A dedicated practice for anxiety

Last week in an email I asked how you are feeling? In discussions with my students and friends, I am noticing the uptick in anxiety. This goes for myself as well. I have anxiety over the growing wars in the world and the many, many people who are suffering. I am worried for my neighbors and their immigration status. I constantly think about my parents and what could be happening to them alone in their apartment. 😳 But enough about ME…haha! Maybe you find yourself feeling similarly to me or caught in a cycle of worry and anxiety,

There is a practice that can meet that need and it’s sūrya namaskāra or sun salutations. This is a dedicated practice to honor the light of the sun and all its power, hope and promise daily. Yes, this is a well known yoga practice but I am specifically crafting it to speak to the anxiety many of us are feeling right now. 

I had been practicing this way for a couple weeks and then one day, I went into the city to take an outdoor yoga class with my daughter. It was a beautiful clear day, filled with the energy of lots of people and tall buildings. Excitement and joy were in the air. Right before the class was to start, my daughter checked her phone and she made a very upsetting discovery about one of her friends. She was so upset. Her emotions went from sorrowful to angry and back to sorrowful. I felt so bad for her. She had been having problems with this one friend and it had been causing her quite a bit of heartache and now this.

I just wanted her to enjoy this moment on her mat in the excitement of the city, to feel her vastness, to feel a world full of possibilities, but here we were with this circumstance. Also, I wanted to enjoy the moment. I wanted to enjoy the breeze and the people and the movement and the community and the yoga. Now, in the past when these things happened, I often would be resentful and get frustrated. It sounds horrible but I really have had enough of this particular friend highjacking her life and my life. 

But I did something different. I encouraged her to practice even if it was being in child’s pose the entire time. I encouraged her to listen to the teacher and feel the moment. I focused on my practice and giving her comfort when she needed it. And sometimes I allowed her to just have her moments of sadness and disappointment. She cried often while practicing. In the end, she allowed herself to process what had happened and let the stress work through her body. She finished the class much more empowered. 

I was able to let go of my anxiety over her struggles and allowed her to handle it her way while I was there to support if she needed. It was a big moment of learning for me but I also credit my consistent practices addressing my anxiety.

I have found that a daily consistent practice yields the most success. I talk about this in this short video. Check it out if you didn’t see it yet. (It ends with a short meditation practice for anxiety that you can continue when it stops.) 

What does a consistent practice look like? I have a shape to my practice daily but it can be shrunk or expanded upon based on my day and my needs and I also spread practices out throughout the day in small chunks. Today I didn’t have as much time in the morning so I started with a simple prayer, the afternoon I will be moving more and the end of the day will be more breath work. All of it is to help me tap back into my inner strength throughout the day.

I am developing the physical practice of the Sun Salutations to be standing or seated for those that want to do the movements in a chair. Any way you practice it, each pose can ensconce you in security. Each pose is an opportunity to connect to the earth that holds you and to connect to a power

within you. With this awareness, there is a transformation that can happen in each position. Each moment can hold so much potential to transform anxiety to power.

This is the practice. You coax yourself daily to stand with and within the power of the sun. Then, life becomes such a gift.