Yoga for Anger Management: Control Your Anger Through Yoga

Anger is a natural emotion, just like you feel hunger, thirst, pain, you also feel anger. However, the type of anger and intensity of anger make anger actually worse for you. Your mother’s anger or your teacher’s anger towards you can be termed constructive anger as these fits of anger are aimed at teaching, correcting, and disciplining you. You become angry because you are hurt, this type of anger can also be justified, however, if you start thinking about taking revenge or begin to be destructive, this kind of intense anger cannot be justified. When intense anger burgeons inside you and you cannot control your anger or cannot channelize your anger, the anger begins to eat you up. The anger you have destroys your personal and professional life. Therefore, if you have intense anger and if it is destructive, you will have to learn how to manage your anger.

In the West, behavioral therapy for anger management is very popular. There are also training programs that teach people how to control anger. A lot of people visit psychiatrists or motivational gurus to learn how to manage anger. However, in the East, mostly in India, meditation and yoga are recommended to manage your emotions, including anger. If you are a fan of alternative therapy like yoga and meditation, here are some popular meditation methods and yoga techniques to control and manage anger.

Yoga Postures for Anger Management

Shashank Asana: Fold your both legs and place your bottom on your feet. Raise your both hands perpendicularly, your palm open. Take a deep breath and bend forward while releasing air, and then rest your forehead and open palm on the ground. After 30-40 seconds, lift your body from the ground all the while taking a long breath and tilt your body backward, your hands should be raised. Repeat this yoga posture for 5-10 times every day.

Pranayama, the Yogic Breathing techniques, for Anger Management

Anulom Vilom: Often regarded as the mother of all Pranayama methods, Anulom-Vilom has many benefits not just a way to manage your anger. Anulom-Vilom can also help you control your high blood pressure. In order to do Anulom-Vilom, sit crossed leg with an erect spine. Your left hand should be on your knees, making a circle of index finger and thumb, and remaining three fingers pointing towards the ground. Position the index finger of your right hand on the base of your thumb and close your right nostril with your thumb. Now, take a long breath from the left nostril. After the long inhale, close your left nostril with your middle and ring finger, light the thumb from the right nostril and release deep air. After you exhale air completely, take a deep breath from the same nostril and release air from the left nostril by closing your right nostril with the thumb. Repeat this process for at least 20 minutes every day.

Udvidj: Sit crossed leg on the floor, your spine should be erect. Place your hands on your knees, palm facing upwards. Touch the tip of your thumb with the tip of index finger. Remaining fingers should be pointed downwards. Close your eyes and begin to chant Aum (OM). Your chanting should be long, something like OOOOOOOOOO….MMMMMMMM. Longer you take to change OM at one time, better will be the result.

Shitle: Sit on the floor, your spine erect, and your hands on the knees. Keep your tongue out and take a deep breath from your mouth. Make sure to take a long breath from your mouth while your tongue stuck out. Then, release air from mouth. Repeat this process 5-10 times every day.

Another version of Shitle is called Shitkari Asana. In this pranayama technique, you keep your tongue at the back of your teeth, and take a deep breath through your mouth and then release through the nose.

Bhramari: Sit crossed leg on the floor, or in any comfortable position, close your eyes, close your ears with your thumbs, place your index fingers just above your eyebrows, cover your eyes with remaining fingers (middle finger, ring finger and little finger), and close your lips. Now, try to utter Aum loudly. Remember your lips are shut and the sound of Aum should come from inside not from your lips. You hear the sound inside you, you feel the vibration inside. Continue, chanting for a longer period of time. In the beginning, you can do this just for 25-30 seconds, but gradually you will be able to do for a longer period. Practice this Bhramari pranayama every day for at least 10 minutes every day, possibly in the morning.

Conclusion

Yoga postures (low impact exercise) and pranayama techniques (breathing exercises) explained in this article are just a few examples of how you can control your extreme emotions by doing yoga regularly. In yoga, almost everything is possible, from controlling and managing your emotions like anger, frustrations, sadness, to mental conditions like stress, anxiety, depression to physical ailments like diabetes, blood pressure etc.