Review of "Yoga for Anxiety"
By Mary NurrieStearns and Rick NurrieStearnsNew Harbinger, 2010
Review by Beth T. Cholette, Ph.D. on Apr 6th 2010
Yoga for Anxiety was written by husband and wife Rick NurrieStearns, an author and meditation teacher, and Mary NurrieStearns, a psychotherapist and registered yoga teacher. In approaching their subject, the authors pepper their book with many personal anecdotes, including Mary's own history of anxiety and panic attacks. This lends a personal, supportive feel to the work, and the authors take a very encouraging tone throughout.
The first four chapters center mainly around attaining a greater understanding of anxiety. The authors begin by distinguishing between fear and anxiety as well as providing some very basic neurological information about anxiety. They then move on to discussing how thought processes can influence anxiety, explaining how the increased awareness or consciousness developed through yoga can serve to heal anxious symptoms. Interspersed throughout, there are "practices," or brief exercises which apply the concepts being taught (each individual practice is listed separately in the Table of Contents, which serves as a nice reference). For example, in the very first chapter, there are three different breath exercises, including belly breathing (a.k.a. diaphragmatic or deep breathing), a vital skill for avoiding hyperventilation and reducing panic. The subsequent early chapters offer exercises which explore self-identity and self-worth, increase awareness of both external sensations and inner guidance, and assist in breaking free of attachments.
Midway through the book, the authors shift to focusing more specifically on using yoga-based techniques for calming purposes. They start here with mind-based soothing practices. These strategies continue to incorporate some of the principles taught in the first half of the book, such as increasing awareness and concentrating on the breath. Several new concepts are introduced as well, including using a mantra (something repeated over and over), practicing pratipaksa (taking the opposing point of view), and creating a sankalpa (yogic goal setting). A section on physical yoga practices is also included (note that this chapter comprises only about 40 pages of this over 200 page total book). Following a brief introduction, full-page illustrated descriptions of simple yoga postures are presented. Some of the poses are performed using a chair, such as Seated Forward Fold, which involves sitting in a chair and bending over into a forward bend, and some use a few simple props, including supportive supine bound-angle, which requires several blankets and a bolster (or firm pillows). The bodily practices chapter concludes with a few basic yogic breathing techniques to either conclude a yoga practice or to facilitate a calming effect.
The authors close with basic training in meditation techniques. Although this section is brief, they talk about how to carry the principles of meditation into daily life through increased mindfulness. Maintaining yogic practices as part of everyday living is also the theme of the final chapter, "Relieving Anxiety with Ethical Living." Here the authors review some of the ethical guidelines which compromise two of the branches (the yamas and the niyamas) of the traditional eight-limbed yogic system. They continue to suggest opportunities for practice--for example, to develop the personal observance of Self-Discipline, they offer recommendations for "Developing a Personal Practice."
Overall, this book offers a variety of soothing, helpful practices. However, some readers might be disappointed to discover that 1) many of the practices serve to foster general well-being rather than to specifically address anxiety, and 2) the actual practice of physical yoga postures (asanas) forms less than a quarter of this book. Still, this would be a useful guide for someone seeking a more comprehensive, holistic approach to treating anxiety.
© 2010 Beth Cholette
Beth Cholette, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist who provides psychotherapy to college students.
Resources
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Articles
- What is Anxiety?
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The Biopsychosocial Model of Anxiety
- The Biopsychosocial Model: Causes of Pathological Anxiety
- Biological Explanations of Anxiety Disorders
- Biological Explanations of Anxiety: Part II
- Biological Explanations of Anxiety: Part III
- Biological Explanations of Anxiety: Part IV
- Psychological Explanations of Anxiety Disorders
- Psychological Explanations: Part II
- Social Explanations of Anxiety Disorders
- Development & Maintenance of Anxiety Disorders
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Classification & Diagnosis of Anxiety Disorders
- The Classification and Diagnosis of Anxiety Disorders
- Panic Attacks: A Classic Symptom of Several Anxiety Disorders
- Panic Disorder
- Separation Anxiety Disorder
- Selective Mutism
- Agoraphobia
- Specific Phobias and Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Other Anxiety-Related Disorders
- Anxiety and Other Psychiatric Disorders
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Anxiety Disorder Theories and Therapies
- Anxiety Disorders: Theories and Therapies
- Behavioral Learning Theory and Associated Therapies
- Operant Conditioning
- Operant Conditioning and Avoidance Learning
- Contemporary Views of Behavioral Learning Theory
- Behavioral Therapies for Anxiety Disorders
- Cognitive Theory and Associated Therapies
- Cognitive Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Adjunct Therapies
- Pharmacologic Treatments (Medication)
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Treatment of Anxiety Disorders
- Treatment for Separation Anxiety Disorder
- Treatment for Selective Mutism
- Treatment for Panic Disorder
- Treatment for Specific Phobias and Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
- Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders (OCSDs)
- Conclusion
- Anxiety Disorder References & Additonal Resources
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News
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Questions and Answers
- Anxious About Opinions
- Possible OCD and Anxiety issues
- Fear
- Stay in Therapy Because I Like it?
- Is My Anxiety a Normal Reaction?
- What am I Supposed to do With a Hypochondriac Step Daughter?
- Need Help
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- Really Desperate..Please Help
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- Fear of Choking
- Help
- Should I be Worried?
- Too Much Time doing Homework
- Falling Apart
- Can't Stand Noise
- What Is Intimacy, Exactly?
- Is She Ill?
- Social Anxiety, Depression and More...
- Do I Have Just Social Anxiety or Other Diagnoses Combined with SA?
- Need To Ask Someone
- False Memories
- Help! Please!
- Two Year Old Son Wandered
- Infections and The Brain
- Are Personality Disorders For Life?
- I am Terrified of Death.
- Anhedonia
- Our 23 Year Old Son Refuses to Get Help for His Anxiety Attacks and Depression.
- Anxiety
- Anxiety Disorder vs. Personality Disorder: Differences?
- Restroom Phobia
- I'm Afraid I'm Going Crazy
- Post Brain Surgery Mental Problems
- Would Medication Help?
- obsessive strange thoughts about life and existentialism
- Am I Crazy?
- Is it Anxiety? Is it Normal to Be Like That?
- Depressed 19 year old college student
- Depression helps to contribute to my unemployment! - Paula
- Relationship Anxiety
- Disconnected
- I'm Scared
- Please help fix my mom. - Kenny
- OCD?
- Saving my Son
- Scary thoughts, dark feelings, help?
- Swallowing fear
- Is there something wrong with me?
- I have PTSD and I feel nothing
- OCD Cure
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- I have OCD. Will this increase my child's chance of developing Autism?
- Crazy Thoughts
- 20 Year Old Female: no friends, depressed, what should I do?
- unwanted thoughts!
- crazy thoughts... all the time
- A very low threshold for stress tolerance
- Why can't I get gross images out of my head?
- fear of expiration
- SPECIFIC PHOBIA
- anxiety or going crazy?
- OCB
- visions of what could have been
- about depersonalization
- obsessive compulsive disorder
- OCD/ANXIETY while pregnant
- Amnesia
- Social Phobia
- Constant Counting Disorder
- Anxiety
- Is this OCD?
- Worried about my therapist
- No Friends
- Teenager...angst vs. mental health issue
- phobia regarding uncertainty
- Obsessed with running out of things
- Do I Have OCD?
- Do environmental factors hold a person back?
- Never Had a Relationship
- Shy Rural Student
- Nursing Student's Anxiety
- I'm Afraid They Are Judging Me
- Part Time Work and Stress
- Anxiety
- Panic
- Bathroom Phobia
- Anxiety?
- Mastery Of Anxiety And Panic
- Very Determined Panicker In The South
- Panicking Boyfriend
- Alternatives For Anxiety Treatment
- Is Anxiety A Hereditary Factor?
- Unable To Keep Eye Contact
- Is It Really Panic? And How Do We Get Help
- A Cure For Claustrophobia?
- Panic Attacks
- Shyness And The Post Partum Blues
- Klonopin
- Alternative Treatment
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- Driving Phobia
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- Agoraphobia?
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- A Cure For Anxiety?
- Panic Attacks
- Fear of Driving
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- Anxiety?
- Social Anxiety
- Linda writes:
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Book & Media Reviews
- 8 Keys to Stress Management
- A Brief History of Anxiety
- Anxiety
- Anxiety
- Anxiety Disorders
- Anxiety, Phobias, and Panic
- Been There, Done That? DO THIS!
- Calm Beneath the Waves
- Elsewhere
- Exercise for Mood and Anxiety
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31 more
- Getting Control
- Helping Students Overcome Depression and Anxiety
- Just Checking
- Mind-Body Workbook for Anxiety
- Monkey Mind
- My Age of Anxiety
- Overcoming School Anxiety
- Panic Disorder
- Passing for Normal
- Phobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents
- Repressed Spaces
- Self-Coaching
- Stress
- Stress Survival Guide
- Textbook of Anxiety Disorders
- The 10 Best Anxiety Busters
- The Age of Anxiety
- The Anxieties of Affluence
- The Dutiful Worrier
- The Emotional Eater's Repair Manual
- The Male Stress Survival Guide
- The Places That Scare You
- The Stress Cure
- The SuperStress Solution
- Treating Affect Phobia
- Under Pressure and Overwhelmed
- Viniyoga Therapy for Anxiety
- When Words Are Not Enough
- Wish I Could Be There
- Yoga for Anxiety
- Yoga Journal's Yoga for Stress
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Self-Help Groups
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Links
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Videos
- How to Manage ADHD and Anxiety
- What You Need to Know about Students with ADHD and Anxiety
- How To Make Room For Gratitude In An Anxious Brain
- How to Stay Calm When You Know You'll Be Stressed
- Anxiety and Teen Girls with Lisa Damour, PhD
- Identifying and Treating Anxiety in Kids and Teens
- Anxiety, Trauma and How Prolonged Exposure Therapy Works For PTSD
- How Weighted Blankets May Lift Anxiety
- Too Scared: Social Anxiety Disorder
- Treating Anxiety Disorders: A Unified Protocol
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19 more
- Treating Youth Anxiety and Social Phobia
- Overcoming Anxiety in Children and Teens
- Treating Anxiety in Children and Teens with ASD
- Back-to-School Anxiety
- No More Shame: My life with Anxiety and Depression
- Adolescent Depression and Anxiety
- What is Social Anxiety Disorder?
- Living Without Fear
- What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
- What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
- School Anxiety! Activities To Help Kids and Teens Manage It
- Recognizing and Treating Problematic Fear and Anxiety in Children
- How To Stop Overthinking When You Have Anxiety
- My Anxiety Is Making Me Anxious!
- Evidence-Based Treatment Planning for Generalized Anxiety Disorder Video
- Managing Anxiety in Youth: More Action Than Talk
- Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety
- Recent Advances in Anxiety - Children/Adolescents
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More Information
- Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with David Barlow, Ph.D. on the Nature and Treatment of Anxiety and Panic Disorders
- Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Dr. Michelle Craske on Anxiety Disorders Research and Treatment
- Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Richard Heimberg, Ph.D. on Anxiety Research and Treatment
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