Anxiety is not new to us. After the pandemic, and now the unstable times we live in, it’s no surprise anxiety levels are creeping up and up.
Did you know there are literally countless natural, holistic anxiety relief exercises to beat anxiety, bringing on a calmer, more present state?
As a retired Wellbeing Coach and healthcare professional who has specialized in natural anxiety relief for several years, I want to share with you my top 20 holistic relief exercises to help you reduce anxiety, starting today.
These practices will be a great addition to any therapy you’re receiving (if applicable) for anxiety disorders and/or mental health support and can be practiced wherever you are to help deal with anxiety as soon as it hits.
Holistic Anxiety Relief Exercises
Physical Activity
Exercise is number one for getting rid of anxiety, hands down. Both the symptoms (sweats, tingles, foggy head, heart palpitations, etc).
And the thoughts, because any anxiety sufferer knows it’s not only what the body does uncontrollably when anxious, but also what thoughts we have in our heads.
Moving your body in a way that burns off excess adrenaline will bring the automatic fight, flight or freeze response right down, along with anxiety.
It doesn’t have to be super intense, aggressive exercise either – just a short brisk walk or gentle jog can work wonders to calm the body and mind.
Exercise is also fantastic for general well-being, reducing stress, improving cardiovascular health, bone strength, and much more.
By introducing a regular form of exercise to your routine, you’ll start to see significant improvements in your life, and lower anxiety levels.
Exercise is great for lowering blood pressure, and if it becomes a daily thing, your anxiety symptoms will naturally reduce too.
If you’ve never exercised before, a good starting guide is 3 x 30 mins weekly walks.
Grab a friend if you can, as having someone hold you accountable means you’re less likely to skip it.
One popular exercise example is HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), which you can do from home following a free YouTube video. There’s also Zumba and Tabata, which I love. Do a Google search, and loads will come up.
You could also join a running club and use it as a double hit, exercise, and socialize!
You could go for a jog on your own or with friends, swim, do a leisurely walk, do Pilates, Yoga, and any form of aerobic exercise.
The list is endless when it comes to exercise options! They all have a positive effect on anxiety levels and improve daily life.
Deep Breathing
We usually breathe shallowly, meaning we don’t take in an optimal amount of oxygen.
These are called ‘chest breaths’. But by introducing a deep breathing practice, your anxiety levels will reduce dramatically.
I’ll share the best breathing practices below.
Abdominal Breathing
Abdominal breathing is where we take a deep breath into the lungs.
We do so slowly to avoid hyperventilating, and we breathe out slowly in response. If you’ve never tried it before, it takes a bit of practice and repetition.
A great technique for determining whether you’re doing it correctly is to place your left hand under your bra line and your right hand on your chest.
When you take a breath (either through your nose or mouth is fine—whatever feels good), you should feel your chest go inwards. This is a sign that you’re taking a deep enough breath with oxygen going into your lungs.
Deep breaths can be helpful for panic attacks in the heat of the moment.
They can help bring the heart rate down by triggering the parasympathetic nervous system, which is needed to calm the body.
Deep breathing is scientifically proven to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby stopping anxiety attacks head-on.
The best thing about deep breathing is that you can do it anywhere. In your car, in the queue, while travelling, at home. There are no limits, our breath is our best friend if we focus attention and time on it.
The 4, 5 7 technique
The 4, 5,7 breathing technique is another form of deep breathing where you breathe in for a count of 4, hold for 7, and breathe out for 8. Give this a go a few times today, and see how you feel afterwards.
Feel free to write down how you felt as this will motivate you to do it again in future.
Calm breathing
I love another technique called ‘calm breathing’, where you breathe in for a count of 3, hold for 3 and then slowly breathe out for a count of 5. This may suit you better, so try both and see which you prefer.
Alternate nostril breathing
Lastly, and I love this one! It’s called alternate nostril breathing. Watch this video below to follow along with me as it’s easier to show than explain!
Mindfulness meditation
Mindfulness is one of my personal favourite anxiety treatments, and something I return to again and again.
The health benefits of mindfulness are well documented. Some medical doctors nowadays prescribe it as a treatment for panic disorder and depression.
It’s well and truly one of the most amazing natural remedies. Yet more people need to do (rather than just read about it) to help with feelings of anxiety.
The Oxford dictionary defines mindfulness as “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.”
It was brought to the mainstream in part by Dr John Kabat-Zinn who developed an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course to help those living with chronic health conditions.
When we are mindful or practicing mindfulness, we are simply focused on what’s happening at that moment.
We do not judge what is happening – instead, we observe it.
Focus on what is happening, not why it’s happening.
Mindful meditation can take a bit of practice to feel the benefits, but it’s worth it. So often, our anxiety is triggered by what we make something mean rather than what is factually happening.
Mindfulness gives us the power to detach from the story we tell ourselves and simply focus on reality.
It’s not actually designed as a relaxation technique, but it tends to have that response in those who practice it regularly, because so often we get caught in a spiral of thought and overthinking.
Mindfulness helps us step back from that.
Being mindful daily will help your anxiety levels reduce naturally.
The more often you are mindful, the more present you will be, more focused you will be, and less distracted you will be. I like to have several mindful moments throughout my day, spending 2-5 minutes at a time.
This article shares some further mindfulness exercises you can try.
If you want to learn more and practice mindfulness yourself, check out this mindfulness journal I created.
Herbal Teas
Teas are seriously underrated for their ability to calm the mind and body! Perhaps they don’t taste as amazing as a sugary drink, but they sure will bring your anxiety right down (whereas sugar will speed it up).
Chamomile tea is a natural stress soother and has an incredible effect on anxious feelings, calming the jitteriness. It’s great for digestion, too, and wonderful as a nighttime drink to help relax.
Valerian tea is widely known for its sedative effects, which again can help keep anxiety at bay.
In general, reducing caffeine intake will help long-term to keep anxiety levels stable.
It’s a good idea to follow the ‘no caffeine after midday’ rule if you struggle to sleep at night or feel anxiety levels spike in the evenings (which is a common time for anxiety to increase anyway).
Caffeine can also affect muscle tension.
That tight neck and stiff jaw we blame on anxiety can be due to too much caffeine and not enough water to hydrate the body. So, another reason to lower the amount of caffeine in your diet.
Chocolate also contains caffeine (and sugar), so monitor your intake to help lower anxiety levels naturally.
Essential Oils
There are numerous essential oils known to reduce anxiety symptoms. Lavender oil, Bergamot oil, and Ylang-ylang are known to promote relaxation and are some of my personal favorites.
Lemon is also very grounding which can help you escape the whirring in your mind, getting you back in your body.
Essential oils can be added to a carrier oil (such as almond oil) or a diffuser and misted into the air, creating a wonderful, harmonious scent in your home.
They’re also a great way to chisel your focus—if you need to concentrate or want something to focus on, smelling an essential oil can really help. You can also buy essential oil rollerballs to use directly on your skin.
Journaling
Writing down your thoughts and feelings can greatly relieve your anxiety. It’s one of those mind-body practices that is so effective that I wonder why more people don’t do it!
Journaling had such a profound impact on me, and still does to this day, that I wrote an e-book on the topic.
When journaling, it’s best to have a plain piece of paper or notepad, a pen and some alone time. You want to avoid distractions so you can get into flow state, where you simply write whatever comes up, and time stands still.
This has an amazing ability to reduce anxiety in the body and get you into the present moment.
You also have access to 30 free journal prompts from this article, which will help you get started by kicking start the writing process.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This is a popular talking therapy for anxiety sufferers, often prescribed by medical doctors.
You can also have CBT sessions privately. It’s one of many highly effective therapies that target the root cause of anxiety, which are those incessant, ruminating thoughts that cause us to spiral out of control.
CBT practices work on present context problems – counseling is another option if you are open to talking about past experiences.
With CBT practices, you work on changing the narrative in your mind, with long-term benefits.
Through regular sessions of CBT you will no longer be at the mercy of your mind – you’ll have specific tools to combat anxious thoughts and reframe them so they become more manageable.
Note that I am not a CBT practitioner, but I am passionate about the positive effects it has on anxiety sufferers, so I regularly share its applications.
Leafy greens
Did you know that broccoli, spinach, parsley, chard and kale all help reduce anxiety naturally due to high levels of chlorophyll, a natural stress reducer?
A healthy diet overall is a number one key tool for anxiety-reducing, because it works from the inside out.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Eat more fish, nuts and seeds to help manage chronic anxiety. On a daily basis, any of these foods will have a calming effect on the body and a cumulative effect over time.
The body needs omega 3s to optimise brain activity, among other reasons. So, salmon for dinner?
Vitamin D levels
Vitamin D helps regulate your mood, which is why in summer we all feel happier! This study talks about the relationship between anxiety and lower Vitamin D levels in some cases.
So, a Vitamin D supplement, spending more time outdoors (not in burning sun mind you) and including more Vitamin D foods, such as fish (salmon, tuna and herring in particular), eggs, cod liver oil and fortified foods (cereals/juice with added vit D) can be another natural remedy to help reduce anxiety.
Herbal Supplements
Similarly to the section on herbal teas, lavender, and chamomile can have a calming effect on the body.
One of my favourite things is picking lavender in summer and displaying it in a vase on the kitchen table. They are so pretty!
I won’t recommend ingesting herbal supplements in this post (that’s not my specialty), but you could consult a registered and accredited herbalist who can help you further.
Massage
Another great way to help combat the physical symptoms of chronic anxiety and lower stress levels is massage.
Or, having someone like your partner massage you before bed – that works a treat. Massage is a fantastic, natural way to tap into the body’s relaxation system.
There are so many options, such as back massage, head massage, and foot reflexology.
Add some essential oils and a nice massage oil, and it’s the best for removing tension areas and helping stimulate the relaxation response.
Enough Sleep
It’s possibly a touch too obvious, but lack of sleep in itself can cause anxiety.
But so can the elongated effects of not having enough sleep repeatedly, time and again. Lack of sleep initiates the stress response, making us feel more on edge.
Our flight response kicks in. Our energy levels dip, and we feel groggy, contributing to an even bigger spike in anxiety.
Prioritize getting enough sleep if you can.
Do things that will help you sleep, such as shutting off your phone an hour before going to bed.
Reading to make yourself sleepy.
Have a warm bubble bath and light some candles. Basically, relaxing before bed will help you fall asleep.
The difficulty comes when you wake up in the night and can’t fall asleep. If this happens, get up, make yourself a herbal tea, and read for half an hour. A small dry biscuit can help settle the stomach if you’re hungry.
Wait until you feel sleepy, then try going back to bed.
When it comes to getting enough sleep, don’t waste time struggling, tossing, and turning. If none of these suggestions help, go to your medical doctor for support and advice.
Cbd Oil
Cannabidiol derives from the cannabis plant and is becoming popular as a potential treatment for anxiety. I know absolutely nothing about CBD oil though – truly being transparent!
It’s not been something I’ve ever talked about in my anxiety relief coaching. But this is a good article for you to find out more about it.
Lifestyle Changes
Simple improvements to your day will help naturally lower anxiety levels. Getting more exercise, eating less sugar, increasing your fibre intake and drinking more water.
These are easy tips that naturally lower anxiety and increase the health of the body. Improvements in your lifestyle will also support a wider range of medical conditions. Win-win!
Affirmations & Mantras
Affirmations are repeated phrases and words we tell ourselves. They can be effective for all sorts of things, from boosting your confidence and self-esteem to getting rid of anxiety.
I used affirmations throughout both my pregnancies, sticking them all over my house. They helped keep me feeling calm and in control.
You can make your own affirmations, or why not purchase some ready made to decorate your home. Remember though, you must repeat them daily for maximum effect.
Lemon balm
Lemon balm is another herb reputed to reduce stress and anxiety. You can plant lemon balm in your herb garden and use the leaves in hot water to drink or in cooking.
Be sure to research the recommended quantities and how to use it for best effects, particularly if you opt to take lemon balm supplements – advice from a medical doctor is always valuable.
I hope you find this list of 20 holistic remedies to reduce anxiety naturally helpful. I actually think it’s a list of 21 (doh!) Must go back and study maths!
Comment and let me know if this post helps. And please share it to help more people.
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