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Motherhood can be so hard, and one of the hardest parts is remaining calm and collected when you’re constantly overwhelmed and overstimulated.

I’m there with ya.

I have one baby (yes only one so far, there are supermoms out there with multiple!) and I feel like I am constantly dropping balls and always hitting my breaking point before the day ends. This is unsustainable. So I’m here to tell you, there is a better way to cope than to just grit your teeth and wait for the day to end. I found a series of yoga movements that help me find calm and balance, which is what I’m sharing with you here!

In this blog post I’m sharing the 6 yoga poses that help me to clear overstimulation, return to calm, and regulate my nervous system whenever I need it. I’ll be covering:

How I beat overwhelm every day
Different types of yoga and self diagnosing what type you need
The 6 yoga poses and how to do them
Bonus: the secret step that has changed my mental capacity

So if you are exhausted in motherhood, feeling like you can’t be “on” anymore, missing your “old self”, and tired of feeling tired, then you are in the right place! I feel that too. I get it.

And I’m here to say there is hope.

All of that is about to change for good because you’re about to learn how to retake control of your time, your emotions, and your life.

How I beat overwhelm every day

I had no idea what I was in for before my daughter was born. The arrival of my baby brought a whole new level of joy I hadn’t known was possible, but she also brought a whole new level of overwhelm I hadn’t known was possible.

There are times everyday that I find myself desperate for a way to find calm and balance. I tried meditation apps, journaling, different workouts, anything I could find. These things are great, but nothing helped me in that moment of overwhelm.

Until one day, my daughter was crying and I felt like all my nerve endings were frayed and all my muscles were tensed. Why wouldn’t she sleep? I knew I was getting to the end of my rope, so I put her down in a safe place (her crib). I walked to a different room. I did one yoga pose. I held it for five breaths or so. I returned to my baby in a calmer state of mind with the emotional capacity to sooth her to sleep.

What was this magic?!

I felt like I had discovered some sort of cheat code!

And I wanted more.

So I dusted off my 500+ hour yoga certification materials and started doing tons of research on the body and yoga postures to find which poses would actually make a difference for me. I spent weeks listening to my body and figuring out what felt good and what I needed most in that very moment of overwhelm.

Eventually I found my 3 postures that worked for me. I found 3 postures that I could choose from, depending on which type of overwhelm I was in, that would help me return to a state of calm and balance in both body and mind.

Now I feel so prepared! I feel like I am in control of my life again!

So here’s what I learned, and how to make it work for yourself. This is exactly how to beat overwhelm and overstimulation in the moment you need it most!

Different types of yoga and self diagnosing what type you need

If you didn’t know, there are a lot of different types of yoga. To keep things simple, I am going to categorize all of those types of yoga into two different buckets. Hot and cool. There is yoga that is energizing and fiery and “hot.” And there is yoga that is calming, and restorative, and “cool.”

The first step to beating your overwhelm is diagnosing which type you need in your moment of overwhelm or overstimulation. This means you need to know what “overwhelmed” and “overstimulated” means for you in your moment.

Let me explain.

For a long time I thought I needed “cool” yoga in my moments of overwhelm or overstimulation because I wanted to be a calm and collected mom. So I thought I need calm and collected yoga postures. But when I tried that, I would usually end up even more angry and frustrated. It felt like marinating in my anger and I almost always came out worse than before.

So simply ask yourself: is my overwhelmed a feeling of anger or frustration? Or is it numb and tired?

Or, are you feeling hot and energizing emotions, or cool and burnt out emotions?

Now you’re ready for your cheat code to choose which yoga postures will help: choose the same yoga category of that feeling.

It’s counterintuitive. It sounds like fighting fire with fire, and maybe it is? But think of it more like meeting yourself where you are. That energy needs to get burned up with a fiery yoga posture. Or that numbness needs a still and gentle posture to bring the feeling back.

Needing to be so in tune with your body and motivated to practice yoga at any given moment in a day can get exhausting. For this reason I recommend skipping the decision fatigue and investing in a course safe for beginners, like this Beginner Power Yoga course! Click here to get started today!

Or keep reading to learn which poses can help which emotions!

The yoga poses and how to do them

Now that you know which category of yoga will help you return from your unique version of overwhelm and overstimulation, you can pick from the following lists! So get your comfy clothes on and get ready to regulate your emotions!

Hot yoga poses

The point of the fiery yoga poses is to get you out of your head and burn up some of that energy.

So remember, these are yoga poses when you’re feeling frustrated or angry or whatever “high-energy” means for you.

Pick one or multiple!

**1. Handstand, L hold, or inverted down dog.**

***How to***: Kick up into a handstand against the wall, put your feet on the couch and lift your hips over your shoulders, or plant your feet on a stool and lift into an inverted downward facing dog. Now stay there for as long as you can. Spread all ten fingers for stability. Push the floor away from you to engage your shoulders and core. *Stay here for as long as you can*. Count your breaths or set your phone timer up in between your hands to hold yourself accountable to actually doing the work in this posture. And keep repeating as needed! Whatever it takes for you to no longer feel like you’re going to explode.
***Note***: Be mindful of your limits, but the key to channeling your energy is to give your brain something else to focus on. If you’re afraid of going upside down, this pose will probably be even more effective for beating overwhelm and overstimulation.

**2. Chaturanga or Pushups**

***How to***: Starting in a plank position, bend your elbows to 90 degrees, keeping your elbows in close by your body. For pushup, push your hands into the floor to lift up to straight arms. For chaturanga, move into upward facing dog as you inhale and keep your hips low and abdominal muscles engaged while you straighten your arms and open your chest. As you exhale, lift your hips into downward facing dog. Do as many as you need to until you the feeling of your muscles outweighs the feeling of your overwhelm!
***Note***: Remember, the point of fighting fire with fire is to burn off that energy. The fastest way to do that is to put yourself in a position that your brain is unfamiliar with. If you’re really good at pushups, you might want to elevate your feet to give your brain something new to digest.

**3. Backbends - wheel, camel, incline bed lying**

***How to***: For full wheel, start on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Bring the palms of your hands to the floor next to your ears. Take a deep breath and lift up into a full backbend and keep breathing! For camel, start in a kneeling position standing on your knees. With both hands as if they’re in your back pockets on your glutes, “push” your hips forward, relax your head back and open up your chest. Reach your hands to your heels one at a time. Keep breathing. Stay in this position for as many breaths as you can. For incline bed lying, lay on the edge of the bed to support your back and bring your arms up over your head to gently bend your back.
***Note***: Just like with handstands, be mindful of your limits! You might start off really gentle or not holding for very long as you build up strength and flexibility.

Why do these yoga postures help?

The key to channeling your energy is to give your brain something else to focus on. Your mind will likely go completely blank when you go upside down on your hands, or literally bent over backwards. Your mind will be so focused on keeping you safe that it will not care about whatever has been making you angry and overwhelmed.

Cool yoga poses

The point of the cool yoga poses is to get you back into your body and give yourself some space to reset. Ride whatever emotion rises while you do these postures! Pick one or multiple!

**1. Child’s pose**

***How to***: Start in a hands and knees, table top position. Sit your hips all the way back to rest on your heels and reach your arms forward until your upper body is resting on your thighs, forehead on the floor and arms extended forward on the floor above your head. Breathe. Clear your mind. Notice what you are feeling in your body. Notice what feels tight or tense and intentionally relax those muscles.
***Note***: child’s pose is one of my favorite postures and a staple in every class I’ve ever taught. This posture opens your hips and shoulders, lengthens your spine, supports digestion, calms your brain, and relieves overall body tension. Yes please!

**2. Forward fold sways**

***How to***: Start in a standing position. Bring your arms all the way up and over your head for a slight stretch up, and then bring your entire upper body down, reaching for the floor. Bend your knees as much as you need to. Bring the body weight more into your toes. Grab opposite elbows and gently sway your upper body from side to side. Breathe. Clear your mind. Notice what you are feeling in your body. Notice what feels tight or tense and intentionally relax those muscles.
***Note***: PSA: You do not need to touch your toes! Forget about increasing your hamstring flexibility, when you fold forward from standing, the compression aids a number of belly issues like constipation, bloating, and menstrual symptoms. Any posture when your head is below your heart has fantastic circulatory benefits. Folding forward eases fatigue, stress, tension, and anxiety. It also boosts immune system, circulation, and energy levels.

**3. Pigeon**

***How to***: From a plank position, bring one knee forward and lay your calf on the mat in front of you, keeping your foot flexed to protect your knee. Make sure the heel on your forward leg is touching your opposite hip bone. Lower your upper body toward the mat until your feel a good stretch in your straight leg hip flexor and/or your bent leg glute. Breathe. Clear your mind. Notice what you are feeling in your body. Notice what feels tight or tense and intentionally relax those muscles.
***Note***: Pigeon is a fairly deep hip opener. It can take time before it feels good, but back off if anything feels *painful.* Pigeon pose also aids in digestion as the bent leg is compressing into the belly. Pigeon opens your hips and improves posture and lessens back pain, including sciatica. Pigeon pose is one of my favorite cool down yoga poses to get ready for meditation in savasana.

Why do these yoga postures help?

When you are feeling touched out, that means you need to reconnect to your body. Giving yourself some time and space to just be. In yoga classes, it’s often said that humans “store” emotions in certain areas of the body. The reasoning behind this is that when we feel strong emotions, we subconsciously flex tiny muscles in areas like our hips. Then when these muscles are stretched, like muscle memory, we feel that emotion again. Let your body release what it’s been holding and you’ll feel so much better.

Bonus: the secret step that has changed my mental capacity

Now you know what you’re feeling and which yoga poses will help you and you’re ready to go be the best mom you can be!

But I have a secret final step that has made all the difference for me. I believe it’s changed my mental capacity, especially as it relates to motherhood.

It’s affirmations.

I’m not talking about looking in the mirror and telling yourself something you wish was true, though that can be helpful in the right circumstances.

When you are doing your yoga pose or poses, pick something kind and encouraging to say to yourself.

For the fiery yoga poses, I often say to myself over and over and over again while I am upside down or bent over backwards, “I can do hard things.”

This not only helps me in my yoga pose (and hopefully someday I will be able to handstand away from the wall!), but it helps me in motherhood.

When my daughter is screaming or accidentally hitting me with flailing arms, I find my default story in the words, “I can do hard things.” And then, I do that hard thing. I get through it.

For cooling yoga poses, I like to match my affirmations to my breathing.

I will often keep my use of “I can do hard things” but I will say “I can do” in my mind as I inhale and I finish “hard things” as I exhale. This works with any affirmation. I also like to inhale “peace begins” and exhale “with me.” And sometimes, thinking anything is too much and I try to clear my mind.

Try this affirmation next time you’re struggling: “I’m a good mom.”

Conclusion

You ARE a good mom! And you’re already doing it. You’re already succeeding. And now you have the tools to make it a little easier for you. I can’t wait for you to put this into practice next time you feel overwhelmed. Please leave a comment let me know how it goes!

Are you looking for more?

Yoga can and will help you to manage your big feelings. Which means you can prepare for those big feelings before they even hit! A regular yoga practice has been shown to increase resilience and self-esteem while decreasing stress! (Plus other benefits I wrote out here). Who doesn’t want that?!

If you’re ready to reconnect with your body, ditch the overwhelm and overstimulation, and show up as your best self in motherhood everyday, then I urge you to get started with the beginner friendly course Beginner Power Yoga! Click here to get started!!

If you’re not ready yet, no biggie! Just remember to be consistent.

Do yoga every day and you will be amazed at the results. Make a goal to do practice yoga every day for 30 days. Film yourself on day 1 and again on day 30 so you can see your results.

If you’re not ready to purchase the beginner yoga course to start your home yoga practice, you can do my beginner sequence here every day for 30 days. Download my FREE Yoga Practice Habit Tracker to stay consistent and track your progress!