Benefits of Yoga for Anger and Fear

The benefits of yoga are numerous, but it can help two special emotions: anger and fear. Here's what you should know about the benefits of yoga for these problems.

Your partner forgot to do the dishes this morning — again. As you were leaving work, your boss, her face grim, asked to meet with you in the morning. Your stomach clenches: Is she displeased? Are you being fired? On the way home, faced with the usual rush-hour antics, you hear yourself shouting at other drivers in the emptiness of your car.

Benefits of yoga for anger and fear

By the time many of us reach our yoga mat, we’re more than ready for a little stress relief. But how do you deal with some of the most visceral feelings we experience, like anger and fear?

Those two emotions are flip sides of the same coin — the human nervous system’s fight-or-flight response. Because it has been shown to calm the nervous system, yoga can be a great antidote. 

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Some yoga traditions recommend vigorous breathing practices (such as Bhastrika, or “bellows breath”) to express strong emotions. Like shouting in a safe place or punching a pillow, they may help, but they may also be too stimulating — increasing emotional volatility rather than decreasing it.

Yoga poses for anger and fear

If you’re struggling with fear or anger, a vigorous practice will almost certainly help. You may also need of support. The sequence below, designed for beginners, will give you both. 

Child’s Pose

Start your practice in this supremely restorative pose to check in with your body — and give yourself a break.

To begin, kneel with your big toes touching, then fold your torso over your knees, splayed to your degree of comfort. Allow your weight to sink into your hips.

Rest your forehead on your mat and extend your arms straight above your head, on either side of your ears. Rest here for four inhalations and exhalations.

For an active stretch, press your hands firmly forward, down into your mat, and rotate your outer arms toward the floor so your shoulder blades flatten. Hold the stretch for two breaths. Then rest again for two breaths.

Downward Dog

To move into Downward Dog from Child’s Pose, press your hands and toes into the floor and lift your hips. Your feet should be hips’ width apart. Keep your knees bent unless you can comfortably straighten your legs.

Spread your fingers, pressing your hands down into the mat while keeping a microbend to your elbows (don’t lock them), and check that your middle fingers are pointing forward. Roll your shoulders down your back.

Your spine, head, and neck should be in a straight, neutral line, or you can let your head hang comfortably. Feel your way into the movement available in this pose. Walk it out, straightening each leg individually, or try pushing forward with your hands as you did in Child’s Pose to get a full stretch down the length of your spine.

Warrior II

The Warrior poses in yoga increase energy and confidence along with stamina and physical strength, all helping you handle powerful emotions.

To come into Warrior II from Downward Dog, move your right leg up to your right hand and position your left foot at a 90 degree angle. Straighten up, stabilizing your back leg, pressing into the inside of your foot and firming your thigh.

Bring your right arm out in front of you, the left behind you, both parallel to the floor. Drop your shoulders as you stretch your arms out and actively lengthen each finger in your hands.

Try to shift your hips in this pose so that both face forward, while keeping your right knee positioned over your ankle. You might feel a stretch in your back left hip as you do so. As you sink into the pose, if you can, bend your right knee until it makes a 90-degree angle to your thigh, being sure to keep your knee directly over your ankle.

Take four breaths.

Triangle Pose

To come into Triangle Pose from Warrior II, straighten your legs, then drop your right hand to your calf or to a block, if you have one. Be sure your right foot points forward and your left is angled out at 90 degrees. Keeping a microbend in your right leg, bring your arms to a “T” and point your left arm to the sky, rolling your torso open.

Press down into the floor with the soles of both feet to stabilize yourself in this gentle twist. Take four breaths.

Twists are wonderful for releasing energy, emotion, and stress. If you’d like more, try these poses after a warm-up and three to five Sun Salutations: Side Angle Pose, followed by Revolved Side Angle Pose, and Chair Pose, followed by Revolved Chair Pose.

If you’re new to yoga, practice these with the help of a qualified teacher until you have a sense of proper alignment.

Come back to Downward Dog

Take four inhalations and exhalations. Then move through Warrior II and Triangle Pose with your left leg forward. 

Standing Forward Bend

From Triangle Pose, bring your back leg up to meet your right foot, then place your feet hips’ width distance apart. Fold forward as you bend your knees. Focus on lengthening your torso over your thighs and grounding through your feet as you let your head hang. Take four breaths. 

Child’s Pose

Take Child’s Pose again, focusing on your inhalations and exhalations and scanning your body to see what your practice has changed. Rest here for at least 90 seconds, or as long as you like. 

After practicing, you may find upsetting emotions have dissipated. Maybe you realize your partner's forgetting to do the dishes isn’t evidence of an egregious pattern of neglect and find yourself able to forgive the lapse.

You could discover your strong feelings reflect something that needs attention and walk away from your mat with greater clarity. Perhaps your fears are perfectly natural — after all, your company has been going through a round of layoffs—and you consider taking next steps to prepare.

Allow your practice to be nonjudgmental, and simply see what comes up for you. When your body is free of tension and emotions are calm, it’s far easier to act in ways that generate positive responses and solutions.

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