Physical benefits of yoga have been known to almost all of us such as reducing weight. But a very less amount of people know that yoga can affect mental health too. According to psychologists, a moderate amount of exercise can help to calm the mind and hence, reduce anxiety and depression. It is possible to reach at a peace of mind by a single activity i.e. yoga.

STRESS REDUCTION

Yoga is a very effective stress reduction and relaxation tool. Yoga involves practicing meditation and stress reduction techniques. A wide range of yoga practices can reduce the impact of exaggerated stress response which makes yoga a self-soothing technique helping to quiet down the nervous system. Yoga poses help to find a state of balance to support mental healing. Whenever we are unable to cope with many demands of our life, the longer held yoga poses help to dial down the fight-or-flight response of our body. This helps us to meet the demands peacefully by refreshing our mind and making the relaxation system thrive and work efficiently.

Yoga combines several techniques of stress reduction which provide combined benefits of breathing exercises, stretching and meditation. People who practice yoga frequently report that they sleep better and feel less stressed.  By reducing stress and anxiety, yoga reduces physiological arousal, for example, lowering blood pressure and easing respiration. Studies suggest that yoga reverses the negative impact of stress on the immune system by increasing levels of immunoglobulin A as well as natural killer cells. Yoga is also a strong practice for the prevention against painful ailments.

ANXIETY

If you have an anxiety disorder, you feel unusually panicky, scared, tend to get uncontrolled, wake up from frequent nightmares, have problems sleeping and get frequent palpitations. It can affect your mind, body and general well-being. Whenever we get anxious about an event, there is an adrenaline rush in our body. Yoga asanascan help ease physical discomfort that is caused by anxiety by stretching, lengthening and balancing the muscles. Biweekly yoga classes result in improved mood and reduced anxiety and fatigue.

Negative thinking patterns and frequent worries are the characteristics of anxiety. Yoga can help counteract the tendencies of all this by teaching certain skills such as staying in the moment, recognising worrying thoughts and preventing them from becoming worse.

DEPRESSION

Depression is the most common mental illness found now-a-days in teenagers. The increasing stress and pressure on the mind for a better future often creates tension and leads to depression. By practicing yoga and attaining a peaceful state of mind, depression can be cured. Yoga increases awareness of present-moment experience and attentional focus, and as a result, can help individuals become aware of negative moods that is characteristic of depression.More than 70% of the people start doing yoga to cure depression.

20 sessions of yoga lead to an elevation of mood and reduction of anger and anxiety. Doing yoga causes an increase in the calming neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) that helps ease the symptoms of depression. When compared to visualization and breathing exercises, those who practiced yoga felt more alert and energetic and had a more positive mood. Yoga involves meditation that is the best treatment for depression and brings relief regardless of the cause. Meditation can prevent recurrence of depression in roughly half of the people. And the best part is that it does not have any side effects unlike antidepressants. It can help your brain work better so that your life can flow smoothly. It makes you more emotionally stable and resilient to stress. Once the relaxation response kicks in, many people feel that instead of trying to escape their feelings, they can stay with them, which is essential to identifying the psychological factors that trigger their depression. But the path to getting to this relaxed place varies by individual.

BEST POSES TO IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH

• Sukhasana (Easy Pose) – This is a simple pose which involves sitting in a cross legged position.
• SuptaBaddhaKonasana (Reclined Bound Angle Pose) – The practitioner coordinates the breath to flow from one yoga pose to another.
• Viparitakarani (Legs Up the Wall Pose)–in this pose, the legs are held against a wall for support.
• Garudasana (Eagle Pose) – it is a balancing pose which has an additional benefit for the ones suffering from any type of kidney related disease apart from depression and anxiety.
• Shavasana (Corpse Pose) – This pose is practiced at the end of a yoga session to make the body relaxed.

CONCLUSION

The impact of yoga on mental health is diverse and expanding. Yoga is a unique body practice that emphasises on bodily movements in such a way to provide peaceful and stress free mindset. You typically start to have less anxiety and enter a more relaxed state. You get to know yourself and build self trust. It helps you make aware of your dark side that is the qualities you are not aware of. Yoga guides you and keeps you grounded to the body especially when the mind wants to distract you. It helps you do the best from your weakness. So yoga will make you enter a state of bliss and help experience mental health benefits along the way.