8 Effective Yoga Poses for Stress Relief and Anxiety

Whether the start of the school year, surviving the holidays, parenting during a world crisis, or just the growing pains of life… stress and anxiety often find ways to occupy our head space and enter our homes, classrooms, and communities. When built up, it can manifest in the form of body tension and aches, reduced productivity, communication issues, and negatively impacted health.

It’s long proven that yoga is an effective way to reduce stress and welcome calm, but did you know you don’t have to be a guru or advanced practitioner to receive the relaxation and health benefits of yoga? Yoga can be practiced by anyone — including your little ones!

To help make stress relief more accessible to you, your family, and/or your students, here are easy and effective yoga poses for stress relief and anxiety that you can start benefiting from immediately.

1. Child’s Pose

One of the most popular yoga poses for stress relief is Child’s Pose. It is an accessible yoga pose for many children and adults that promotes relaxation while stretching the hips, thighs, and back. As a grounding foundational pose, you can refer to Child’s Pose whenever you feel overwhelmed, overstimulated, or just need a few moments to tune in with your breath as you transition to a new activity.

Try this: Sleepy Rabbits

When practicing Child’s Pose with kids, we love to pretend we are sleepy rabbits. Try it with Dan in the video clip below:

2. Seated Forward Fold

Relax the nervous system and calm the mind with a seated forward fold. Seated yoga poses are great if you seek calming activities for children, as they help cool and stretch the body. During times of high stress or anxiety (like those times when we are so nervous that our tummies cramp) a seated forward fold can stimulate the organs and improve digestion, while improving blood flow.

Try this: Train Pose

Make forward folds fun for children by sticking to a theme, like transportation yoga poses. This Train activity is an interactive seated forward fold that works well in classroom and home environments.

3. Shoulder Stand

Shoulder Stand is a beginner-friendly inversion that works great for the whole family. It promotes whole-body wellness by strengthening the shoulders and core, reducing fluid retention, and reducing stress and fatigue by calming the body. It is one of our favorite calming activities for kids!

Try this: Candle Pose & Fish Pose

Combine Fish Pose and Candle Pose and sing along to a musical “Blue Footed Booby” with Rachel for maximum stress relief benefits.

4. Plow Pose

Take a deep breath and get on the stress relief bus! At least, that’s how we reap the benefits of Plow Pose at Yo Re Mi. Plow Pose gives us a deep fold and inversion, sending freshly oxygenated blood to our brain for clarity and calm — just what we need when we are feeling extra anxious.

Try this: Bus (Chair & Plow Pose)

Another awesome transportation pose, Bus Pose combines Chair Pose and Plow Pose for a fierce yoga pose that energizes us from stress-induced fatigue.

5. Camel Pose

Sometimes stress and overwhelm get the best of us and we start to emotionally shut down. Sometimes that results in a tightened chest, slouched posture, and even a roller coaster of emotions. Camel Pose is a wonderful heart opener that helps us address those “blue” feelings by expanding the chest, connecting with our breath, and releasing grudges and pent up emotion.

Try This: Big Bad Wolf

Sing with us as we practice camel pose, a beginner-friendly back bend! The “Hoooooooooooooowl” from this Big Bad Wolf, offers a long exhale to stimulate our para-sympathetic response (rest and digest, rather than fight or flight).

6. Tree Pose

Use a balancing yoga posture like Tree Pose to center yourself, build self-esteem, and calm your mind. Tree Pose requires focus and mindful breathing as it strengthens and grounds the body, and can help ease worry and anxiety and as you stand tall and boost your confidence.

Try this: Apple Tree Pose

Balance in tree pose! Tree pose helps develop our sense of proprioception.

7. Star Pose

Stress and tension can really create barriers and roadblocks in settings where focus is essential…think while working or in class. Sometimes the key to releasing that tension, is a big (mindful) EXPLOSION! Release energy and give that stressed brain a break with Star Pose — a kid favorite!

Try this: Volcano Pose

Bubble, bubble BOOM! A calming forward fold bursts into star in this tension releasing yoga pose we love to call “Volcano”.

8. Savasana

Is there anyone who doesn’t love Savasana? Many of us want and need a little bit more relaxation in our lives, but anxiety and stress might give us the very opposite. We find guided body scans are a great way to listen to our bodies while resting into this restorative yoga pose.

Try this: Relaxation

Use a musical instrument or chime (singing bowl) to guide your breath into Savasana. Say to yourself, “I am still, I am strong.”

Stress, anxiety, and tension may seem unavoidable at times. But with emotional regulation, mindful yoga poses, and calming breathing exercises, we can recognize and acknowledge these feelings head on.

Supplement your favorite yoga poses for stress relief and anxiety with our “Less Stress” series on the Yo Re Mi App. It is a 20 minute series perfect for home, classrooms, or on the go — using creative songs, breathing exercises, and movement to help children, families, and classrooms reduce stress.

Save this article for later and don’t forget to download the Yo Re Mi app for children’s mindfulness and musical yoga videos.

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