How I managed my anxiety attacks

Today’s fast pace society puts us all at risk to panic and anxiety attacks.  I know from personal experience anxiety and panic attacks can feel extremely debilitating and happen to anyone.  Even though I consider myself a calm and collected person, I still fell victim to them in my younger years.  I was lucky because I knew techniques that would help me calm down and get through them.  Frequent exercise, yoga, and eating healthy have helped me manage them and have nearly gotten rid of them.

A few months ago, a woman joined my yoga class and asked if I knew any sequences of poses to relieve panic attacks.  She wanted to manage them without prescription medication.  Lucky for her, I had personal experience and was able to show her the sequence of poses I would use.  There are yoga poses and sequences to aid in just about every ailment.

After a couple months practicing yoga, she saw improvement but still consulted a doctor about the matter.  They told her the panic attacks were due to the hormonal imbalance of perimenopause and that physical activity, eating healthy, and natural supplements would help as well.
Here are a few of the poses I used and suggest to others dealing with panic attacks, stress, and menopause.  Make sure you listen to your body, take it slow, and focus on your breathing.

• Bow Pose (Dhanurasana) - 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.

• Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) - Stay in the pose anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. Release with an exhalation, rolling the spine slowly down onto the floor.


• Cat Pose (Marjaryasana) - This pose is often paired with Cow Pose (Bitilasana) Cow pose on the inhale, cat on the exhale.  Create a gentle flowing vinyasa.



• Cow Pose (Bitilasana) - See Cat Pose


• Extended Puppy Pose (Uttana Shishosana) - Hold for 30 seconds to a minute.


• Easy Pose (Sukhasana) - You can stay in Sukhasana for as long as you like.  Just breathe and relax.


The physical symptoms of panic and anxiety attacks such as tension, tightness, and pain sensitivity can be very uncomfortable.  These yoga poses, asanas, will help ease the physical discomfort and help release built-up muscle tension and stiffness.

Panic attacks and anxiety don’t have to take over your life, take it into your hands to be proactive in suppressing the symptoms.

Namaste