Yoga (3 ways) to Calm Your Mind

Even on tough anxiety days

Anxiety is one of the most troubling aspects of ADHD. Some of it comes from having ADHD, some of it comes from the mess we make because of it, and some from living in a world that makes things worse. The good news is that Yoga can help.

In some ways, anxiety could be seen as the opposite of Yoga. And by Yoga, I don’t mean the practice of contorting oneself into a pretzel. I am talking about embracing the Yogic lifestyle and the philosophy that contains it.

Yoga comes from the root word “yuj” in Sanskrit, which means union or to unite. It means aligning all the diverse parts of yourself. When you master the practices, you can control the senses and, ultimately, tame the mind. And when the mind is tame, anxiety cannot take a grip. This doesn’t usually happen overnight; it’s a journey and takes practice.

Three aspects of Yoga are especially helpful in taming the mind and reducing anxiety. They work by uniting all the parts of you, even if you feel pulled in a million different directions. They are bhakti (devotion), jnana (knowledge), and karma (action.) Braided together, they clear the path to moksha or liberation from all that binds you to your ‘lower’ self.

Does this sound like magic? Yes and No. Freedom from anxiety comes through practice, so it’s not a magic wand. But it is magic in the sense that these three practices make seemingly indelible things like anxiety disappear.

Practice #1 - Bhakti or devotional Yoga - Union with the Divine

If freedom from anxiety were a mountain, Bhakti Yoga would be the fastest and most straightforward pathway to the top.

Bhakti Yoga is simple and accessible to everyone. It’s the path or Yoga of devotion and union with the Divine, The Universe, Spirit, or your higher Self. Whatever you call it, it’s your connection with the Divine Mystery of Life. Devotion can take many forms, such as chanting, prayer, gratitude, contemplation, mantra, singing, or reflection. It doesn’t matter what you are doing; it’s the spirit with which you do things. I personally love kirtan, and this has been my introduction to Bhakti Yoga. Krishna Das and Deva Premal are two of my favourite Bhakti artists who can get me up the mountain with one or two songs!

Practice #2 - Jnana Yoga - Union with yourSelf

In this tradition, the practice is awareness, specifically self-awareness. This is the opposite of numbing out, having addictions, or staying too busy to know yourself. Jnana Yoga is the path of seeing the true nature of Life through meditation, self-inquiry, and contemplation. These contemplative practices are known as self-study or svadhyaya.

In this practice, the Yogi aims to transcend the monkey mind and the ego and liberate herself from maya or delusion. This is a deeply personal practice, and there are no cheat sheets. You must put in the time and do the work. The insights you will gain are beyond the level of the intellect, and there is no shortcut.

In Yoga, we call this process Witness Consciousness. The process is simple but not easy, and it goes like this. Choose to set your thoughts aside and calm the fluctuations of the mind using meditation, breath-body movement or other contemplative practices. Keep at it; it takes repetition and practice. Don’t expect to be good at it immediately! Witness the fluctuations of the mind and life in general without judging or trying to make sense of anything. Allow everything to be as it is.

The resulting clarity brings a perspective that creates the right conditions for anxiety to disappate.

Practice #3 - Karma Yoga- Union with All that is

Karma Yoga is the practice of selfless devotion. Think of the scene in Eat Pray Love when Liz scrubbed the ashram floor. Service without expecting praise, reward, or acknowledgment is an offering to Life. It’s transformational. You participate in the cosmic activity of Nature unselfishly and without expectation. You get to experience Life working through you, free yourself from your past karmas and invite peace.

From a Western perspective, this makes sense, too. Serotonin is released when we give to others, and who doesn’t want a little more of that kind of happiness in life?

So there you have it: devotion and gratitude, meditation and self-awareness, service and kindness to others. When you do enough of these things, anxiety has no space to reside in your world.