{"id":9450,"date":"2022-12-08T15:24:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T15:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yogajournal.com\/?p=106901"},"modified":"2022-12-08T15:24:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T15:24:00","slug":"how-to-calm-down-from-a-panic-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/08\/how-to-calm-down-from-a-panic-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Calm Down From a Panic Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
\n

Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth yoga, fitness, & nutrition courses, when you <a href="https:\/\/www.yogajournal.com\/outsideplus" class="o-content-cta-link" data-analytics-event="click" data-analytics-data="{"name":"Element Clicked","props":{"destination_url":"\/outsideplus","domain":"<>","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}”>sign up for Outside+<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

I was in Savasana when it hit me. My heart started racing like the beat of a heavy metal drummer. Bum bump bum bump bum bump.<\/p>\n

I felt like there wasn\u2019t enough air in this world for me to breathe. I wanted to cry out loudly. I wanted to leave. But I didn\u2019t because I\u2019m the social media dude who makes fun of yoga<\/a>. I create comedy videos and memes about students leaving Savasana early.<\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

Lying on my mat, soaked with sweat, I wondered, is this karma? Is the Universe teaching me a lesson? Am I about to die? This is where they\u2019ll find my body, I thought. Here in a yoga studio, dead in Savasana. How many memes would be made of me? \u201cYogi Bryan Dead at 40 Mastering Corpse Pose.\u201d<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t leave, I told myself. I can\u2019t freak out. I can\u2019t be a meme.<\/p>\n

How to calm down from a panic attack<\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve dealt with anxiety<\/a> since I was a kid. My family used to tell me, \u201cStop worrying, you\u2019ll get an ulcer.\u201d Then I\u2019d worry even more because I was thinking about getting an ulcer.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know what \u201cstop worrying\u201d meant or looked like. How? How do I not worry? How do I stop these spiraling thoughts?<\/p>\n

Thankfully, I have coping strategies that I didn\u2019t know when I was younger. Some I\u2019ve learned through direct experience in meditation<\/a>, breathwork<\/a>, and yoga. Others I learned elsewhere.<\/p>\n

I once watched a video on YouTube by meditation master Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche<\/a> in which he explained that he, too, had panic attacks when he was a child. Even when he was meditating. His father told him to welcome the panic like a friend.<\/p>\n

I recall thinking, \u201cWhat? Are you kidding me? I need to make friends with my anxiety?\u201d<\/p>\n

But when he tried this, he found making friends with panic made his meditations bearable. Eventually he would use panic as support to his meditation practice just like having a friend sit next to him to meditate. He became such good friends with his panic, something bittersweet happened. After becoming his constant companion and his teacher, panic said goodbye and left.<\/p>\n

That teaching became the foundation of how I cope with my panic attacks.<\/p>\n

I learned that we are so much more powerful than our feelings. It\u2019s just panic, it\u2019s just anxiety, it\u2019s just feelings. That day in Savasana, the terror eventually went away. It always does.<\/p>\n

But sometimes, we need more than a single technique. Below is my five-step method for coping with panic attacks.<\/p>\n

My 5-step strategy for how to calm down from a panic attack<\/h2>\n

Step 1: Acknowledge your panic<\/h3>\n

This is the \u201cmake friends\u201d part. Feelings want to be acknowledged. Feelings want to be seen. Sometimes that is all your feelings need before they go away. Make friends with your panic or your anger or whatever you are struggling with.<\/p>\n

In recent years, when anxiety arrives in my day, I welcome it. \u201cHey anxiety, I see you.\u201d Just say hi and welcome it in like you\u2019re welcoming a good friend.<\/p>\n

Step 2. Focus on a stationary object in your space or room<\/h3>\n

Describe an object in your surroundings to yourself. For example, \u201cI am looking at this picture. This picture is of my dog in a wooden frame.\u201d Keep describing the object to yourself, speaking out loud, for a minute or two. This helps bring your attention back to the present moment.<\/p>\n

Step 3: Begin a breathing technique to relax your body even more<\/h3>\n

Panic has a distinct breathing pattern. You start to hold your breath and your body intuitively goes into fight-or-flight. Your body wants to relax, so give it enough oxygen and allow it to do so.<\/p>\n

With your mouth closed, breathe in for a 4 count, hold your breath for 2 counts, and then exhale out your mouth on a 6 count. Longer exhalations literally and physiologically cause your nervous system to stop the fight-or-flight response. As your inhalations lengthen, your body will relax more.<\/p>\n

Step 4: Smile<\/h3>\n

Yes, smile. Your body is essentially your subconscious mind. What you do with your body affects your mind. Smile even if you don\u2019t want to smile. Fake a smile if you have to. And then hold that smile for 2 minutes. Notice your feelings start to change even if you\u2019re fake smiling.<\/p>\n

Use your body as a tool and remember to have fun.<\/p>\n

Step 5: Say an affirmation to yourself<\/h3>\n

Affirmations are positive statements made in the present moment. What you say to yourself is very important. By saying an affirmation, it will allow your spiraling anxious thoughts to calm down.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples of affirmations you could say to yourself:<\/p>\n

\u201cI will remain calm and steady.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am safe, secure, and relaxing more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am stronger than I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am feeling calmer and calmer.\u201d<\/p>\n

A meditation to help you calm down from a panic attack<\/h2>\n

After reading these steps, you probably feel more relaxed than you were before. Your body wants to relax. Yes, it does. Relaxation is its natural state, so let your body do what it intuitively wants to do.<\/p>\n

I created a meditation for panic attack relief. When you\u2019re ready, find a comfortable place and allow my voice and music to relax you even more. Use this meditation whenever you are experiencing a panic attack or anxiety. (The music contains binaural beats<\/a> with 528hz, so it\u2019s best experienced with headphones or earbuds for maximum relaxation.)<\/p>\n

You got this! You are stronger than you think.<\/p>\n

\n

Video loading…<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

About our contributor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yogi Bryan is a certified hypnotherapist, Neuro Linguistic Programmer (NLP), E-RYT 200-hour yoga instructor, and Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP). His Relax with Yogi Bryan Meditations podcast<\/a> has more than 2 million plays. Bryan\u2019s mission is to share his practice of yoga and meditation so people can develop a healthy body and a peaceful mind. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"How<\/figure>\n

Yogi Bryan explains what you can do anytime your anxiety becomes overwhelming. Guided meditation included.<\/p>\n

The post How to Calm Down From a Panic Attack<\/a> appeared first on Yoga Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[37,35,36],"class_list":["post-9450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ayurveda","tag-blogs","tag-yoga","tag-yogacourseware"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}