Drop & Flow

One of the greatest things about yoga is that all you need is a mat or towel & you can complete your practice anywhere. Not only do I enjoy the movement that takes place during yoga, but it has become one of my main tools to help with my anxiety.

My anxiety started when I was 18.  During that period of my life I was going to school. When I wasn’t at school, I was working & when I wasn’t working I was studying. I guess being constantly on the go, all caught up with me.

I remember my first attack like it was yesterday. I was at my part time waitress job and I started feeling tightness in my chest, shortness of breath & my heart was racing so fast it was going to explode. I got very emotional because I thought I was having a heart attack ( side note for those who don’t know me, I’m a minor hypochondriac… ok major). 

With time, I began to understand the triggers. It can be as simple as a thought. That one thought, provokes other thoughts and next thing I know I’m spiralling causing my body to start feeling all those symptoms associated with an anxiety attack. The worst for me is when they just come out of no where, I often wake up having one as I did this evening, promoting me to write this at 4:50 in the morning. For me the ones in the middle of the night are the absolute worse.

Ok, so let’s get back to my initial point of this post…I can literally be anywhere & I just begin to practice my flow, my breathing and I have found it such a great coping mechanism for me to get through these attacks. The best part is you can just drop everything & flow your way through those high emotions. Calming the mind, the breath & the heart.

What are your tools to help you cope with  anxiety or stress?

With love & light, Stefanie