Anxiety, constipation & back problems work together, including for Dad

The short answer: beginners yoga for anxiety and depression starts with slow breathing, supported poses and learning to relax on purpose. Many students find it helps them feel calmer. Flametree teaches it in Darwin and LIVE online. Try the half price beginner deal (12 classes for $59.50) and see the beginner timetable. Last updated: 25 October 2026.

When my father visited Darwin from Melbourne, he would insist we went to the airport at 6pm … for a midnight departure! He suffered the anxiety that is felt by so many of us, including Senior Yoga teachers like me (Chris). Online or Darwin beginners yoga for anxiety and depression might have helped my parents, as it helps me. Even easy restorative yoga poses for anxiety may have made a difference. Or a restorative yoga sequence for anxiety? But it was all a bridge too far for them, as it is for many.

I saw the same anxiety issue with both my parents trying far too hard to plan everything in advance. If they were going from their home near Geelong, into Melbourne, it became a huge logistical event.

For a mere hour and a quarter drive, it became an exercise in ticking off lists, planning for a week ahead, and endless stress.  

When it came to the drive itself, Dad would not go on the new freeway. He preferred to go on the much slower old roads that he already knew.  Both Mum and Dad always suffered from anxiety. It was already in their constitution. They had a nervier disposition than some. 

Getting older made it much worse… because they never learned to manage or reduce it… at a time when they could have done things to get control of it. 

In the challenging 2020’s, anxiety is even more evident. Yoga is an easy way to help address it.  

You can start with easy beginner yoga, and steadily move on to more experienced yoga if and when its the right time for you.

Darwin yoga for anxiety

Anxiety contributed to constipation & back problems

For Dad, constipation was another part of the awful drama of getting older… made worse by anxiety. Anxiety can make it hard to relax enough to go to the toilet. 

Hardness in the abdomen and butterflies in the stomach, which are aspects of anxiety, can in turn contribute to constipation.

It got worse again when my father stopped drinking enough water… because he had developed an increasingly weak bladder. 

Such urinary issues can be linked to a weak or untoned pelvic floor.

Not drinking enough water therefore meant my father got dehydrated, and this can leave you feeling dazed.  Even though my father ate well, the constipation problem persisted. 

With constipation, and full bowels, you also get lower back problems… because the lower back is not relaxed.  With constipation, one spends too much time gripping the buttocks inwards…and this is all part of lower back problems. 

Online & Darwin yoga for depression & much more

Relaxing is a learnt skill

The ability to relax does have be learned…so you can relax from both a physical and mental point of view.

In turn, such relaxation, plus the type of pelvic and other toning my father could have gotten from yoga, might have helped him avoid the kind of escalating problem I saw. 

The yoga poses we do in Beginner Yoga, or even the level above it, will start you on the journey to relaxing… and managing or reducing anxiety.

Especially via so-called Restorative Yoga, relaxation is a learnable skill. It’s something you can systematically learn to do at will… via the right pose, and supportive props.

In turn, it may help you ease the kind of escalation my father suffered. 

Beginner yoga poses are easy, and can be done by people at any age. If necessary, your teacher will modify the poses further, so you can manage them. 

The poses in the Beginner Level classes at Flametree Darwin (and online) are designed especially for people who think that yoga, and physical activity of any kind, is beyond them.

Props that make yoga easier & more effective

Flametree also has a large selection of yoga props and equipment. They make it even easier to get into and out of positions that give you many benefits.

If you are doing yoga online or on-demand, then teachers show you how to use household furniture and other items as makeshift props.

Flametree also has very cost effective yoga prop kits that you can buy. Just contact us. 

There is also a separate page on the Flametree site about how to use props, and where else to get them.

Flametree’s yoga equipment includes the rope wall that you can see in some of the pictures on this site. Among other things, a wall with ropes on the bars gives you an easy way to do inversions.

Beginners Yoga For Anxiety And Depression Starts With This

Getting upside down (inversions)

Inversions means getting upside down, with or without a rope wall. Many also use a sling to do this. It’s a way to do inversions. Iyengar teachers say that in the inverted poses the blood supply to the head and neck is increased with no extra effort from the heart. 

B.K.S. Iyengar taught that this better circulation supports the brain, the glands in the head and neck (the pituitary, hypothalamus, pineal and thyroid) and the sense organs. That is known from practice, and it is still being studied.

Many students keep using the ropes well into their 80s and 90s. Inversions are taught in stages, and only when you are ready for them. 

Beginner yoga classes, including restorative yoga poses for anxiety

If you are worried about whether you can manage yoga, try our special focus beginner classes, like the Gentle Yoga class on Fridays at 10.15am (Darwin NT time), and the Easy Restorative Yoga class at 4pm on Saturdays. Among other things, you’ll learn a restorative yoga sequence for anxiety that many students find a real help.

Please also consider the Back Care Yoga Special Focus class (Yoga For Backs) at 7.15pm on Wednesdays at Woolner. 

Special Focus classes are useful to all beginners, even though they have a particular focus.

Many classes are LIVE online and in the studio (the timetable marks which). Live online means you can see and hear the teacher, and get on the spot guidance. 

The classes are part of Flametree’s Beginner Yoga deals. You’ll find a wide variety of beginners yoga for anxiety and depression, including restorative yoga poses for anxiety.

More Beginners Yoga For Anxiety And Depression

What if you can’t lift yourself off the toilet?

If you’re still not convinced, let me finish with this quote from the book called “You: The Owner’s Manual”.

“Maybe you’re not terribly worried about your mental state, bones, joints, and muscles right now, but they’re hugely important to the way we age, if for no other reason than this: 
having an athlete’s heart or Albert Einstein’s brain doesn’t mean a darn thing if you can’t lift yourself off the toilet.”

Something as simple as a restorative yoga sequence for anxiety is a good place to start. 

Online & Darwin beginners yoga for anxiety and depression, & more

Flametree has a large timetable of LIVE online & in-studio classes. 

Flametree teaches genuine, modern classical (Iyengar) yoga that gives you a sound, step-by-step way to build the benefits of yoga. It gets you into the correct positions to help your body and mind work well together.

Use one of these generous introductory deals to give it a try.

NON-BEGINNER yoga deal: 14 days unlimited for $39. Or see the very generous HALF price deals for NON-beginners who are new or 3 months lapsed ($104.50 for 10 plus 2 FREE, no code needed, money-back guarantee).

Online and Darwin BEGINNER yoga deal: 2 FREE classes and 10 HALF price classes for all those who are new or 3 months lapsed: $59.50, no code needed, with a 14-day money-back guarantee, and your first class is FREE if you are new. Do it online, or in-studio, or both. 

 

“The exhalations should be like a bath that a mother gives a baby. Not like taking a heavy shower.”

Prashant S Iyengar, class in Pune, 2002. More on the Iyengar quotes on breath page.

Questions about yoga for anxiety

Can beginners do yoga for anxiety?

Yes. Beginner poses are easy and can be done at any age, and your teacher can adjust them further so you can manage them.

What is a restorative yoga sequence for anxiety?

It is a set of supported poses, using props such as bolsters and chairs, that you hold for longer so you can learn to relax on purpose. You build up to it over time.

Which Flametree classes suit anxiety?

Gentle Yoga on Fridays at 10.15am, Restorative Yoga on Saturdays at 4pm and Yoga For Backs on Wednesdays at 7.15pm at Woolner, plus Beginner 1 classes. Times are Darwin time. See the timetable for the current list.

Can I do it online?

Yes. Click the class time you want and we email you the link to join. The timetable marks which classes are online.

How do I start?

New students get the half price beginner deal: 12 classes for $59.50, in the studio, online or both. Your first class is free if you are new to Flametree.

There’s more about restorative yoga poses for anxiety on the

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