Yoga for Anxiety »

Mary NurrieStearns, LCSW, RYT, is a psychotherapist and yoga teacher with a counseling practice in Tulsa, OK. She is author of numerous articles on psychospiritual growth and coeditor of the book Soulful Living. She has also produced audio CDs on yoga and meditation as healing practices. She teaches yoga, mindfulness, and meditation, leads transformational meditation and yoga retreats, and teaches seminars across the United States.

Rick NurrieStearns is a meditation teacher, coeditor of the book Soulful Living, and was the publisher of Personal Transformation, a magazine on psychospiritual growth. He has been immersed in consciousness studies for more than thirty-five years, working with the country's leading authors and healers in transpersonal psychology. With Mary, he leads transformational meditation and yoga retreats.

In Yoga for Anxiety, Mary NurrieStearns, a psychotherapist and yoga teacher, and Rick NurrieStearns, a meditation teacher, present self-healing techniques for generalized anxiety disorder drawn from the yogic tradition.

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Understanding Anxiety 5

Practice: Breathing Intentionally 25

Practice: Breathing Slowly 27

Practice: Belly Breathing 27

Chapter 2 How Thinking Makes You Anxious 29

Practice: What's Your Story of Identity? 36

Practice: Explore Your Story of Identity 37

Practice: Continue Exploring Your Story of Identity 41

Practice: Innocent Misunderstanding 41

Chapter 3 How Yoga Heals Anxiety 43

Practice: Simple Witnessing 45

Practice: Explore Your Potentiality 57

Practice: Listening to Inner Guidance 61

Practice: Remembering Unity Experiences 68

Practice: Explore Your Profound Connection Experiences 68

Practice: Wake-Up Calls 71

Practice: Your Precious Self 72

Chapter 4 A Deeper Look at Anxiety 75

Practice: Exploring Ignorance 78

Practice: Exploring Limited Self-Concept 79

Practice: Breaking Free 80

Practice: Know Your Attachments 82

Practice: Exploring Attachment to Certainty and Control 87

Practice: Exploring Aversions 93

Practice: Exploring the Fear of Death 95

Chapter 5 Practices for Calming Your Mind 101

Practice: Direct Your Awareness 107

Practice: Rigorous Shaking Movement 110

Practice: Identify and Imprint Mild Soothers 111

Practice: Discover Your Mantra 114

Practice: Using a Mantra on the Outbreath 115

Practice: Expressing Gratitude 115

Practice: Pratipaksa 119

Practice: Create a Sankalpa 120

Practice: Practice Your Sankalpa 121

Practice: Notice Stillness 123

Practice: Explore the Effects of Silence 124

Practice: Enjoy Silence125

Chapter 6 Practices for Comforting Your Body 131

Yoga Poses to Reduce Stress 139

Minibreak Pose 140

Minirest Pose 141

Forward-Folding Poses 142

Yoga Poses That Comfort 144

Comfort Pose to Reduce Emotional Upset 144

Restorative Pose for Emotional Fatigue 145

Nurturing, or Happy Baby, Pose 146

Heating-Yoga Flow 148

Bridge-Pose Flow 148

A Daily Yoga Practice for Anxiety: The Five Easy Poses 150

Easy Pose 1: Bridge Pose 150

Easy Pose 2: Upward-Stretched Legs 151

Easy Pose 3: Staff Pose 152

Easy Pose 4: Bound-Angle Pose 154

Easy Pose 5: Child's Pose 156

A Daily Practice: The Easy Poses plus Five Additional Poses 158

Easy Pose 1: Bridge Pose 158

Easy Pose 2: Upward-Stretched Legs 159

Easy Pose 3: Staff Pose 162

Easy Pose 4: Bound-Angle Pose 165

Easy Pose 2 (Repeated and Modified): Legs-Up-Wall Pose (Upward-Stretched Legs) 168

Breathing Practices 170

Breath or Energy (Prana) 170

Breath Retention 171

Alternate-Nostril Breathing 172

Cooling Penetration 174

Chapter 7 Meditation and Mindfulness for Anxiety 175

Practice: Basic Meditation Instructions 184

Chapter 8 Relieving Anxiety With Ethical Living 193

Practice: Stop the Violence in Your Inner World 196

Practice: Compassionate Conversation 198

Practice: Tell the Truth 201

Practice: Ask a Great Question 201

Practice: Inquire into the Data 202

Practice: Practice Nonstealing 203

Practice: Inquire into Hoarding 204

Practice: Cultivate Gratitude 205

Practice: Practice Contentment 206

Practice: Develop Your Personal Practice 207

Practice: Your Personal Practice of Surrender 208

Conclusion 211

References 215