With time, yoga has become popular not only in India, but also being practiced by people in other parts of the word. This discipline is stated to have originated thousands of years before and has philosophical and spiritual roots. Besides physical, it also offers numerous mental health benefits.
What are the mental benefits offered by practicing yoga?
There are practiced different types of yoga asanas. Hatha yoga is among the most practiced ones. It combines mindful breathing with physical poses. With regular practice, yoga improves body flexibility, balance strength and range-of-motion. It also improves mental health.
- Reduces anxiety: Several studies conducted have shown that practicing yoga daily helps reduce anxiety symptoms. It also includes reducing performance anxiety. Adolescent musicians on practicing yoga were found to exhibit reduced anxiety when playing solo and group performances.
- Reducing anger: Adolescents performing regular yoga displayed great capability to control their anger. This is when compared to those participating n physical education only. Doing the asanas helps adults to reduce verbal aggression.
- Reducing PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) symptoms: Adult women suffering from PTSD on doing yoga experienced reduced symptoms.
- Improved sleep: Postmenopausal women suffering from insomnia on performing regular yoga experienced reduced insomnia severity. Moreover, women suffering from restless leg syndrome displayed improved sleep quality.
- Improved mood: Yoga when practiced does help reduce depression, perceived stress and improves affect. Regular practice also helped diminish psychological stress and enhance positive affect.
- Releases essential brain chemicals: Asanas when performed helps trigger ‘feel good’ chemical within the brain region. They are termed to be mood boosting chemicals. It includes brain messengers like norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine. Movements performed in yoga are stated to be controlled and slow. They may elevate the heart rate, thereby putting pressure on the muscles to work hard. It also simulates releasing of chemicals in the brain, thus making you to feel happier.
- Relieves depression: Yoga is found to ease depression and is comparable to conventional treatments like psychotherapy and medication. However, it does not come with side effects that are generally experienced with several medicines and is also inexpensive. Those suffering from major depressive disorders can benefit from it.
- Improves social life: Attending in-person yoga classes allows you to interact with others present in the group. Having social ties does affect positively your physical and mental health.
Therefore, it can be safely stated that yoga does offer several mental benefits.
