Yoga for Anxiety - Yoga Course

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There are times when life can leave us overwhelmed and anxious. Yoga, meditation and visualisation, breathwork and journaling can help.

This is a four-week course to help you address your relationship to anxiety. In this course you will find:

28 yoga classes
Breathwork classes including an SOS breathwork class
Meditation classes
Journaling and visualisation exercises from a psychotherapist
Articles to help you understand anxiety

Each week that you are working through our four week course, we will send you an email which will explore an aspect of anxiety, your relationship to it and a few classes you can try. You are also welcome to use this course at your own pace, exploring the classes which address where you need support day by day.

How to use this course

During times of overwhelm, you will need different support at different times. We have created key tools you can turn to.We suggest you begin by listening to psychotherapist Kelly Hearn’s introduction to anxiety. Her additional audio classes guide you to understand anxiety better and offer exercises to support and help you manage anxiety.

Yoga Teacher Adam Hocke has created a daily audio check-in for you to help you determine which tools will best serve you. If you’re not sure what you need, take a listen and move from there.

Check In With Yourself

04:22 | Adam Hocke

In this embodied check-in led by Adam Hocke, you will be led through a gentle scan of mind, body and breath, allowing you to notice how you are feeling and what sort of class or movement you need today.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
04:22	Adam Hocke	All Levels

How To Feel Grounded

02:48 | Adam Hocke

In this audio recording Adam Hocke explains what 'grounding' means and how to determine if you need a class to 'ground' you. Adam offers an insight into how your mind, body, breath and energy levels might be feeling and some practical ideas to help you to ground jittery energy.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
02:48	Adam Hocke	All Levels

How To Feel Uplifted

02:13 | Adam Hocke

In this audio recording Adam Hocke runs through the signs that you might need an uplift and offers some practical ways in which to set a positive tone for your movement class. He also outlines the types of yoga poses and movement that will serve you well today.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
02:13	Adam Hocke	All Levels

This course is split into sections - navigate to the section that you need today depending on how you feel.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread or uneasiness. We experience anxiety in many ways: through physical changes, a racing mind, over-thinking, difficulty focussing and concentrating, feeling irritable,or with changes to breathing. This could lead to a loss of appetite and lack of sleep. You can explore your relationship with anxiety in these two short articles from psychotherapist Kelly Hearn: Introduction to working with anxiety and Working constructively with anxiety.

Yoga can help. Read about how yoga can help us to explore our feelings of anxiety by yoga teacher Adam Hocke.

Being active; practicing breathing exercise; taming the mind through talking, journaling and meditation; connecting with others; good quality sleep and a healthy diet can support you to feel better. To understand anxiety better, read this article by psychotherapist Kelly hearn.

Section 1
4 Classes

Finding Connection

In this section you will find audio classes from psychotherapist Kelly Hearn to support you in working constructively with anxiety. Explore how and why working with your body helps; how self-compassion is a crucial skill and how to soothe an agitated mind.

Introduction to Anxiety

In this audio recording, Kelly Hearn defines what anxiety is and how it differs from stress. Following an introduction and exploring why it is important to change our relationship to anxiety, Kelly offers a practical exercise to develop self compassion.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
13:58	Kelly Hearn	All Levels

Working With The Body

Kelly Hearn explores the wisdom of accepting what we cannot change and the role of control within anxiety. Understanding the body's reactions can support us in managing our anxiety.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
14:30	Kelly Hearn	All Levels

Working Skilfully With Thoughts

Kelly Hearn explores how working out what we need offers a skillful way to work with anxious thoughts. In this class, Kelly offers a practical way to change a narrative that can spin out of control by taking charge of our thoughts

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
13:13	Kelly Hearn	All Levels

The Gifts Of Anxiety

In this audio recording Kelly Hearn explores the benefits of anxiety and of having a sensitive temperament. Tuning into the messages that our sensitive temperament may be sending us, helps us to prepare for challenge, change and warns us to take a pause. Kelly Hearn offers a way in which we can meet our anxiety and learn from it.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
09:26	Kelly Hearn	All Levels

Section 2
6 Classes

Finding Grounding and Steadiness

Are you feeling jittery, with racing thoughts and fast, short, shallow breathing? These classes have a slow, introspective focus which will help you to feel more rooted.

Your Difficult Emotions Practice

A beautiful hatha yoga class to give you permission to feel all the things you're feeling, along with a safe space to process difficult or strong emotions. This class begins with a meditation and a breath-oriented slow yoga flow bringing space and warmth all around your heart along with many opportunities for self-soothing and embrace. Then we will take advantage of this compassionate environment and allow plenty of time for rest, processing, and healing in a few restorative shapes. You will need a strap, bolster, a blanket, and a couple bricks, although you can improvise with whatever you have at home.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
01:00:23	Adam Hocke	All Levels

Re-Ground

A slow flow yoga class which is perfect if you are feeling overwhelmed or anxious. Adam's class is incredibly grounding. Move towards feeling stabilised and balance again by re-grounding anxious energy which embodies anxious mind and restless body. Learn to meet any anxiety with kindness by feeling its physical symptoms, not just the stories you may associate with it. We will use to the tools of yoga, including stilling our gaze and heightening our feelings of embodiment, to bring you back and re-ground you in the present moment. You will need a bolster and a block or a folded blanket.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
36:44	Adam Hocke	Beginners

Open Up To Feel Good With Yoga & Somatics

A yoga and somatics class to help you learn more about the way you like to move. Many of us have a tricky relationship with feeling good; do we really take time to find out what feels good within ourselves? Pleasure is an embodied experience and a basic human need, but many of us don’t treat ourselves as we would treat a loved one. This class is an invitation to explore and to learn about yourself. Part improvisational, part guided movements, it is slow paced and sensitive, with plenty of psoas release poses and stretches, to move underlying tension in the body. Move from standing poses and somatic exploration to seated, then laying with legs up the wall and into final relaxation. You will need a block (or books), a strap and access to a wall space.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
01:00:20	Ava Riby-Williams	All Levels

Supporting Anxiety

Anxiety, to various degrees, can be part of the human experience more frequently than we would like. You may practice this at any time of the day that feels best for you, knowing that this 1 hour long practice includes several poses that help soothe and support your nervous system without feeling overly exposed. I will be holding the space with you for the entire practice. It must be mentioned that this sequence is not a substitute for any professional support you may need. If your anxiety is at a point that is too much for you, then please seek additional support.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
01:01:00	Adrianna Zaccardi	All Levels

Grounding Stress Relief Flow

A mindfully paced and grounding vinyasa yoga class. This class is perfect for when you feel a bit overwhelmed and restless, and you need to move in a grounded and connected way. The sequence offers you tools to recover a sense of rootedness and safety in your body. Class begins with a calming seated breathing practice and progresses through a slow standing flow that will reinforce your connection with the Earth, and finishes with a guided relaxation.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
40:19	Vanessa Michielon	All Levels

Cultivating Vitality

Although we may believe the restorative yoga is best before bed, this practice has been designed for you to practice first thing in the morning, so that you may experience the level of presence and vitality as it filter through your day. Granted this may be on the weekend, but do try it and experience first hand your vitality through this nourishing restorative practice.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
01:06:00	Adrianna Zaccardi	Beginners

Section 3
4 Classes

Finding Calm

Is your heart racing? Do you feel yourself caught up in thoughts, worries or plans about the future? The classes in this section will help you to feel a sense of steadiness and will support you when you feel the need for calm.

Self Care Flow

This yoga class is perfect for when we feel anxious, stressed, overwhelmed or just have a busy mind. It is a gentle class for anytime; when you just feel that you need to be kind to yourself, when you are anxious and wired, or when you don't like what you're reading in the news. Come back to the reality of your body and breath with this flow practice. In this sequence we go through familiar and calming patterns of movement and spend time enjoying the internal life of postures through strengthening techniques that bring us more deeply into our bodies and the reality of the present moment. As we start feeling a bit better, we round it off with some self-massage and a powerful compassion meditation.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
42:40	Adam Hocke	All Levels

Your Calming Yoga Practice

This yoga class helps to ground and calm an anxious body or mind and bring us back to the present moment. Start with some grounding self-massage, then move gently with simple, repetitive, and breath-led movements to stabilise the nervous system. Additionally, we will pay particular attention to releasing tension in the head, neck, and shoulders to bring about a profound sense of relaxation and ease. This class is perfect after a long day or when we're overwhelmed. You will need a narrow block or a folded blanket and a brick.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
35:41	Adam Hocke	All Levels

Morning Yoga for Steadiness

A really beautiful slow flow vinyasa yoga class which takes it's inspiration from mountains; this class will explore grounding and firm foundations. Start the day grounded, steady and strong. The focus on this class is standing poses and moving mindfully with the breath between poses. Also a great class for during the day for when you're feeling a bit 'in your head', frazzled or overwhelmed. Learn to leave your stress from a busy mind behind and move as a mountain: steady, grounded, firm.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
36:57	Rakhee Jasani	All Levels

Yoga Flow: How To be Here Now

This yoga class is beautifully sequenced and mindfully paced, with a focus on how to tune into being here now and bringing extra presence to our yoga practice. If we feel anxious in our lives, it's because we're not connected to the present moment. This is the perfect class to slow down an overthinking mind and tune into how your body feels when you move. Learn quick tools you can use to be in the moment, and have some fun. This yoga class is a well rounded, accessible yoga sequence for the whole body, perfect to start each day. One to save!

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
48:54	Ava Riby-Williams	All Levels

Section 4
4 Classes

Releasing Tension

Holding tension in your body is often a natural consequence of feeling anxious. Sometimes relieving bodily tension can bring release. The classes in this section help you to release tension in the most commonly held places.

Yoga for Stress Relief: Neck Release

When the muscles of our neck are chronically tight we are more likely to maintain our nervous system in a state of stress. On the contrary, when we allow them to soften, our body and mind can more easily shift into a calm state. This floor-based yoga flow is specifically designed to help you release tension from your neck and shoulders, so you can feel more spacious and relaxed. This class is perfect for when you're busy at work, when you're feeling overwhelmed, when you've been driving a lot or are feeling stressed. This calming yoga practice will help you create more space and relaxation in your neck and stabilise your shoulders as you move.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
40:00	Vanessa Michielon	All Levels

Gentle Movement Pick Me Up

This is a somatic movement class for when you're slightly low on energy, feeling anxious, you need a gentle work break or are looking for a warm up class. Drawing on Amy’s contemporary dance background as well as her love for Qigong and Tai Chi, this sequence helps us to feel grounded, connected, composed and calm. Also perfect as a Barre cool down class.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
11:06	Amy Holly	All Levels

Your Daily Shoulder, Neck & Head Practice

This short yoga class mobilises, strengthens, and relaxes the shoulders and neck through their full range of motion. This is so important for our sedentary lives, and is a vital class for when you've ben busy at work, when you're feeling overwhelmed or when you're travelling. Additionally, you will give yourself a face, head, and jaw massage to help you release tension and find calm. Practise this class regularly as a preparation for your time on your mat or simply to feel good in your body. You will need a yoga brick or block.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
17:51	Adam Hocke	All Levels

Ten Minute Relaxation with Gong Sound

This lovely relaxation class starts in savasana, so gather anything you need to feel comfortable and warm laying down. This class is perfect for when you have just 10 minutes in the day but need to unwind, declutter the mind and find a sense of calm. The savasana is accompanied by a gong for added relaxation; so lay back and enjoy!

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
11:52	Kiranjot	All Levels

Section 5
6 Classes

Balance your Energy

Do you feel like you have more energy than you need? In this section you will find classes which will help you tame and balance your energy leaving you feeling less jittery.

Re-Bound

This well rounded, gentle flow yoga class brings in the joy, a perfect class to uplift if you're feeling a little low. We will, with care, bring some joy and feeling back into the body and this present moment as best as we can through opening up to breath and back-bending postures along with a few other energising surprises. You will need a blanket, and a brick or something like it, and a playful light attitude.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
37:29	Adam Hocke	Beginners

Breathe: Energise, Inspire & Change

This energising yoga and somatics class focuses on the breath and the element of air. It can be practiced to bring about new vision and clear away fatigue or boredom. The playful sequences encourages us to notice how we feel inside our body, rather than how the shapes look from the outside, and makes us think about how we respond to life's inevitable changes. Expect some faster paced movement, vinyasa and breath work.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
56:22	Ava Riby-Williams	All Levels

Playful Flow: Somatic Movement

Have fun and play with rolling and spiralling movements. This mat-less somatic movement class takes place entirely on the floor and is a gentle way to play with movements and cultivate a healthy nervous system. Explore organic and fluid ways to stretch every body part and build efficiency and deep inner connection as we move through a sequence of movements from seated and supine poses. This is the ideal practice if you wish to learn how to move more effortlessly and gracefully while soothing your nervous system with a delicious slow flow. No need for a yoga mat, but you may wish to pad your knees.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
34:32	Vanessa Michielon	All Levels

Five Minute Stress Buster

Just sit down on the floor wherever you are (your office, your kitchen floor, a waiting room or even an airport!) and de-stress for five minutes. You'll be surprised the difference you can feel with very simple breath work, side stretches, twists and deep, relaxing breaths.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
05:43	Kate Walker	All Levels

Qigong for Anxiety

A Qigong class with gentle movements to help to calm, ground and ease anxiety. In Qigong and Chinese medicine, anxiety arises when the flow of qi, or life energy, through our organs and meridians becomes stuck, stagnant or caught in chaotic whirlpools. In this class we’ll do practices to support our qi to flow in more natural, balanced ways. When this happens, the tendencies towards restlessness, worry and fear - all things that can trigger anxiety - can gradually start to fall away. All you’ll need is some comfortable clothes and some space to stand.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
24:45	Mimi Kuo-Deemer	All Levels

Kundalini Kriya for Overwhelm

A fun Kundalini yoga kriya with clapping and gong sounds to clear your energy and relieve anxiety. This is perfect for when you're tired and have limited energy as the class takes place seated. Shake, drum, clap and move - get free and clear your negative energy and overwhelm. Explore some really fun ways to get stress out of your body and mind; be open-minded so you can turn your negative emotions around. Class ends with beautiful gong relaxation and a mantra for trust.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
51:51	Kiranjot	All Levels

Section 6
4 Classes

Finding Sleep

Sleep can often be disturbed when anxious. The classes in this section from yoga for sleep specialist Lisa Sanfilippo support you long term in getting a good night’s sleep.

Sleep Recovery Series (1): Simple Sleep

A gentle, simple soothing bedtime ritual yoga class. With a simple set of yoga poses which flow from one to the next, prepare for sleep or get back to bed if you wake in the middle of the night. Suitable for all levels, you can do it in your bedroom with minimal space - even in your bed! This sequence reduces physical tension, lowers your heart rate, and decreases the stress hormones in your body to prepare you for deep rest. This yoga class ocuses on all of the major tension hotspots in your body: chest, neck, shoulders, lower back, hips, thighs, hamstrings: pulling the tension out to prepare you for deeper, more restful sleep. Do this class own or finish with a pre-sleep three part breath class or marma point class. Also an excellent prelude to restorative poses for those who find it hard to settle into restoratives right away.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
15:05	Lisa Sanfilippo	All Levels

Sleep Recovery Series (2): Deeper Sleep Sequence

This sleep yoga class ritual is perfect for evening time to slow you down to get ready for bed, or remedy for middle-of-the-night wakeups. This class is for those who like some deeper yoga poses, and have more mobility. Featuring deeper hip, thigh, hamstring, and twisting poses, as well as seated forward bends. Breath using ‘the drop’ which lowers physical tension, decreases your heart rate, and dissipates the stress hormones in your body, to prepare you for deep rest. Also good for those who want to prepare for a restorative practice at any time of day. You will need a cushion, pillow or yoga brick.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
28:41	Lisa Sanfilippo	All Levels

Sleep Recovery Series (3): Restorative Pick Me Up

This yoga class teaches the set up of restorative yoga poses to bring you into the mental and physical states which repair your ability to sleep at night, whilst helping to replenish energy during the day. These gentle restorative yoga poses will gently energise you, perfect for a midday pause or great as a gentle way to start the day. Poses include legs up the chair pose, lying down goddess pose and child's pose. After you've learnt the set up for these poses we recommend you learn the set up and stay in position for a minimum of 3 minutes for each pose. You'll need a chair or a sofa, a blanket, a belt and two bolsters or sofa cushions. Lisa talks us through the set up of these props, and how to use sofa cushions for a comfortable restorative goddess pose.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
20:28	Lisa Sanfilippo	All Levels

Sleep Recovery Series (4): Simple Morning Wake Up

Keep it simple with a set of simple exercises which can be done anywhere! This can be done in the office, kitchen or wherever you don't have space to lay out a yoga mat, and wake up happier and more focussed. Also great as a pick-me-up when you're at work, these poses and this breath focus will help you wake up easily, and can be done almost anywhere. You’ll clear your head, get your circulation going and feel more alert. Use this any time of day as a pick-me up.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
06:47	Lisa Sanfilippo	All Levels

Section 7
10 Classes

Calming the Breath

The breath is a valuable tool when we are feeling anxious. Explore the classes in this section to learn how to work with the breath to change your response to anxiety.

The Anatomy and Physiology of Breathing and Preparatory Exercises

A fascinating tutorial on the anatomy and physiology of how and why we breathe. It is a must-view for everyone who is suffering from anxiety, or those who would like to improve their breath work for overall health. At nine minutes, we move onto exercises for the diaphragm and ribcage, breathing in and out through the nose or in through nose and out through the mouth to regulate breath. Happy breathing!

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
28:18	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Daily Breathing Exercises

These introductory breath work exercises can be done every day. They are a superb preparation for deeper pranayama practices and for teaching the body and mind to relax with the breath.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
15:57	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Understanding Your Breathing Habits

We can't fix the problem until we know what it is! In this class we look at understanding chest breathing, hyperventilation and breath holding, using the mouth to breathe and accessory muscles which we shouldn't use and how this relates to stress.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
18:38	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Effortless Breath Part 1

This is the first part of a two part series in finding space for the breath. This practice finds space for the breath in your belly. Learn how to relax your belly, strengthen your diaphragm and find breath in your belly.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
18:49	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Effortless Breath Part 2

The second of a two part series in finding space for the breath - learn to free up the ribcage and upper chest today. Explore effortless breath and space in the ribcage and upper back with today's practices.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
14:29	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

The Complete Effortless Breath

Learn to breathe fully with this exercise. Discover how to fully empty and fill the lungs to capacity with the Complete Breath Pump Breath. As with all breathing exercises, please don't do these if you feel any discomfort or dizziness at all, and this exercise is not appropriate for pregnancy.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
16:37	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Slowing the Breath, Slowing the Mind

There is an old saying that we all have the same number of breaths in our lifetime, so we'd better slow our breaths to extend our lives! A rapid breath tells the brain that we are under stress and it reacts correspondingly. In this class you'll learn how to regulate the speed of your breath and why we'd want to do that.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
17:21	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Breathing for Anxiety and Stress Part 1

Find calm through your breath. Our breath is a monitor of our emotional state. In this class we find how different breathing patterns can really change how we feel and can invoke a feeling of calm.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
25:36	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Breathing for Anxiety and Stress Part 2

Focus on Mindful walking - especially useful when we feel that we just can't sit and keep the mind still. This walking meditation / mindfulness class is great for when you're anxious as it creates a strong connection between the mind and body. This is a great 'stealth' practice. You can do this anytime you're out and about, or just before you go into any stressful event and nobody will know you're doing your mindfulness breath work practice!

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
07:02	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

The Peace of No Breath

This workshop-style class explores the background to the absence of breath. The ancient yogis understood that the absence of breath was a sacred space.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
20:13	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Section 8
6 Classes

Taming the Mind

Meditation is an excellent tool to support your mind. We include an SOS meditation practice for times when you need something to help you settle. Other classes support you in building a sustainable practice.

Introduction to Meditation

What is meditation? There's very little point beginning a meditation practice if you have no idea what it is. Dan explores what meditation means to him and encourages you to do the same to help you guide your practice.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
14:05	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

SOS Meditation

A meditation for when you're feeling extremely stressed, overwhelmed or anxious and need a technique to help you calm down and find relief from panic.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
09:37	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Meditation for Forgiveness

Meditating on forgiveness can help us to move on with our lives, to increase our compassion and connection with others, accept what is and remember there is no freedom in holding onto resentment. Use this meditation to exercise your power to forgive yourself before you forgive others.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
05:44	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Meditation for Gratitude

Use this meditation to nurture the intention to build a more positive state of mind. It's not something to be forced, so we will explore a few different gratitude practices which you can do all at once or individually.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
08:37	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Meditation for Acceptance

When we can't accept how we are or how we are feeling, we tend to mask it with blame, denial and rejection. Acceptance is not resignation or distempering, in fact the opposite is true. This meditation is to help us find acceptance in what is happening in the present moment to help us react wisely.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
11:47	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels

Breath Work for Anxiety

A brief introduction into Dan's favourite breath work practices for anxiety. The breath is a useful way to move us away from an anxious state and into a place of calm. Learn how to breath more slowly, smoothly and through the nose.

MoveTime	Teacher	Level
08:46	Daniel Peppiatt	All Levels