Can anyone recommend Good Relaxation Techniques for Anxiety?

I am wondering what works for anxiety and breathing issues. Can anyone suggest any classes that could help me? I am thinking along the lines of yoga or something :)

I'd say meditation too, although I've never done any classes. Yoga just makes me more annoyed because when I exercise I want some exertion, not just all the bending stuff - I can already put my legs behind my head, why do I need a class on it that pretends to be exercise? I learnt how to breathe years ago... I'll just stick with aerobics then LOL. But meditation and prayer are great de-stress, relaxation tools.

To reap the benefits of yoga, one must first concentrate on their breathing - it's really all about the breathing. Pranayama is a major component of yoga ('prana' meaning 'breath, energy, life, etc...'Ayama' means length, control,etc =breath control). There is a great technique to balance left and right brain, whereby one sits in a yoga posture (this can be simply cross-legged or in a chair) and, using the thumb of the right hand, pushes in the side of the right nostril, while you breathe into you left nostril, then push in both nostril (using your middle finger for the left one) and hold the breathe, continue to hold the left nostril in with the middle finger, and let go of the right nostril, breathing out of that nostril, then breathe into the right nostril, still holding the left, etc. This in itself is part of yoga meditation. A great book on yoga is 'Light on Yoga' by B.K.S Iyengar.

Aside from that, to ease panic, tension or anxiety in any given moment, take a medium breathe in, hold it for a count of ten, and take a slow deep breathe out. This will balance carbon dioxide in the brain, which becomes depleted due to rapid breathing, caused by hyperventilation at times of stress.

Good luck! :)

Thank you all so much:hug:
I will start those breathing excersises, and will look into chi kung - sounds interesting.