How yoga can help mental health
Yoga has become incredibly popular in recent years due to its proven benefits on physical health ranging from improved flexibility and pain management, to even helping chronic illnesses.
Yoga has also been shown to help improve mental health, aiding in recovery or reducing the symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as improving cognitive function and performance.
In this article, we'll discuss how the regular practice of yoga can deliver results for our brain and overall mental health - and even work as complementary therapy in aiding mental illnesses.
Yoga can help fight depression
The combination of movement and meditation are two important elements for relieving depression - and both can be found in yoga!
In fact, there is a large body of research out there demonstrating the benefits of yoga towards fighting depression. One study where individuals completed 20 yoga sessions resulted in an improvement in mood levels alongside a decrease in stress and anxiety. Another study of young adults with symptoms of mild depression showed that fortnightly yoga sessions delivered improved results in mood and reduced fatigue.
Breathing exercises and breath work associated with yoga have also been thought to relieve depressive symptoms and provide a calming or energising effect.
Yoga can relieve stress
Stress and anxiety are closely linked; yoga can play an important role in relieving both. Yoga can alleviate stress by reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol, while improving the body's natural stress response through the modulation of breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. As with depression, the physical activity and mental focus used in yoga as well as the breathing work can help reduce anxiety in the short and medium term if practiced regularly.
As a mind-body practice, yoga allows people to become aware of the link between their minds and bodies in a way which can help them become less anxious.
Additionally, with the use of MRI scanners (magnetic resonance imaging), it was shown that yoga helps improve brain performance and can protect our brain from the decline that comes with age.
Yoga can help patients with mental disorders
Patients with mental disorders can greatly benefit from yoga as a complementary therapy, as it helps with a variety of conditions. Beyond having a calming effect, yoga can help patients by increasing their awareness of oneself and their surroundings, increasing their attention span and also providing physical activity and motivation.
Researchers demonstrated that yoga practice can help individuals with bipolar disorder to better manage their symptoms; in specific, helping improve emotions, mood and cognition. There have also been studies of people dealing with schizophrenia have been able to maintain longer focus and increase their attention span.
Yoga poses to try out
There are a number of different poses you can adopt when in a class or at home to help improve your mental state.
Savasana - Corpse Pose (our favourite for after a fitness/yoga session - try this guided video if you find your mind wandering on your own)
Sukhasana - Easy Pose
Ūrdhva Mukha Svānāsana - Upward Facing Dog Pose
Supta Baddha Konasana – Reclined Bound Angle Pose
Viparita Karani - Legs up the Wall Pose
Garudasana - Eagle Pose
If you're unsure how to perform these poses safely, we'd recommend checking out Yoga Journal's online pose library.
Conclusion
Whether suffering from mental issues or not, yoga can help all of us improve our mental state in both the short and long term. Try a few, if not all, of the poses above regularly and see what difference it makes to both your practice and also in your daily life.
Marios Kokolakis is a health and fitness motivator and in his free time writes blogs on exercises that can improve brain performance and supplements for focus, promoting a healthy lifestyle in the natural way. Find out more on BrainSharp’s website.
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