foot to the floor and come to triangle. Switch the sides.

Modifications: You can do this pose with the wall behind you for easier balance.

6. Standing Forward Bend – Uttanasana

From standing position bring the both feet together. Then raise both arms up overhead. Inhale and extend the spine and arms up.
On exhalation folding forward from the hips, keeping the back straight. Extending out and down and bringing the head toward legs.
While in pose relax the back and keep the knees straight. Breath normally and hold the pose for 20 seconds to 1 min.

Modifications: If there is tightness in the hamstrings or this bothers your lower back, bend your knees while in the pose.

7. Cobra – Bhujangasana

Lie facedown on your mat. Bend your elbows and place your palms flat on the floor alongside your lower ribs so that your elbows are stacked directly over your wrists. Keep legs together.
On an inhalation, press into your hands and use the muscles of your lower back to lift your chest off the ground. Keep your shoulders relaxed away from your ears as you draw them back and down.
Start to work your arms toward straight, but stop as soon as you feel your shoulders raising toward your ears. Take 5 to 8 breaths and come down. Repeat 2 more times.

8. Bow Pose – Dhanurasana

To start lie facedown on your mat. Bring forehead to the floor. Bend the knees and bring the heels toward the buttocks. Reach back and take hold of the ankles. Knees and heals should be parallel and kept apart.
On the next inhalation press the legs into the hands lifting the lower half of body. Then slowly extend the chin and raise the head, neck and chest.
Continue pressing the feet into palms and allow shoulders to release and arch entire spine. Hold position for 15-30 seconds. Breath normal.

9. Bridge Pose – Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

Lie on your back. Bend your knees. Place your feet flat on the ground, hip distance apart and parallel to the side of the mat. Stack your knees directly over your ankles. Place your arms alongside you, palms face down.
Inhale, press down into your feet to lift your hips up toward the ceiling.
Roll your shoulders toward each other underneath you. Interlace your fingers. Open chest toward ceiling. Engage buttocks.

Modifications: If you have lower back issues, try turning this into a restorative pose. To do so, place a block on its low or medium height underneath your sacrum, the boniest part of the back of your pelvis.

10. Shoulder Stand – Sarvangasana

Important!: Do not do this pose if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, hiatal hernia, neck injuries, recent surgeries, headache, eye or ear problems, or if you menstruate.
Recommended alternative pose: Legs Against the Wall

Start by laying down on your back. Arms alongside the body on the floor. Bring both knees to the chest.
Press down on the palms, inhale, hold the breath and raise your legs up and overhead so they are parallel to the floor. Keeping the elbows in place put your palms against the lower back and raise both legs toward the ceiling. It is ok if the legs are in the angle it first.
While in pose bring the awareness to the base of the throat.

11. Fish Pose – Matsyasana

This is counter pose to the shoulder stand.

Begin by laying down on your back. Legs together. With both palms take a hold of the sides of the thighs.
Place the weight on the elbows and without moving them sit halfway looking toward your feet. Tilt the pelvis forward and arch your lower back.
Inhale and arch the upper spine. Exhale and bring the crown of your head to the floor.
Maintain the expansion of the chest, feel the shoulders spread out and breathe through the nose. Bring the awareness to the throat area. stay in pose for (20-60 seconds).
To come out of the pose put the weight on the elbows. Inhale and lift the head and sit half-way looking toward your feet. Exhale and lower the back to the floor vertebra by vertebra.

12. Happy Baby – Ananda Balasana

Lie on your back. Bend and hug both knees into your chest.
Place your arms on the inside of your legs and grab onto the outsides of your feet.
Draw your knees toward your armpits as you keep pressing your tailbone into the mat.

13. Fold Forward Bend – Pascimotanasana

Start in seating on the floor with legs straight in front of you. Inhale and reach your arms up alongside your ears.
On an exhale, hinge from the hips and start to reaching forward. Lead with your chest and do not round your back.
When you can’t reach any further, let your hands come down either to the ground or the outside of your legs or clasp your feet

14. Half Lord of the Fishes – Ardha Matsyendrasana

Seat straight with legs extended in front of you. Bend you right knee and place your right foot over your left thigh and set it on the outside of left leg.
Bend your left leg and the heel toward right sit bone. Sit tall.
Place your right hand behind you and lift left hand to the ceiling. As you exhale, twist to the right and bring your left elbow to the outside of your right knee.
Repeat on the other side.

15. Bound Angle Pose – Badhakonasana

From crossed leg siting position, uncross your shins and place the soles of your feet together.
If this is a lot of stretch for the outsides of your hips, then place your hands behind you and sit up tall to support yourself. You can also sit on a blanket here as well. If your knees are far from the floor, you can also place blocks or pillows under them for support. This will help ease any strain you might feel on the outside of your legs.
If your knees are fairly close to the floor and you want to deepen the stretch, bend over your legs and draw your fore-head toward the soles of your feet and your torso toward the ground. Keep pressing your knees to the ground, but relax your shoulders and your neck. Hold for at least eight