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 | Yoga can bring a lot of emotions to the surface, one of which is fear. It can be fear that we are not going to be able to do a pose, fear that we might fall out of a pose, or even the fear of having to quietly sit with our own minds. Sometimes the fear come from experience, such as an injury, and in those cases it makes sense to proceed with caution. But if the fear is more associated with doing something unfamiliar and possibly failing, then I encourage you to work with getting past it. I have definitely found that habituating myself to doing things that I'm afraid of on the yoga mat has made me more fearless in my everyday life. | |
Handstand Fear
The scariest pose for me is a handstand. I injured myself early on in my practice by trying to just throw myself into it, so I don't recommend that method. What I do recommend is setting yourself up in a very safe manner to practice kicking with control towards the wall. Make sure your arms are strong and straight, since a wobbly arm will send you to the floor (learned this the hard way just recently). Some days you may get up and some days you may not, but just trying slowly erodes at the fear.
| How to Start Yoga
A lot of people want to start a yoga practice but put it off because they are afraid of the unfamiliar. If your husband's cousin's boyfriend's sister keeps asking you leading questions about yoga, send this article along to them. It breaks down what to do into manageable steps and tries to demystify the whole process.
| Yoga for Anxiety
Learning yoga techniques like deep breathing and stretching to release tension can help calm the central nervous system and prevent anxiety attacks.
| Pose of the Week - Lotus Pose - Padmasana
 While some people are scared by physically challenging postures, others are more afraid of poses like lotus, because it's the pose we come to sit in for meditation (do note that there are many other options for meditation postures if lotus doesn't work for you.) If meditation frightens you, start small. Try sitting for just five minutes after yoga or in the morning. This may be the only time of day where you just sit and do or think of nothing else. If you are interested in meditation, don't be scared to try it. Make it a manageable practice that works for you.
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