6 Yoga Exercises and Poses to Control Anger

Anger, irritability, despair, and other negative emotions are a part and parcel of life. Just as happiness, contentment, and peace leave you feeling positive, grateful and accepting, negative emotions can make you feel withdrawn, depressed, and helpless.

Everyone has their way of dealing with or expressing their emotions. It's important to express — especially when it comes to negative emotions. Bottling up negativity, especially anger, can cause a lot of harm, both physically and mentally.

If you feel helpless in a situation or do not know how to release your anger, yoga can be a good way to release negative emotions. Yoga and meditation are powerful tools that can teach you how to control and better process your emotions.

How Does Anger Affect Us?

Anger usually triggers the 'fight or flight' response. Primarily, it causes a small increase in heart rate, blood pressure, stress levels, and breathing rate. If that's a frequent occurrence and left unmanaged, it can cause changes in the body’s metabolism that can inevitably affect you physically, mentally, emotionaly and socially.

Uncontrolled anger is a potent negative emotion that can, over time, cause serious conditions, like increased likelihood of heart attack, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

Yoga can be a good way to deal with anger and other negative feelings. Yoga asanas are better than other physical exercises, as they work in sync with the breath, making you feel more energized and in control.

Yoga Exercises to Control Anger

Check out the following six yoga exercises and poses to help you control anger:

1) Sukhasana

The Sanskrit word Sukhasana is made up of the words 'sukh' and 'asana'. When you do this asana regularly, it can bring happiness and peace to your body and mind. If you do it often, it can help you wake up your chakras and kundalini.

To do this asana:

Sit comfortably on a yoga mat.
Bring both knees in, one at a time, so that the legs are crossed.
Don't bend at the waist. Instead, keep your waist straight.
Put the palms of both hands on your knees so that they're facing up.
The shoulders and spine should be straight.

2) Balasana

The Balasana, also called the child's pose, is a a yoga exercise for relaxing that calms the mind, relieves stress, and stretches the hips, thighs, and legs.

To do this asana:

Kneel on the floor, and bring both feet close to the toes.
Sit on your heels, and move your knees as far apart as you can with your hips.
Take a deep breath while you're in this position.
As you let your breath out, bend forward, and keep your upper body between your legs.
Reach forward with your arms.
Slowly move your hands as far forward as you can, and put your shoulders on the floor.
As this is a relaxation pose, you can stay in this position for 30 seconds or a few minutes.
Raise your upper body to get out of the pose.

3) Ardha Matsyendrasana

The Ardha Matsyendrasana improves blood circulation, relaxes the interior organs, and massages them. All that have a calming effect on the mind.

To do this asana:

Sit with your legs spread out in front of you, with your feet together and spine straight.
Bending the left leg, place the heel of your left foot near the right hip.
Place your right foot above your left knee in front.
Place your left hand on the right knee and the right hand behind.
Turn your waist, shoulders, and neck from the right side to look over your right shoulder.
Hold tge position, and take long, deep breaths.
Exhale, and release the right hand first, followed by the waist, chest, and finally the neck. Sit comfortably straight.
Change sides, and repeat.

4) Chakrasana

This yoga stance helps quieten the mind and strengthens the body to regulate anger. It boosts the mind-body connection.

To do this asana:

Bend your knees, and keep your feet 10-12 inches apart, connecting the heels with the buttocks.
Raise and bend your arm. Place your palms towards the head above the shoulders. Inhale, and slowly elevate the back and torso.
Stretch your arms and legs as far as possible.
Exhale slowly. As long as possible, hold the position.
Lower your body so that the head remains on the ground to return to the starting position.
Repeat as needed.

5) Sarvangasana

The sarvangasana calms the nervous system, reducing aggression. It strengthens the body and mind.

To do this asana:

Lie on your back with your feet together and hands by your sides. Raise your legs at a 90-degree angle.
Bend your elbows, and keep your palms under your waist to elevate yourself. Hold this pose for a few minutes, and release.
Lower yourself so that the head is on the ground to return to the starting position.
Repeat as needed.

6) Savasana

In Savasana, you need to focus your mind and body on one spot, which can be difficult for some people. However, it can leave you feeling rejuvenated.

To do this asana:

Lie on your back, and place your hands about a foot away from the body.
Keep a one- or two-foot space between your feet.
Keep both hands ten inches away from the body on the ground.
Your fingers and palms should be facing up.
Slowly close your eyes. Slowly breathe in and out.

Takeaway

Asanas, pranayama, and meditation assist you in overcoming inner sadness. Along with yoga asanas, breathing and exhaling methods, pranayama calms the mind and releases the happy hormone, which flushes away impurities and negative emotions. That helps manage anger.