Movement to help reduce anxiety

Being mindful while moving can help reduce feelings of anxiety by taking your attention away from stressful thoughts.

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Paying attention to your body’s sensations and what is happening in your surroundings can keep you in the present moment. This can help reduce feelings of anxiety by taking your attention away from stressful thoughts. The following audio selections will walk you through how to practice being mindful while you are out doing physical activity.

The videos are 1-10 minutes in length. Choose one of the clips you are interested in or are most comfortable with, to focus on for each of your activities. You can try the other audio clips when you feel ready to do so.

Note that often people will keep their head down while thinking, even when they are moving. It is important to keep your mind free of any unnecessary thoughts, keep your chin lifted, and keep eyes looking forward towards your surroundings. The following activities will include prompts to help remind you to do this.

Videos

Seated variations

References

Gotnik, R. A., Hermans, K. S.F.M., Geschwind, N., Nooij, R., De Groot, W. T., & Speckens, A. E.M. (2016). Mindfulness and mood stimulate each other in an upward spiral: a mindful walking intervention using experience sampling. Mindfulness. 7:1114–1122
Hofmann, S.G. & Gomez, A.F. (2017). Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Anxiety and Depression. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 40(4): 739–749.
Janssen, M., Heerkens, Y., Kuijer, W., Van Der Heijden, B., & Engels, J. (2018). Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on employees’ mental health: A systematic review. PloS one, 13(1), e0191332.
McGuire, D., Shannon, A., Somaiya, J., Brown, E., & O'Donoghue, B. (2022). A pilot study of a yoga intervention for the treatment of anxiety in young people with early psychosis. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 16(2), 200-204.
Niazi, A. K. & Niazi, S. K. (2011). Mindfulness-based stress reduction: a non-pharmacological approach for chronic illnesses. North American journal of medical sciences, 3(1), 20.
Sistig, B., Lambrecht, I., & Friedman, S. H. (2014). Journey back into body and soul – an exploration of mindful yoga with psychosis. Psychosis, 7(1), 25–36.
Teut, M., Roesner, E. J., Ortiz, M., Reese, F., Binting, S., Roll, S., ... & Brinkhaus, B. (2013). Mindful walking in psychologically distressed individuals: A randomized controlled trial. Evidence‐Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013(1), 489856.

Contributors include:Andréa Hill Emily Clark Jill Magis Kate Harri Mary Ann Baynton

Published on Apr. 11, 2022. Last reviewed on Aug. 29, 2024

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Movement to help reduce anxiety

Videos

Movement to calm you down | video on YouTube

Release anxiety as you walk | video on YouTube

Use the senses to feel calm | video on YouTube

Light stretching | video on YouTube

Help complete your body’s fight stress response (Standing) | Video on YouTube

Help complete your body’s flight stress response (Standing) | Video on YouTube

Help calm your body's freeze stress response (Standing) | Video on YouTube

Help calm your body's fawn stress response (Standing) | Video on YouTube

Seated variations

Help complete your body’s fight stress response (Seated) | Video on YouTube

Help complete your body’s flight stress response (Seated) | Video on YouTube

Help calm your body's freeze stress response (Seated) | Video on YouTube

Help calm your body's fawn stress response (Seated) | Video on YouTube

References

Comments