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    5 Poses to Reduce Overwhelm

    5 Poses to Reduce Overwhelm

    Sue Cheung

    Sue Cheung is a yoga and mindfulness meditation teacher with over a decade of experience teaching at some of London’s most popular studios. In 2023 Sue qualified as an Integrative Change Worker with the Ethical Coaching Collective and as a certified Life Coach with the Life Coach School.

    Sue shares 5 poses to reduce overwhelm…

    Alternate Nostril Breathing

    1. Find a comfortable seated position with a stable base and long spine.
    2. Using your dominant hand place the index and middle finger onto the space between the eyebrow.
    3. Let your thumb rest on one nostril and the ring finger onto the other, letting the pinky finger curl in towards the palm.
    4. Take a cycle of breath into both nostrils, then close the right nostril and inhale through the left.
    5. Close the left and then exhale through the right.
    6. Inhale through the right.
    7. Close the right and then exhale through the left

    Continue for about 10 rounds. As we move through the midline, we’re stimulating both hemispheres of the brain, helping to create a sense of calm and ease.

    Neck Circles

    1. Sit up nice and tall, lowering the chin down to the chest
    2. Draw the chin over to the right shoulder, to the ceiling, left shoulder and back down to the chest
    3. Do this about 5 times in this direction, then draw the chin towards the right armpit, take your right hand and gently guide the left ear away from the left shoulder.
    4. Release the head, bring the chin down to the chest and repeat going in the opposite direction

    This movement is massaging the vagus nerve which plays an important role in shifting us into a more parasympathetic nervous system state – the rest and digest state.

    Sleeping Pose into Twist

    1. Lie flat onto the floor
    2. Bend the elbows like they’re in a cactus position
    3. Look to the right and then slide the right knee towards the right elbow as though you’re sleeping. Stay here for about 10 breaths
    4. Lift the head and slide the right arm underneath the left arm and lengthen both arms long. So you’re now side lying with the arms extended with palm on top of palm.
    5. Begin to lift the left arm to the ceiling (like you’re drawing a rainbow over your body) and open into a supine twist. Stay here for 10 breaths.
    6. Lift the left arm back to the ceiling, returning to your side lying and back to lying on your front.
    7. Repeat on the second side.

    Child's Pose

    Bring the big toes to touch, knees wide and let your seat connect to your heels or a support (blanket, cushion, or block). Let the torso rest in between the thighs. Arms reach forward with the elbows and forearms resting on the floor. If possible have the space between the forehead rest onto the floor or a support. This can have a very calming effect on the mind.



    Bringing Down the Heavens (a qigong form)

    1. Standing tall with the feet about shoulders distance apart
    2. The knees are soft
    3. Reach the arms to the sides and up, imagining as though you’re gathering energy from your favourite place in nature.
    4. Once the elbows reach ear height, begin to turn the palms face down, fingertips point towards one another and start to move the hands down through the front of the body. Imagine that you’re inviting that energy into the body, cleaning any feelings of overwhelm.
    5. Repeat this a total of three times.

    Hopefully these poses will help you to shift any feelings of overwhelm. You’ve got this! Take it one step at a time.