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The Purpose of Yoga - Releasing Anxiety

By Paul Jerard

Yoga is a great relief from feelings of anxiety, but anxiety is part of life; and some of us have more anxiety than others. No matter how many years you practice Yoga, you are still human. You are bound to feel feelings of frustration, angst, irritation, and anxiety.

Most people think that Yoga practice will make these negative feelings disappear, but that is not entirely true. Some people think that Yoga will aid you to throw negative feelings into separate compartments, but that is not really true either.

So, how do long-term Yoga practitioners release their anxiety? They seem so calm and collected all the time. What is the big secret? Firstly, let’s cover some options you should never practice, and then look at Yogic solutions for releasing anxiety.

Myth 1: Yogis can make anxiety disappear.

Never believe that anxiety will magically disappear. Yoga, and medical prescriptions, cannot make anxiety go away permanently. For anxiety to disappear, something has to change within you. List the causes of your anxiety, and how you respond to them.

Then find solutions for purging them in a healthy way. Yoga does help, but Yoga has its limitations, too.

Accept and identify anxiety for what it is. In life, you also have to have to “come to grips” with hate, jealousy, greed, and anger. We should not embrace negative thoughts or feelings, but we should quickly be able to identify them and their private agendas.

Life is a lot easier when we are honest with ourselves. After we find the true nature of a problem, we can then find realistic solutions to deal with our negative feelings. If you wake up feeling a little down, do not waste your time on denial, but do find a solution to rid negativity from within.

Myth 2: Yogis can “bottle up” their emotions.

Holding emotions inside will still cause damage to the individual. You cannot stop an earthquake with a land fill. This is not a permit to go around making rude gestures, “telling everyone off,” or an endorsement of “road rage,” but there are healthy ways to “let steam off.”

The secret of controlling emotion is: Deflection of anger, but it will take much time, and conditioning, before you are able to do this. Yoga is, in fact, an archive of solutions for anxiety, but you must have the will to maintain a regular practice for complete mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health.

© Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995.

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posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 9:00 AM