Yoga Therapy for Staying Calm Through Changes
by JJ Gormley, MS, C-IAYT, E-RYT, CN
Yoga therapy is a powerful tool for navigating change and maintaining a sense of calm amidst life's transitions. Whether dealing with significant life events like career changes, relationship shifts, aging, or even everyday challenges, yoga offers techniques that promote emotional stability, mental clarity, and physical relaxation. Yoga therapy helps individuals move through change with greater ease and acceptance by cultivating mindfulness, body awareness, and inner resilience.
Change often triggers stress, which can affect both the mind and body. Yoga helps lower cortisol levels, reduce muscle tension, and calm the nervous system. Change can lead to emotional instability, with feelings ranging from anxiety and fear to excitement and overwhelm. Yoga promotes emotional regulation through breathwork and mindfulness. Change often brings uncertainty about the future, but yoga teaches mindfulness practices that help bring focus to the present moment, reducing anxiety about what is to come. Yoga emphasizes grounding practices that create a sense of stability and security, even during times of upheaval. These grounding techniques help manage feeling "unmoored" during change. Yoga enhances mental and emotional resilience by fostering inner strength and the ability to adapt to new circumstances. Practices emphasizing self-awareness and self-compassion help individuals approach change with openness rather than resistance.
Yoga Poses for Staying Calm Through Changes
Though just about any yoga practice will help, adding in any of these recommendations seems particularly helpful for finding one’s center during change. These poses are not listed in an order that includes the prep poses and counter poses, so please seek a qualified yoga teacher or yoga therapist to ensure your practice is appropriately designed with proper preparation and counter poses.
1. Mountain Pose (Samasthiti or Tadasana)—Mountain Pose fosters a sense of grounding and stability. It encourages you to feel rooted in the present moment, providing a solid foundation for facing change. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, arms by your sides. From your four lower bones in the torso (root chakra bones) imagine strings are attached (tail bone, pubic bone, and both sit bones). When you imagine those four strings being pulled downward into the earth, you may feel your feet press into the ground. Next, imagine a string coming up from the top of your head, lengthening your spine as it is pulled upward, and you get a little taller with these two opposite pulls in the body. When reaching the crown of your head toward the sky, take caution not to lift your chin and breathe deeply.
2. Child’s Pose (Balasana)--Child’s Pose is profoundly calming and offers a sense of surrender, allowing you to let go of stress and tension. It is a perfect posture for turning inward and finding peace amidst external changes. If your knees do not like kneeling on the floor, you can do this pose at a desk or table while seated in a chair by simply bringing your forearms to the table/desk and resting your forehead on the backs of your forearms. If you are okay with kneeling on the floor, then here is a step-by-step guide to moving from a gentle version of Child’s Pose to a deeper (full) version.
Start on your hands and knees in Table Pose, then let the elbows go down and rest on the floor. This is the first stop, and you may wish to stay here for your Child’s Pose. To go further, begin to take the hips back toward the heels, folding the knees deeper as comfortable. Prop under the hips when you get to your comfy place. The idea is to rest the forehead on something, so bring in a prop of the appropriate height. The prop may be a bolster or firmer pillow, a block with something soft on it, such as part of a blanket, or bringing your hands together and stacking the fists or flat palms on top of each other to rest your forehead on. If you end up in a deeper version of the pose, your head may rest on the mat; you can then extend your arms forward or keep them by your sides. Focus on slow, deep breathing.
3. Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II) builds strength, stamina, courage, and focus. It symbolizes inner power, helping you feel strong and capable as you face challenges and change. To do this pose, stand with your feet wide apart. Turn the feet to one side (one foot turns outward and the other inward). The side you turned the feet toward is the front leg, and the other is the back leg. Bend the front knee but keep the back leg as straight as comfortable. Keep the torso upright and the spine perpendicular to the floor. Extend your arms parallel to the floor, one arm over each leg. Gaze over your front hand and hold the pose while breathing steadily. Repeat on the other side.
4. Tree Pose (Vrksasana) fosters balance and stability, both physically and mentally. Practicing this pose during times of change helps cultivate a sense of inner calm and centeredness. Use the wall or a pole (mop or broom) if you tend to waver. Stand on one leg and begin to lift the other foot off the floor. The foot can come up in front or out to the side. As the foot comes higher, you can place the sole on your standing leg, eventually up on your inner thigh or calf (not on the knee). The arms can be in any position; for example, you can bring your hands together at your heart or raise them overhead. Hold and breathe deeply, then switch sides.
5. Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana) is a calming pose that helps release knots of tension in the back and promotes relaxation. It also encourages introspection and acceptance, which is helpful during periods of uncertainty or transition. In a chair simply lean forward, hinging at the hip, first stop is to rest your forearms on your thighs, next lean the torso over the thighs with hands sliding down the shins toward the feet or floor. On a yoga mat or floor, sit tall with the legs out in front, knees bent and feet on the floor. Inhale and lift the arms to lengthen your spine, and exhale as you fold forward, reaching for your shins or feet. If your hamstrings (back of thighs) allow the legs to go straight on the floor, that’s the next step, and you can do one leg at a time. Breathe deeply and relax into the stretch.
6. Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani) helps calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and encourage relaxation. It is perfect for relaxing during emotional or stressful transitions. Sit next to a wall and lie on your back, extending your legs up against the wall. Allow your arms to rest by your sides or out in a “T” (elbows bent or straight). Close your eyes, focus on your breath, and feel free to remain in the pose for 5-10 minutes.
7. Bridge Pose (Dwi Pada Pitham) opens the chest and heart, helping you stay open to new possibilities and perspectives during times of change. It also strengthens the back, promoting both physical and emotional resilience. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Inhale and press into your feet and lift your hips from your hip points on the front of the pelvis. On your exhale, go back down to the floor, rest as needed before going up again. Go in and out of the pose dynamically with the breath a couple of times, then begin to stay up in the pose for one breath, then stay for two breaths, and continue building the time (number of breaths) you hold the pose. While holding the pose, breathe steadily, and allow the chest to open into a slight backbend. Then on an exhale, slowly lower your hips to the floor.
Breathwork (Pranayama) for calm and focus can be a number of different techniques or practices. A calming breath technique can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and reducing change-related anxiety. Here are a few ideas for a pranayama practice:
Belly Breathing: sit or lie comfortably, place one hand on your abdomen, and inhale deeply through your nose, allowing your belly to rise. Exhale slowly, feeling your belly fall. Continue for several minutes.
Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodhana) is a balancing breath that helps calm the mind, reduces stress, and brings emotional equilibrium, which is crucial during uncertain or turbulent times. Sit comfortably and use your hand to regulate the nostrils opening one at a time. Close your right nostril with your thumb and exhale, then inhale through your left nostril. Close your left nostril with your ring finger, release your right nostril, exhale through the right, and then inhale through the right. Then, switch again, exhaling and inhaling through the left. Continue alternating for 5-10 cycles.
Victorious Breath (Ujjayi Breath) creates a gentle, rhythmic sound, calming the nervous system and helping to focus the mind, making it easier to stay present and composed during transitions. Inhale deeply through your nose, slightly constricting the back of your throat. Exhale slowly through your nose, maintaining the throat constriction. The breath should sound like the ocean or a whisper. Seek a qualified yoga teacher or yoga therapist for help with this breath.
Meditation for navigating change or a mindfulness practice teaches presence and acceptance of the current moment, which is especially helpful during times of change when the mind tends to focus on the past or future. Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Focus on your breath or the sensations in your body. When your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to the present moment (your breath). Practice for 5-10 minutes daily.
Another mindfulness practice is the “Loving-Kindness Meditation (Metta)” which cultivates compassion and kindness toward yourself and others. During times of change, practicing self-compassion helps you navigate challenges more easily. Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and silently repeat phrases such as, “May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be peaceful.” Then extend these wishes to others, offering kindness to loved ones and even challenging people.
Yoga therapy offers a comprehensive approach to staying calm and grounded through change. By combining physical postures, breathwork, and mindfulness practices, yoga helps regulate the nervous system, reduces stress, and cultivates a sense of inner stability. Regular practice can foster resilience, clarity, and acceptance, making navigating life's inevitable transitions easier with grace and equanimity.