Yoga for Mental Health: Just how does yoga help mental health and what techniques can one use to improve their own?
October 10th is World Mental Health Day. As part of Mental Health Awareness Day, we want to promote awareness, combat stigmatization, and encourage people to seek treatment. In the United States alone, 1 in 5 people suffer from mental illness. It's time we had an honest dialogue about it without any prejudice.
A number of studies indicate that yoga can help with stress, anxiety, and depression. Yoga is a practice that involves controlled, physical movements, breath-work combined with meditation. Practicing breath exercise and regular body stretching can help relieve symptoms of depression, including insomnia, self-confidence. Some of the psychological benefits of yoga include:
1. Improved Mood
Most exercise triggers the release of mood-boosting chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. But yoga may have additional benefits. Meditation reduces activity in the limbic system of the brain, which is connected to emotions. With diminishing emotion reactivity, you are more likely to have a temperate response to stressful situations.
2. Relieve Depression
Yoga has been shown to ease depression. In recent research, yoga has been compared to other treatments, such as medication and psychotherapy. Unlike many medicines, yoga is usually inexpensive and does not cause side effects. Due to the lack of controlled trials, yoga's effectiveness to treat depression needs further study.
3. Reduce Stress
The practice of yoga incorporates many popular stress-reducing techniques, including exercise and learning to control the breath, calm the mind, and relax the body. The tightening and relaxing of muscles can reduce tension.
4. Ease Anxiety
Yoga can improve anxiety. Researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine have found that yoga is significantly more effective than standard education on stress management for treating generalized anxiety. Anxious people tend to take rapid, shallow breaths that come directly from the chest. Breathing exercises are at the heart of all yoga movements and poses, which is why yoga is recommended by so many psychologists.
5. Improve Sleep
In a national survey, more than 55% of people who practice yoga reported better sleep as a result. Many yogis also noticed an increase in their sleep efficiency, the percentage of time actually spent sleeping in bed. For one to achieve a sense of calm and stability, the breath is as important, if not more, than the physical poses themselves.
6. Enhance Social Life
In-person yoga practice may enable you to interact with others in your group. Social connections have health benefits for both the mind and body. In addition, you can feel a sense of belonging and mutual bonding as a group when you move and breathe at the same time.
7. Promote Other Healthy Habits
Practicing yoga is also a way to have access to other forms of exercise. Exposure to other health-minded people can inspire you to make other positive lifestyle changes.
The benefits of yoga also extend to people trying to quit smoking, lose weight, or manage chronic illnesses. Results may differ from person to person. The outcome depends on the attitude you adopt, the quality of training, and the type of yoga practiced.
How to Use Yoga to Improve Your Mental Health
Yoga has a wide range of positive effects on mental health. Yoga is a unique form of exercise and meditation that can improve mental health and well-being, and deepen your relationship with yourself. The best way to learn yoga is with a qualified teacher, either in a private session or in a group. A yoga teacher can correct your poses and show you how to modify them if necessary. You can use blocks, straps, and other items to make some poses easier. You can even do yoga in a chair instead of on the floor.
You can also learn yoga online. However, if you are new to the practice, taking a yoga class in person is the best way to avoid injury. Once you have the basics down, you can use books and videos to help you practice. You will benefit more from yoga if you do it at home between classes. Practicing yoga at home can help when you are experiencing extra stress, insomnia, or other challenges.
Yoga Poses That Can Help You Improve Your Mental Health
Some physical movements of yoga can help reduce certain mental symptoms. Sleep issues can be helped with poses such as the corpse pose, where you lay flat on your back and relax completely. Keeping yourself well-rested is key to preventing depression so it is important to tackle the issue of sleep deprivation.
Focus can be boosted by gradually attempting harder poses such as the supported shoulder stand or supported headstand. Here are some other yoga poses that are particularly good for dealing with anxiety and depression, which you can easily incorporate into your own daily practice.
Accomplished Pose
This is the easiest pose of Yoga where you sit cross-legged with eyes closed deep in meditation and your hands resting on your knees. This posture adds flexibility to the hips and inner thigh muscles. The base of your spine connects to the earth, allowing you to feel deeply grounded as well as overcome anxiety.
Yoga poses that can help you Improve Your Mental Health - Accomplished Pose
2. Upward Facing Dog
The upward-facing dog pose helps you release any pent-up emotions in your chest by opening your heart. In addition, it helps to regulate the respiratory system, bringing clarity and strength to the mind and body.
Yoga poses that can help you Improve Your Mental Health - Upward Facing Dog
3. Shoulder stand
Another excellent yoga pose for relieving anxiety and depression is the shoulder stand. While performing the shoulder stand, your blood flow is increased to your brain, improving mental clarity and balancing emotions.
Yoga poses that can help you Improve Your Mental Health - Shoulder stand
4. Child Pose
Child’s pose is among yoga’s most restorative and comforting positions. It stimulates the nervous system, thereby revitalizing the whole body. Additionally to being soothing, child pose also helps to ease tension in the spine and calm your nerves.
Yoga poses that can help you Improve Your Mental Health - Child pose