Yoga’s Connection to Our Mental Health
There are incredible mental benefits of mindfulness-based practices, which include meditations, mindful eating, mindful walking, and so on. Yoga is a physical practice of mindfulness; while doing yoga routines and postures, the attention is always brought back to the breath and noticing the physical sensations in the body.
Why is mindfulness so important? Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment. We often get wrapped up in thoughts, which can sometimes turn into overwhelming waves of anxiety, or other times appear as everyday stress. These thoughts fill our heads, putting us on auto-pilot and ignoring what is happening within our bodies and in our surroundings. Sometimes these thoughts are also self-critical or judgmental towards ourselves— feeling bad about what we have done or not done, our relationships, our work, our social lives, our level of ‘productiveness’… we can even be self-critical on what we think or what we feel. Mindfulness teaches us to transfer attention out of our head and into the present moment; this creates space in our mind. It also allows us to see our thoughts as just thoughts, and feelings as just feelings, becoming curious, nonjudgmental observers of ourselves.
Yoga connects the mind and the body. Just as psychological factors can impact the physical body (i.e., stress leading to a stomachache), regaining control over the physical body can induce positive psychological reactions, calmness and relief. What does that mean? If the mind is in a state of distress, let’s say anxiety, it can appear in cognitive ways, such as ruminating over a certain situation or having a thought over and over, but it can also show up in physical manifestations of the body, such as a racing heartbeat, tightness of chest, shortness of breath, and tension in body parts. When you work on calming down those physical sensations, it automatically sends signals to the brain to do the same. It refocuses our attention from thinking to the physical act of connecting with the body and breath, clearing up space in the mind and quieting the chatter.
Mental Health Benefits of Yoga
Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for calming)
Decrease symptoms of distress
Strengthening of body and mind's stress response abilities
Facilitates motivation to alter areas of life functioning to healthier habits (i.e. decreasing alcohol and cigarette consumption, healthier eating, increased time in nature, beneficial social spaces)
Reduction of ruminative thinking and anxiety, increased empathy and compassion through mindfulness based stress reduction techniques
Strengthens self-compassion, as we learn to tune into our body and mind in non-judgmental ways.
By: Nira Shah, LMHC
References
+ "Yoga for anxiety and depression", Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School
^ "The Scientific Basis of Yoga Therapy", Yoga Journal
++ "Mindfulness for stress management: A review and meta-analysis", Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
