Natural solutions to anxiety

by Alison Baggio

Your heart pounds, you struggle to catch your breath, life seems hopeless and incredibly frightening - anxiety has caught you again. According to Health Canada, 12% of people in Canada currently suffer with anxiety disorders, and those are just the ones who seek help. If chronic or acute disrupts your sleep, prevents you from concentrating on other things, or generally distracts you from the joy of living, you may want to consider natural solutions to a more peaceful being.

Breathe Deep

It sounds simple, but deep breathing can serve as an effective natural aid to anxiety. When feeling anxious, you tend to breathe quickly from the upper regions of your lungs. In order to help achieve a state of serenity, you should try to breathe from your diaphragm and take long, smooth inhalations. As well as increasing the connection felt between your mind and body, deep breathing helps relax your nervous system, floods your body with oxygen and ultimately calms your mind.

Meditate

The benefits of meditation on our physical and mental health are just starting to be recognized by mainstream doctors. Meditation simply involves going into your self. Instead of expending energy worrying about external fears, you acknowledge the stillness that exists inside you. An easy way to start to meditate is by following the sound of your breath in and out of your chest. Don't worry if you get distracted at first, just re-focus your thoughts on your breath and begin again.

Watch Your Diet

How do you feel after you have just consumed a chocolate bar, a cup of coffee and a cola? Past satisfying the initial craving, you probably end up feeling irritable, sick and in many cases, anxious. Caffeine and refined white sugar are two substances that can cause these adverse effects on your body. While caffeine raises your blood cholesterol and depletes the amount of iron in your bloodstream, refined white sugar causes blood sugar levels to rise and fall, provoking your body to produce insulin when blood sugar gets too low. In order to keep yourself at ease, choose meals that nourish your body and state of mind. Look for foods with slowly releasing proteins such as pasta, breads, crackers, corns and rice. And eat plenty of fruits and vegetables for their high vitamin and mineral content.

Reflect

Taking time to observe the on-going chatter in your head can help identify whether your internal messages are helping or hindering your ability to stay relaxed. Try to replace any negative thoughts with positive ones by asking yourself these questions: Is this what is really important in my life? Will I worry about this a year from now? Am I overreacting? Are things really as frightening as they seem? What is the worse that could happen? Could I find a way to deal with that?

You may find that things are not as desperate as you once thought -an important realization for overcoming anxiety. Yoga practice can be effective in controlling anxiety because it helps us unwind and look inwards. There are a few simple poses that can be done to help alleviate anxiety.

Practice Yoga

The ancient practice of yoga brings the body and mind together, leaving you with a sense of contentment and connection to yourself.

Downward facing dog posture:

1. Take the shape of a dog stretching itself by bending in half and putting your hands on the floor.
2. Bend your knees and step back making sure the distance between your hands, is the same as the distance between your feet.
3. Moving your torso towards your legs, try to slowly bring your heels to the floor feeling the stretch from your hands down through the back of your heels. Holding this posture for at least one minute will help to gently stimulate your nervous system, slow down your heart rate and rest your brain.

Child's posture:

1. Sitting on your knees, bring your head to the floor, resting your forehead on the ground with your hands comfortably by your waist and palms facing the ceiling. This posture relieves tension in your lower back and shoulders and helps you reconnect with your breathing.

Corpse posture:

1. Lay on your back with your hands out from your torso facing the ceiling, your feet slightly apart.
2. Gently relax each part of your body and try to remove yourself from your surroundings.
This posture will help you soothe your nerves and achieve peace of mind.