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Four types of exercises that can help with anxiety

Wellness
 Not a good feeling, anxiety can be very overwhelming and disrupt your everyday life (Shutterstock)

Although it still remains a mystery as to what causes anxiety, fingers have been pointed at several factors.

When diagnosing anxiety, it could be as a result of genetics if you come from a family with a history of mental health conditions, a chemical imbalance or environmental factors such as trauma.

To diagnose whether you have an anxiety problem, a lengthy process of physical examinations and mental evaluations have to be carried out.

So, what exactly is anxiety?

Anxiety can come up as a result of stress. It could be anything from moving to a new country, first day at work or exams. When you start feeling your heart beating at a faster rate, nervous, panic and fear creeping in chances are you may be experiencing an anxiety attack.

Not a good feeling, it can be very overwhelming and disrupt your everyday life.

To help you feel better, here are some exercises you should try out to help you keep calm.

1.Visualization

This works by envisioning yourself in a happy place. Once you start to feel anxious, look for a comfortable place where you can sit in private and take a few minutes from everything.

Think of the one place that makes you happy and paint a mental picture. Think of the smells, the sensations and what you can see. This safe place you have created in your mind will help calm your brain and body.

Close your eyes and take and take regular breaths until you start to feel the anxiety is lifting off.

 The aim is to distract yourself from what is causing the anxiety triggers (Shutterstock) 

2.Counting

This is a great exercise you can do especially in a crowded place where you can’t get away. Close your eyes if you can and start counting backwards from 10. Repeat or add more numbers until you start getting some relief.

What this does is, it distracts you from what is causing the anxiety triggers. Stay calm and don’t rush it. Breathe and relax until it subsides.

3.Mindful breathing

When you’re in this state of stress, thinking clearly becomes a hard thing to do. Your mind starts to wander giving in to certain thoughts that are likely untrue causing the anxiety to be worse.

And this is where mindful thinking comes to play to break that pattern.

Find a comfortable place and sit with your eyes closed or open and start to inhale through your nose and exhale with your mouth until your tummy starts to expand.

When you feel the anxiety coming try and focus on the breathing until you feel calm.

4.Yoga

One of the best ways to manage stress is through yoga. By incorporating meditation and breathing it can help improve your mental wellbeing.

Although you may fall a few times, one of the ultimate balancing postures to do is the tree pose. It helps balance you and is a great way calm you.

Do this by lifting your right leg and placing it in the inner thigh of your left leg. Place your hands together and bring them to your chest area.

Hold for one minute and repeat with the other leg. Before you know it you will be breathing normally and distracted enough to forget what was on your mind.

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