Therapeutic Yoga To Calm Your Anxious Thoughts: 3 Poses to Settle the Mind and Soothe the Body

1. Constructive Rest Pose (Viparita Karani Variation)

How it helps: Signals the body that it’s safe to soften. Gently resets the nervous system.

How to do it:
Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor and wider than your hips, knees resting against each other. Place a folded blanket under your head and a bolster or pillow under your knees if desired. Let your hands rest on your belly or alongside your body. Stay for 5–10 minutes, breathing slowly and fully.

This is one of the most accessible poses for anxious minds—it doesn’t ask anything of you. It simply invites you to be.

2. Supported Child’s Pose (Balasana with props)

How it helps: Provides deep grounding, emotional safety, and access to rest-and-digest mode.

How to do it:
Kneel on a mat, knees wide apart, big toes touching. Place a bolster (or a stack of pillows) lengthwise in front of you. Lower your torso onto the bolster and turn your head to one side. Let your arms drape forward. Breathe into the back body and imagine exhaling tension out through the floor. Stay 3–5 minutes.

This pose creates a cocoon-like experience that helps soften defenses and allow the body to exhale the stress it’s been holding.

3. Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)

How it helps: Reverses the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system, calms racing thoughts, and supports sleep.

How to do it:
Sit sideways next to a wall and gently swing your legs up so your back rests on the floor and your legs extend up the wall. Place a folded blanket under your hips or head if needed. Let your arms rest by your sides. Close your eyes, relax your jaw, and stay for up to 10 minutes.

This pose can feel like hitting the reset button on a frayed nervous system—it’s restorative, grounding, and quietly powerful.

A Gentle Reminder:

These asanas are not fixes—they’re invitations. Invitations to slow down, tune in, and offer your body the safety and support it needs to move from anxiety to ease.

If you live with anxious thoughts, you’re not alone. And you don’t have to white-knuckle your way through them. With breath, movement, and compassion, it is possible to meet yourself in a new way.

Want more like this?
In my sessions at Wild Path Therapy, I integrate somatic tools like therapeutic yoga, breathwork, and mindfulness with evidence-based approaches like CBT and IFS. It’s therapy that honors both mind and body—and the wisdom of your own nervous system.