On Postnatal Anxiety...

We spoke yesterday in our postnatal yoga circle about anxiety as a new (or not so new) mum. It’s something many of us encounter as we roam the uncharted territory of our own motherhood journey. Sometimes we’re climbing insurmountable heights, other times dancing in lustrous meadows, and sometimes deep inside dark caverns. Things can differ greatly between months, days, hours, even minutes. And sometimes we can take solace in the changing nature of things. But sometimes this same uncertainty can fill us with waves of anxiety.

So I’m sharing some of my yoga(ish) coping techniques here.

Move your body! I prefer a strong but flowing yoga sequence but you can also dance, shake your body parts, preform vigorous rubbing massage on yourself. Sometimes it feels for me like the energy needs someone to go so that it doesn’t build up and become overpowering. However, at early postpartum and during my inner winter or times of extreme tiredness I prefer stillness over movement.

Lie on your front. Supported childs pose cuddling a big bunch of cushions and surrendering your weight to the gravitational pull of the earth. This is my go to. But you can also lie flat on your front, support your body in a T shape with bolsters or any other posture that allows us to cut off that outward looking nature of the front of the body.

Breathe Inhale for 4 and out for 8. Blow the breath gently out through your lips, take a long sigh or hum the breath out. See which works for you. I like to hum or I’m if I’m doing this with my baby as he also joins in (ok he’s nearly 2 can I still call him a baby!? ). Extending our exhale sends a message to our nervous system that says “it’s ok”, “we’re safe”. Maybe you could try repeating one of these mentally with the exhale.

Keep talking about it. You’re not the only one.

Ask for help (I have big problems with this one). Look into your support network and reach out for help. Help with practical tasks, help with baby / children, help with managing the anxiety (I know lots of mamas who have had a great experience with the perinatal mental health team - you can self refer or go through your HV or GP). We were not meant to do this alone!

Connect with nature. I love to walk barefoot in the woods and wild swim. But often just a slow walk through the local woods with my kids or a slow stomp up the hill will suffice.

Connect with where you are in your cycle. My anxiety peaks during my inner summer (ovulation). Knowing this helps me recognise and manage it.

How do you manage anxiety?