Yoga For Anger Management: Poses To Control Anger & Stress Reduction

There are many scenarios and situations where many of us feel anger, irritability, and despair and are unable to control our anger. However, it is a negative emotion that causes a lot of harm to a person physically and mentally as well as deteriorating his health. In such a situation, it is very important for you to control your anger. Fortunately, yoga exercises can be a great daily treatment for releasing this negative emotion. The ability to control and process emotions can be improved by the practice of yoga and meditation.

Anger is an emotional state that basically triggers the “fight or runs” response. Primarily it causes an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and stress levels. The breathing rate also increases. When the frequency of anger is frequent and unmanaged, changes in the body’s metabolism become intense that inevitably affects not only health but all areas of life: physical, mental, emotional. and social. Uncontrolled anger can cause many side effects such as:

• Heart attack
• High blood pressure
• Anxiety and depression
• Negative emotions
• Insomnia

Doing yoga for anger management can be a good way to control negative emotions. The benefits of yoga asanas over just physical exercise is that yoga asanas are in sync with the breath and thus, increase one’s energy levels along with providing the necessary physical stretch.

How Yoga Helps in Anger Managment

Kundalini yoga, Ashtanga yoga, and Vinyasa are some of the special techniques of asanas, meditation, exercises, and pranayamas. It teaches us how to control your anger by controlling your senses. These techniques include yoga nidra and mindfulness, meditation, pranayama or japa, etc. which help to bring relief to human beings by reducing stress, anxiety and depression.

In 2008 study an eight week intervention was done on 226 participants, and seen the effect of yoga on verbal aggressiveness. The participants was both sexes and ages ranged between 17-62 years. They were randomly allocated into two groups. Both groups had supervised exercises for one hour a day (by trained experts) six days a week for eight weeks.

The Yoga(Y) group practiced an integrated yoga module that included asanas, pranayama, meditation, imaginary correction and devotional sessions. The other group was asked to practice light to moderate physical exercise (PE).

After 8 weeks, there was a significant reduction in verbal aggression in the Y group compared to the PE group.

In another study, the participants are 110 students aged 13-18 years. The sample included 52 adolescents practicing yoga and 58 adolescents who had never practiced yoga. It showed that adolescents who regularly practiced yoga were found to be better equipped to handle emotional regulation, self-esteem and emotions.

Poses of Yoga for Anger Management

Anger and stress create tension in the body, which becomes evident in one’s mood, behavior and body movements. Yoga stretches like Chakrasana, Shavasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana, Balasana, etc. help in providing relief to a person in a state of anger. It helps in releasing happy hormones to balance the mood and calm the mind and body. Thus yoga is beneficial in reducing negative effects by creating a balance between mind, body and spirit.

Sukhasana (Easy Pose)

Sukhasana is a Sanskrit word which is made up of two words Sukh and Asana. Practicing this asana regularly gives happiness and peace both physically and mentally. If you practice this regularly, it helps in awakening your chakras and kundalini.

How to do:

• To do Sukhasana, sit on a yoga mat and sit comfortably on it.
• Bring both your legs one by one in the cross position from the knees inwards.
• You have to keep your waist straight while doing this asana, your waist should not be bent.
• Place the palms of both your hands on your knees with the palms facing upwards.
• Your spine should be straight and your shoulders should be straight.

Shavasana (Corpse Pose)

Shavasana is a relaxation pose that promotes deep rest and rejuvenation. It can help to release physical and mental tension, allowing anger to dissipate and promoting a sense of peace and tranquility.

How to do:

• Lie on your back and keep your hands comfortably at a distance of one foot from the body.
• Keep a distance of one or two feet between the feet.
• Keep both hands on the ground 10 inches away from the body.
• The fingers and palm in the upward direction.
• Keep your head on your own.
• Close your eyes slowly.
• Breathe in slowly and exhale slowly.

Balasana (Child’s Pose)

This gentle resting pose (Child’s Pose) helps to calm the mind and release tension in the back, shoulders, and chest. It encourages deep breathing and introspection, allowing individuals to connect with their inner calm.

How to do:

• Kneel on the floor and bring both the feet close to the toes.
• Sit on your heels and spread your knees as wide as you can hips.
• Take a deep breath in this position.
• Now while exhaling, bend forward, and keep your torso between your thighs.
• Extend your arms forward.
• Slowly move the hands forward as far as you can and here rest your shoulders on the floor.
• As this is the relaxation pose, you can stay in this position for 30 seconds or a few minutes.
• To come out of the posture, raise your upper body.

Ardha Matsyendrasana (The Half Fish Pose)

This gentle inversion helps to reverse the effects of gravity on the body, while also promoting relaxation and stress relief. It can help to calm the mind and soothe the nervous system, allowing individuals to release anger and tension.

How to do:

• Sit with the legs spread in front, keep both the feet together, the spine should be straight.
• Bend the left leg and place the heel of the left foot near the right hip (or you can also keep the left leg straight).
• Place the right foot above the left knee in front.
• Place the left hand on the right knee and the right hand behind.
• Turning the waist, shoulders and neck from the right side, look over the right shoulder.
• Keep the spine straight.
• Maintain this position, take long, deep simple breaths.
• While exhaling, release the right hand first, then the waist, then the chest and finally the neck. Sit comfortably straight.
• Repeat the process from the other side.
• Exhale and come back to the front.

Chakrasana (Wheel Pose)

This is a great pose of yoga to control anger as it opens the chest and heart, while also strengthening the back, buttocks, and thighs. It can help to release pent-up emotions and promote a sense of emotional balance and stability.

How to do:

• To do Chakrasana, lie down on your back. Bend the knees and keep the feet at a distance of 10-12 inches by touching the heels with the buttocks.
• Raise the arm and bend the elbows.
• Place the palms above the shoulders on the ground near the head. Breathe in and slowly bend the back while lifting the torso.
• Gently let the head hang down and stretch the arms and legs as far as possible.
• Breathe in slowly and exhale slowly. Maintain this posture as long as possible.
• After this, return to the starting position by lowering the body in such a way that the head remains on the ground.
• Bring the rest of the body down. Now repeat it, as per your convenience.

Deep Breathing Techniques (Pranayama)

Pranayama techniques, such as deep diaphragmatic breathing (like “Ujjayi” or “Victorious Breath”), can help calm the nervous system and reduce feelings of anger and frustration. By focusing on the breath, individuals can bring their attention away from the source of anger and towards a sense of inner calm.

Conclusion

Yogic asanas, pranayama, and meditation are exercises to stimulate the senses and help you overcome inner despair. Along with yoga asanas, breathing and exhalation techniques- pranayama also helps in calming the mind and releasing the happy hormone which helps in flushing out the toxins from the body. With this, you can easily control your anger.