The yoga poses for mental clarity that we will discuss in this article are meant to help you find peace and control of your mind.

You may be wondering why yoga is good for the mind or even what yoga has to do with the mind.

Yoga is a practice that involves physical postures (asanas) and meditation (dhyana).

We’ll start by talking about some yoga poses specifically designed to increase mental clarity before diving into general yoga tips for controlling your thoughts. 

In yoga, the mind is considered to be one of three aspects that control how your body functions.

The other two are the “prana” (the energy in our bodies) and the physical body itself.

All three work together to create a harmonious flow throughout our entire being.

When we’re feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, yoga can help to bring the mind and body back into a state of balance.

Now that we’ve covered some background on yoga and its role with mental clarity let’s get started with our list of yoga poses for a clear mind.

The Best Yoga Poses for Mental Clarity

We’ll start with the yoga pose that is considered to be most helpful for clearing your mind of distracting thoughts or feelings:

1) Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose)

When you’re practicing this yoga pose, make sure to engage all of your muscles.

Don’t let your body drop or sag.

The yoga pose should feel like you are pushing up against the ceiling (while still maintaining a neutral spine).

Now that we’ve gone over an incredibly effective yoga pose let’s talk about yoga poses that will help your mind and overall nervous system:

2) Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)

This yoga pose is an excellent option for those who have limited mobility in their hips.

In this yoga pose, you’ll lie on your back and bend your knees to bring the soles of your feet together.

Next, raise your hips off the ground by pressing into the balls of your heels.

You should feel the yoga pose throughout your hips and low back.

3) Parivrtta Anjaneyasana (Revolved Low Lunge)

This yoga pose involves a low lunge but with an added twist.

In the yoga pose, you’ll step your feet together and turn them out 90 degrees before lowering down into a lunge on one side.

Then bring your elbows to the inside of your knees for a deep twist.

You should feel the yoga pose in your hips, glutes, and lower back.

This yoga pose is good for your mind and helps to stretch out the muscles along the spine that can get tight from sitting at your desk all day.

4) Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana (Revolved Head to Knee Pose)

This yoga pose stretches out the muscles along your spine and also improves digestion.

To do this yoga pose, sit on the floor with one leg straight in front of you.

Round up your back as if you were going into a forward fold.

Then bring your right hand to the inside of your left foot and twist so that you can reach for your outer knee or ankle with your left hand.

You should feel this yoga pose along the side of your spine, in between each vertebra, as well as around the hips.

5) Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Forward Fold)

This yoga pose is excellent for stretching out the hamstrings and lower back.

To do this yoga pose, bring your feet together to touch in front of you while keeping them flat on the floor.

Then hinge forward from your hips while keeping your spine long.

You should feel this pose in the backs of your legs, along the back of your knees, and around your hips.

This yoga pose is excellent for mental clarity because it helps to release tension throughout the entire body after a long day at work or school.

6) Virabhadrasana II (Warrior Pose II)

This yoga pose opens up the chest to promote better breathing.

To practice this pose, bring your right foot forward between your hands so that it is slightly wider than shoulder-width apart from your left leg.

Then turn your back heel flat on the floor and roll your shoulders back and down.

You should feel the yoga pose in your chest, along the sides of your rib cage, and throughout each leg.

This pose is great for your mind because it helps to create space within the body, which enables us to take deeper breaths when we’re stressed out or feeling anxious.

7) Vrksasana (Tree Pose)

This yoga pose is a great way to build balance and focus.

To practice this pose, bring your right foot up the inside of your left leg so that it rests near the outer hip.

Then grip either outside edge of your right foot with both hands while pressing down into the top of your right thigh.

You should feel this yoga pose along the outside edge of both legs and throughout your entire foot.

This pose is excellent for mental clarity because it helps to develop stability and strength in our minds which can calm us down after a long day at work or school.

8) Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose)

This yoga pose is great for stretching out your spine and calming down after a long day.

Sit tall on one knee with your right leg bent in front of you and your left leg wrapped behind you to practice this pose.

Then lean forward over your right leg while keeping the back of your left knee on the floor.

You should feel this yoga pose in your spine, groin, thigh muscles, and throughout both sides of your hips.

9) Vasisthasana (Side Plank)

This yoga pose is excellent for toning the legs, strengthening your core muscles, and calming down after a long day.

To practice this pose, get on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and spread out in opposite directions so that they are angled slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.

Then step your feet back one at a time so that they are parallel with each other and hip-distance apart while keeping the top of both legs strong.

You should feel this yoga pose in the sides of both hips, along the outsides of both thighs, as well as throughout your entire core.

This yoga pose is great for your mind because it helps to strengthen the muscles in our body, which can help us feel calm after a long day at work or school.

10) Savasana (Corpse Pose)

This yoga pose is one of the best yoga poses for calming down and resting after a long workout or stressful day.

To practice this pose, lie down on the floor with your arms resting at either side of your body and legs hip-distance apart.

Then allow yourself to feel fully supported by the ground beneath you while allowing any tension in your muscles or mind to melt away completely.

You should feel this yoga pose throughout every part of both your body and mind as you relax into a peaceful state.

This pose is great for mental clarity because it helps to calm the nerves, which can help us feel refreshed after a long day.

11) Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)

This yoga pose is great for calming down after a long day at work or school.

To practice this pose, bring your feet hip-distance apart and place your hands on either side of your legs while looking forward.

Then bend forward from the hips so that you are able to look down at the floor and feel a slight stretch in your hamstrings.

You should feel this yoga pose throughout both legs, along your spine, as well as within each side of your hips.

This yoga pose is excellent for mental clarity because it helps to release tension that can build up when we’re feeling stressed or anxious, which allows us to feel more at peace.

12) Vajrasana (Thunderbolt Pose)

This yoga pose is an outstanding yoga asana to help bring balance throughout the body and calm down after a long day.

To practice this pose, sit on your heels with knees spread apart from each other while using your hands to pull both of them slightly closer together so that you feel more stable.

You should feel this yoga pose within your ankles, calves, thighs, hips, and throughout the entire bottom of both feet.

This pose is great for your mind because it helps to release tension which can help us feel more at ease after a long day.

13) Swastikasana (Auspicious Pose or Peace Sign Pose)

This yoga pose is great for opening up the chest and shoulders, which can help us feel more at ease after a long day.

To practice this pose, stand tall with both feet together while bending your knees slightly and bringing your arms out to either side of you like you’re forming a peace sign around yourself.

Then bring one arm straight up over your head while keeping your palm facing down towards the ground and crossing over behind your back with the opposite arm.

You should feel this yoga pose within both shoulders, along each side of your spine, as well as throughout each forearm.

This yoga pose is excellent for the mind because it helps us to open up our chest, which can help release any tension that can build up throughout the day.

Yoga Tips

Now that we’ve gone over mental clarity yoga, let’s get into some yoga tips:

1) Focus on breathing deeply through your nose rather than shallowly through your mouth or taking short breaths.

This will help to bring more oxygen into your body which can help to release tension in the mind.

2) Take yoga classes that are held outside if possible because this will help connect you with nature and bring more calmness into both your state of mind and physical yoga practice.

This type of yoga journal is excellent for the mind because it helps you feel more connected to the earth and helps you feel more in tune with your body. 

Can’t Do Yoga Asanas? Try the Yoga Breathing Exercise

Yoga poses can help to bring you into a peaceful state of mind which is great after a long and exhausting day.

However, yoga asanas aren’t the only yoga techniques that we do in order to calm down and feel refreshed.

There are also yoga breathing exercises that you can try out at home if you don’t have yoga classes to attend and need a great yoga pose for mental alertness.

If that’s the case, then we recommend trying out some yoga breathing exercises such as bhastrika pranayama, which is also known as “bellow’s breath.”

This yoga breathing exercise can be practiced by sitting upright with your spine straight and closing your eyes.

Then take a deep breath in through your nose, where you’ll be expanding your belly, and then exhale quickly by contracting both sides of the lower ribs together, which will push all of the air out of your lungs at once.

Repeat this yoga breathing exercise up to ten times until you feel more calm, relaxed, and have more mental alertness after a long day.

Do yoga breathing exercises throughout the day to help calm your mind and feel refreshed if you don’t have yoga classes available to attend.

Yoga Poses for Mental Clarity: Bottomline

Remember that yoga is excellent for releasing tension, bringing peace into your life, and ultimately improving overall health, so try out these yoga poses for mental clarity in order to help you feel more at ease after a long day.

You can also try yoga breathing exercises in the comfort of your own home, which is great for the mind and feeling refreshed without having to spend money on yoga classes that you may not even enjoy attending.

If you want to learn more about fighting brain fog, achieving mental clarity, and maintaining a healthy brain, check out these educational resources.