Anxiety can be momentarily reduced whenever attention is fully focused on the present, and all forms of yoga require focused attention and can provide benefits. Enduring benefits that relieve anxiety result from improved general health, improved performance capacity, and improved connection with one’s sense of spirituality. Different forms of yoga couple stretching, breathing, and holding poses with specific benefits in mind.
Matching yoga practice with individually different forms of anxiety is challenging. Different types of yoga can be observed and practiced with online resources; however, the staggering variability in practice can be overwhelming and become yet another source of anxiety. There are 7 generally recognized types of practice that include Kundalini, Vinyasa, Hatha, Ashtanga, Lyengar, Restorative, and Bikram or “hot yoga.” There are less familiar yoga practices that include Anusara, Sivananda, Jivamukti, Viniyoga, Buti, Karma, Yin, Yang, Power, Aerial, Acro, Tantra, and Nidra or “sleep yoga.” And there are additional practices specifically for accommodating special needs (i.e., Chair Yoga, Paddleboard Yoga, and Prenatal Yoga).
Practices differ yet share some common poses; however, there is also considerable variability both in types of poses (estimates vary from 300 to 400 types) and the combination of poses blended into a series in a yoga “flow.” For example, the Sun Salutation flow includes 7 different postures while the Asanas flow can include more than 100 poses. Oddly enough, though, all of this variability in rigor, tempo, and flow is not that important. The most critical factor is the locally available yoga instructor.
Novices generally find a yoga practice when they “click” with an instructor. The appropriate instructor will provide training, coaching, and facilitation to help the novice navigate through yoga poses. This instructor will be aware of, and sensitive to, the novice’s personal style, physical capacity, and emotional needs. Yoga becomes reliably therapeutic when an instructor understands their practice as therapy.
For anxiety management, finding instructors might not be possible by relying only on online resources. Online resources, such as this catalogue of interviews with local alternative and complementary care providers, can help a novice find questions to ask and people to meet.