Yoga for Anxiety Relief: Poses, Benefits, and How It Works

Anxiety can feel like a fog that slowly creeps into your everyday moments, tightening your chest, clouding your thoughts, and making even simple tasks feel overwhelming. If you’re searching for a gentle, supportive way to navigate these feelings, yoga might offer a soft place to land.

In this article, we’ll explore how yoga can help soothe stress and anxiety, offer practical tips to begin with, and share which poses are best when your nervous system needs extra care.

How Yoga Helps Reduce Anxiety

Yoga’s Calming Effects

If you’ve ever stepped onto a yoga mat after a hard day and walked off feeling a little lighter, there’s a physiological reason for that. Yoga works with your body’s own nervous and endocrine (hormones) systems to calm the storm.

When we’re anxious, our bodies stay in fight-or-flight mode, heart racing, muscles tense, blood rushing towards the limbs and away from core organs, thoughts spinning. Yoga has many styles that gently encourage the opposite: by activating the parasympathetic nervous system (often called the “rest and digest” mode), it helps lower stress hormones like cortisol, resets the immune, digestive, and reproductive systems, and invites in the sense of calm. Pascoe, M.C., Thompson, D.R., & Ski, C.F., 2017. Yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction and stress-related physiological measures: A meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 86, 152–168. 

This isn’t just about movement; it’s about creating moments where your body and mind can pause and reconnect. Yoga teaches presence, helping you return to yourself one breath at a time.

Breathing and Meditation in Anxiety Reduction

Breath, known as “pranayama” ( Prana = energy/ life force, Ayama = control),  is one of yoga’s most powerful tools for directly affecting change in the body and mind. Of all the organs in the body, the lungs are the only ones we can consciously control, changing the rate/and depth of breathing at will.

Because all the organs are in a feedback loop with the autonomic nervous system (controlling every aspect of our body), it immediately gets the signal that you are not under threat, need no fear, and can return to digesting your breakfast, fixing that runny nose, having that baby, and relaxing. When we’re anxious, our breathing becomes shallow and fast, reinforcing feelings of panic. But learning to breathe deeply into the diaphragm and breathing out “smooth, soft, and slow” can change that in an instant.

Simple practices like extended exhalation, alternate nostril breathing or box breathing can send immediate signals to your brain that it’s safe to relax. And when paired with gentle movement or meditation, this awareness deepens. Studies have shown that yoga practices combining movement and breath can significantly lower both perceived stress and cortisol levels.

Many women I’ve spoken to describe these practices as “anchors,” something to hold onto when the mind drifts into being overwhelmed. Even just five minutes of conscious breathing can be transformative.

Best Yoga Poses for Anxiety Relief

Gentle Poses to Calm the Mind

On anxious days,  pausing in a forward flexion can be profoundly healing. These poses are designed to soothe rather than stimulate:

1. Child’s Pose: The ultimate safe pose with deep memories of time in your mother’s womb and your bony spine, ribs, and pelvis physically protecting your heart and belly.  A nurturing shape that encourages rest and turning inward.
2. Cat-Cow Stretch: Connects breath and movement, gently mobilizing the spine.
3. Seated Forward Fold: Make it a restful, gentle, nurturing pose, maybe sitting forward on a cushion and another under your knees to make it comfortable. Invites stillness and release, both physically and emotionally.

Each of these poses is a quiet invitation to slow down and listen to what your body truly needs.

Restorative Yoga for Deep Relaxation

If your body is calling for deep rest, restorative yoga may be the answer. These supported poses allow you to let go completely, which is especially helpful when you’re feeling emotionally or physically drained.

1. Legs-Up-The-Wall Pose: A calming inversion that supports circulation and quiets the mind.
2. Reclining Bound Angle Pose: Put a weight/ blanket on your belly for that sense of safety. This pose opens the hips, belly, and heart, often places where we hold tension.
3. Supported Savasana: With knees raised over a bolster or cushions, feet on the floor. A complete surrender to stillness, supported by props and soft breathing.

I often recommend setting a timer for 10–20 minutes and simply letting yourself be in one of these poses, with soft music, a recorded relaxation/visualization, or silence in the background.

Breathing Techniques for Instant Stress Relief

Breathing practices are tools you can take anywhere, whether to a meeting, a doctor’s office, or your bedroom at night.

1. Lengthened Exhalation: Bring your awareness to your natural exhale and count it. Add one count to it slowly, and after a few breaths, adjust again. Make sure this is effortless and mindful.
2. Alternate Nostril Breathing: Balances the left and right sides of the brain, promoting clarity, and was used by the old yogis for preparing for meditation, the mind is neither sleepy nor monkey-brained.
3. Box Breathing: Inhale, hold, exhale, hold all for the exact count, grounding the body – this is the one that is reputed to be used by the USA Navy Seals before going into battle!
4. Ocean Breath (Ujjayi): A soft whispering breath that calms and centers. This is enhanced with a visualization of sitting on your favorite ocean beach and listening to the sound of your breath/ the waves.

Many of my readers have shared that just one or two rounds of these techniques help them feel more grounded even during high-stress moments.

Does Yoga Really Help with Anxiety?

What Research Says About Yoga for Mental Health

Numerous studies have shown that yoga significantly reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression. One key finding is that yoga decreases levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, and increases GABA, a neurotransmitter that calms the nervous system. Streeter, C.C., Jensen, J.E., Perlmutter, R.M., Cabral, H.J., Tian, H., Terhune, D.B., Ciraulo, D.A., & Renshaw, P.F. (2007). Yoga Asana sessions increase brain GABA levels: A pilot study. J. Altern. Complement. Med., 13(4), 419–426.

In fact, researchers at Boston University found a strong link between regular yoga practice and increased GABA levels, offering potential therapeutic benefits for anxiety and depression. Researchers identify link between decreased depressive symptoms, yoga and the neurotransmitter GABA. (n.d.). Bumc.bu.edu.

What sets yoga apart is that it supports your whole system, not just mentally, but emotionally and physically.

Expert Opinions on Yoga as a Therapy for Anxiety

Mental health professionals are increasingly integrating yoga into therapeutic treatment plans. Many now see yoga as a valuable complement to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), especially when anxiety manifests physically.

Unlike high-intensity workouts, yoga isn’t about pushing through; it’s about softening into what’s here. That’s why it can feel so healing when you’re overwhelmed. Harvard Health also highlights yoga’s mental benefits, including reduced rumination and improved mood regulation.

Real-Life Success Stories of Yoga for Anxiety

I’ve had countless conversations with women who say yoga has changed their relationship with anxiety. One woman shared that she used to wake with a racing heart every morning, and now, after a short yoga practice and breathing ritual, her mornings feel spacious and calm. Another told me how restorative yoga helped her cope with postpartum anxiety, giving her a space to process and breathe again.

These stories remind us that yoga isn’t a quick fix; it’s a supportive companion along the journey. The science backs that up: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that yoga significantly reduces anxiety symptoms in a wide range of people, from those with generalized anxiety disorder to women experiencing postnatal anxiety.

Tips for Incorporating Yoga into Your Daily Routine

How to Start a Simple Yoga Practice for Anxiety

You don’t need to commit to an hour a day. In fact, the most sustainable practice often begins with just 10–15 minutes. Try rolling out your mat first thing in the morning or just before bed. Focus on a few calming poses and breathwork. Let it feel like a gift, not a chore.

Best Times of Day to Practice Yoga for Mental Clarity

Morning practices can set a peaceful tone for the day ahead. Evening sessions help you unwind and process the day’s emotions. It helps if you settle on the same time for each day, creating a habit. Some women find that practicing yoga during lunch breaks offers a valuable reset. Listen to your body; it will tell you what it needs.

Combining Yoga with Other Stress-Relief Techniques

Yoga pairs beautifully with other supportive practices. You might follow a yoga session with journaling or diffusing calming essential oils during your poses. Walking in nature, warm baths, guided meditations—think of your wellness routine as a woven tapestry, with yoga as a grounding thread.

In summary

Yoga helps reduce anxiety by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation and reduces stress hormones. Unlike high-intensity exercises, yoga incorporates mindfulness and breath control, making it particularly effective in calming an overactive mind.

Top 5 Yoga Poses for Anxiety Relief:

1. Child’s Pose
2. Cat-Cow Stretch
3. Forward Fold
4. Legs-Up-The-Wall
5. Alternate Nostril Breathing

Above all, let this be a reminder that anxiety is not a flaw, it’s a signal. And yoga, in all its gentle wisdom, offers a space to listen, to breathe, and to begin again.

References

Pascoe, M. C., Thompson, D. R., & Ski, C. F. (2017). Yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction and stress-related physiological measures: A meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 86, 152–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.08.008

Researchers identify link between decreased depressive symptoms, yoga and the neurotransmitter GABA. (n.d.). Bumc.bu.edu. Retrieved April 14, 2025, from https://www.bumc.bu.edu/camed/2020/02/03/researchers-identify-link-between-decreased-depressive-symptoms-yoga-and-the-neurotransmitter-gaba/

Streeter, C. C., Jensen, J. E., Perlmutter, R. M., Cabral, H. J., Tian, H., Terhune, D. B., Ciraulo, D. A., & Renshaw, P. F. (2007). Yoga Asana sessions increase brain GABA levels: a pilot study. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.), 13(4), 419–426. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2007.6338