The hustle and bustle of the present often result in a feeling of uneasiness and anxiety, impaired physical lightness, and loss of mental balance. The practice of yoga for mental health can be useful in combating psycho-emotional overload and stress.
Mental health is a state of general well-being. A person understands their abilities, can deal with the stress of everyday life, be productive and contribute to the community. How can doing simple postures and breathing calmly help you eliminate mental problems and stress? Let’s find out.
How does yoga for mental health work?
A complex of the best yoga for mental health will include a set of yoga poses (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayamas), and meditation sessions. If you do it as a part of your everyday routine, it will have several beneficial effects on your psychological well-being. We’ll describe those below:
Movement and neurotransmitters
The movement was about survival, so our body’s chemistry is designed to make us enjoy moving. Active yoga for mental health stimulates dopamine, endorphin, and other hormones’ production, making us happier. For example, dopamine creates a sense of satisfaction, which affects motivation and learning, and gives you positive emotions associated with novelty, creativity, and humor.
Endorphins make our life more fun, more joyful, keep us in high spirits. With enough endorphins, the state of anxiety goes away, stress decreases, pain is dulled, blood pressure is regulated, and mental processes are accelerated. Endorphins help fight depression and relieve chronic fatigue.
So, either grab your best cheap running shoes and go out for a run or get a yoga mat.
Emotions and breathing
If we have not convinced you yet, think of how you usually breathe in a stressful situation? All emotional experiences are accompanied by changes in depth, frequency, speed, and smoothness of breathing. In a normal state, natural breathing gives you energy, a feeling of confidence and calmness.
If you experience any strong emotions, they will cause a change in breathing, the muscles of the face, neck, jaw tighten, and gradually the tension seizes the whole body. Even if you do not deliberately deal with a stressful situation, the body will still respond to it. You can restore the spontaneous flow of energy by practicing breathing exercises offered by the best yoga practices for mental health.
Meditation
Meditation is one of the self-regulation methods, that is, a person’s conscious control of his\her psyche. Short daily meditation (15-20 minutes a day) decreases heart rate and blood pressure.
Recent research confirms increased immunity, better ability to reduce acute and chronic pain sensations, increased emotional stability of the meditators, their absence of painful anxiety, and successful counteraction to minor everyday disorders and stressful situations.
How to get the exercising benefits of yoga for mental health?
Starting yoga practice is as easy as it is:
- Pick your type of yoga. There are many yoga schools, so take a closer look at each of them to choose the one that suits you. However, they all include the necessary elements for working with the body and mind – asanas, breathing, and meditation. For example, Hatha yoga offers slow-paced moves and relaxation techniques. Still, Ashtanga improves strength, has precisely built sequences, and is more physically demanding, so it can be the right choice of yoga for a male’s mental health.
- Choose your place: online and offline yoga classes can offer the same benefits for a yogi and depend on what’s more convenient to you.
- Find your instructor: you should be comfortable with the pace and way the tutor conducts the class.
- Make sure you follow the safety rules. There should be sharp pain or dizziness during your practice.
To sum up
The secret of yoga for mental health lies in the fact that it is associated with physical, mental, moral, and spiritual development. Starting with improving health, yoga gradually embraces other areas of life. This progress is so gradual that one may not be aware of it until the changes become evident.
Have you ever tried any yoga practices? Do you meditate? How does that impact your day? Please share with us in the comments below.
Author’s bio:
Hey everyone, it’s Coach Alisa Weaver 🙂
Teaching and coaching is my passion and career choice. I find great satisfaction to see others achieve their goals, whether it is recovery from injury or surgery, strengthening the body for competition, or just becoming fit.
I think that anyone can improve their fitness level no matter what their physical condition may be. By pushing yourself, discipline, not giving up together we can make your goals happen.
Do you do Yoga for your Mental Health?
Hello, I’m Thuy of honeybunnytwee. I write a Wellness Wednesday guest bloggers series. Send an article or link to a blog post about health and wellness, self-care, fitness, or mental health at honeybunnytwee@gmail.com. Upon review, you’ll have a chance to be featured! Additionally, I’m always looking for more Wellness Wednesday submissions.