5 Mind-Body Exercises for Anxiety Relief

Anxiety can drain a lot of energy, making it hard to keep doing what we want to or to feel connected to others. What’s worse is that it can pull us into feeling like it might never change. It can take different forms, ranging from nervous and worried thoughts, to self-doubts and feeling not good enough, to a frantic and restless sense of needing to do more, or to a purely physical experience of becoming dizzy or tight in the chest or throat. However we experience it, anxiety is a phenomenon that involves both mind and body. I want to share a few exercises here for helping get some relief from anxiety, that you could do for yourself. They use a body-based approach, and might sound a little silly, but just try them and see if they shift anything for you. 1. Body Opposites: Place Anxiety can seem to happen all in your head, but it often comes with particular physical experiences: pain or tightness in the chest, shallow breathing, restless or tingly sensations in your limbs, or a sense of being spaced out or in a foggy cloud. These experiences are usually uncomfortable and disturbing, and are often even the source of more anxious thoughts. Start by turning your attention inside, and notice what you can sense in your body. Focus on the uncomfortable or negative sensation for a few seconds, and notice where in your body you sense it the most. Try to give a very physical description to it, e.g., tight, tense, heavy, empty. Now scan around your body for where is the *least* like th...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Anxiety Mindfulness Relaxation and Meditation Self-Help Source Type: news