Do Yoga For Mental Health Instead Of Visiting Psychiatrists

What do you think being healthy means?
Is it getting slim, fitting into your favorite pair of jeans, looking handsome or beautiful to others, or is it something else? Because in all these answers mental health is nowhere.
Mental health, for being healthy? Really?
Yes! A person no matter has a perfect weight according to the body is not healthy until he is mentally healthy. This is because the state of being mentally strong and fit plays a very important role in your overall well-being. However, nowadays, maybe because of work pressure, a busy schedule, or a lot of tension, one does not have a stable mind and is not able to stop overthinking for some or the other reason. If one thought from the mind fades, the other comes up, making you quite disturbed and this can also, lead to poor sleep.
So, thank Fitelo, as it gives you an easy, natural, and safe solution to this, which is – Yoga For mental Health. Oh no, don’t ignore this, but just go through the article because this will surely make you believe how the practice of yoga can help you get rid of mental illness.

What Is Mental Health?

Mental health includes your emotional, psychological, and social well-being and affects how you think, feel, and act. Also, it helps determine how you handle stress and make choices in life. However, mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood through adulthood.

What Is Yoga?

Yoga is an ancient system of physical, mental, and spiritual practices and a Sanskrit word translated as “yoke” or “union” which means to draw together, to bind together, or to unite. However, binding together in yoga means creating a union of the body, mind, soul, and universal consciousness. Also, uniting the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of ourselves allow people who do yoga to experience deep states of freedom, peace, and self-realization.

Yoga Vs Mental Health

So, yoga and mental health are 2 different things but give great results when working together. This is because yoga can help improve mental health in a better way and yoga leaves permanent effects over it. Let us continue reading to know how it can help with a better state of mind.

Why Is Yoga For Mental Health Recommended?

It is always not about going to a physiatrist to help yourself with mental health problems. You can, however, go through this stage by treating yourself in a better way which does not even involve eating any kind of medicine. So, here are the reasons why you should do yoga.

1. A Sharper Brain

This is one of the first points that has to be stronger and sharper when it comes to a good state of mental health.

• In a gym when you exercise or lift weights, your muscles tend to get stronger and bigger while you do yoga, your brain cells develop new connections, and changes occur in brain struc­ture and function.
• This further, results in improved cog­nitive skills, like learning and memory.
• Also, yoga strengthens parts of the brain that play an essential role in memory, attention, awareness, thought, and language. Basically, weight lifts the brain.
• Moreover, according to the studies, people who do yoga regularly have a thicker cerebral cortex which is the area of the brain responsible for information processing, and hippocampus which is the area of the brain involved in learn­ing and memory.
• The areas of the brain shrink as you age or grow older, but if you are practicing yoga then there would be less shrinkage.
• Also, as per the research yoga and meditation improves executive functions, like reasoning, decision making, memory, learning, reac­tion time, and accuracy on tests of mental acuity.

2. Improves Mood

Yoga plays quite an important role in boosting your mood. Read to know how.

• This is true that any type of exercise can boost your mood by lowering levels of stress hormones but yoga has additional ben­efits.
• It, however, affects mood by elevating levels of gamma-aminobutyric which is a brain chemical and is associated with better mood and decreased anxiety.
• Doing meditation also lowers the activity in the part of the brain dedicated to emotions which are known as the limbic system. Further, as your emotional reac­tivity decreases you have a lessened response when you face stressful situations.
• Also, doing yoga helps pile up well when compared with other complementary therapies and has a better effect on depression and anxiety that is too long-lasting.
• Moreover, yoga helps with post-traumatic stress dis­order (PTSD) and helps reduce intrusive memories and emo­tional arousal for calmer, and steadier breathing.

3. Improves Flexibility

• Being flexible is also, a key to better mental health because psychologically, it reduces stress and anxiety and rests you will get to know below.
• Also, with continued practice of yoga, there is a gradual loosening of the muscles and connective tissues that surrounds the bones and joints, further, reducing aches and pains.
• It also helps build muscle mass and maintain muscle strength, which further, protects from conditions like arthritis, osteoporosis, and back pain.
• While performing yoga the joints are taken through their full range of motion, squeezing them, and soaking areas of cartilage that are not often used.
• This brings fresh nutrients, oxygen, and blood to the area, further preventing conditions like arthritis and chronic pain.

4. Increases Blood Flow

Know how a better blood flow can enhance you mentally.

• Yoga enhances the function of body cells by increasing the blood flow, and levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells which further, allow oxygen to travel in the body.
• It also helps in blood thinning, which decreases the risk of heart attack and stroke, as they are often caused by blood clots.
• It is also, helpful for diabetes destress, as people who are diabetic, for them stress could be harmful.
• In yoga, you do some twisting poses which squeeze out venous blood from internal organs, allowing oxygenated blood to flow in when the twist is released.
• While, the inverted poses during yoga encourage venous blood flow from the legs and pelvis back to the heart, pumping through the lungs and becoming freshly oxygenated.
• Yoga also lowers the resting heart rate, increases endurance, and further, improves the maximum utilization of oxygen during exercise.

5. Helps Maintain The Mental Health Of Cancer Patients

Yoga is a form of exercise, that helps keep cancer patients also, very strong.

• Doing yoga increases physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness, further, bringing a certain peace that cancer patients desire.
• Breathing exercises and meditation in yoga reduce stress, promote healing, and also, enhances the quality of life for cancer patients.
• People who have cancer should avoid taking too much stress and avoid the growth of tumors, and for this yoga is the best workout they can do.
• According to the research, yoga produces a healthy effect on mental and physical energy that further improves fitness and reduces fatigue.
• Yoga also develops a healthy sense of acceptance which is important for individuals who deal with life-threatening illnesses as it reduces the stress that one experiences from unpleasant disorders.
• However, cancer patients get to benefit from the poses and postures in yoga as every muscle, nerve, and gland throughout the body is stretched and reducing tension, and releasing energy that has been blocked in joints or organs.

6. Relaxes You

Yoga is for the mental piece because it provides relief from excess stimulation, stress, and the hectic routine of everyday life.

• When you do revive postures, savasana, pranayama, or meditation this help improve the nervous and also sleep.
• Also, instead of going on medications or treatments, you can do yoga for insomnia and treat it naturally as this also, has a permanent side effect.
• However, if you are looking for a therapy that would relax your mind, make you feel stress-free, and relax your body fully, then yoga and meditation are the best options.

7. Healthy Lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle and mental health go side by side. Therefore, maintaining a healthy lifestyle with yoga for mental health is very important.

• Yoga is the best stress buster, treating your mood disorders, improving cardiorespiratory performance, and reducing blood pressure.
• Furthermore, it improves the efficiency of the cardiovascular system and controls its stability. Further, which results in the improvement of overall well-being.
• People who do yoga, also have improved regression of coronary lesions, and myocardial perfusion in patients with Coronary artery disease.

8. Yoga For Concentration

This is the best effect of yoga on mental health. And how it can help you concentrate and focus, is all in the link right below. Check it out now.

Yoga for Concentration: Improve Focus With 5 Best Yoga

9. Overall Well Being

Yoga therapy for mental health is the best cure for you being mentally strong and fit. So, knowing how yoga can be overall beneficial for you.

Asthanga Yoga: A Mindful Practice For Overall Well-Being In 2023

10. Yoga Recovers Mind

A good state of mental health is then when your mind is relaxed, calm, and in a good state. However, you can do the below pose of yoga, to keep your mind in a good state.

Savasana Or Corpse Pose – Doing this pose helps soothe stress and clear your mind from every type of distracting thought.

Headstand– This pose helps improve physical balance, and breathing, and calms your mind. You can pose at any place where you feel peace.

Grounding – This pose relieves your mind of constant thinking. Allowing it to decode what we really want through relaxed thinking.

Best Asanas In Yoga For Mental Health

Yoga, yes, improves strength and flexibility, but also has immense benefits for mental health.
Therefore, you can perform the below asanas for improvement as these are the best poses of yoga for mental health.

Yoga Asanas – Uttanasana or standing forward bend pose

In this, you do an intense forward stretch pose that works on the muscles of the entire back and improves strength and flexibility. Moreover, it improves the flow of oxygen to the brain as the head is positioned below the heart in this pose. Also, if you do this pose every day it will also help relieve anxiety, stress, and mind.

Yoga Asanas – Viparita Karani or legs up the wall pose

This is quite simple to do but is one of the most effective poses for anxiety, helping you relax, calming the mind, and stimulating the nervous system. It also regulates blood flow and treats depression and insomnia.

Yoga Asanas – Shavasana or corpse pose

This pose is done after the yoga session is over. It is, however, an excellent way of meditation, boosting mental health, and relaxing the body.

How Yoga Heal Heart?

Until you have a healthy heart, and there is no pressure on it, you are mentally and emotionally fit. But in case you feel you are not very happy inside, then these yoga poses will surely help you.

Child’s Pose – This yoga pose encourages you to connect to Mother Nature and heal naturally.
You tend to release all negative feelings including smoking.

Breath Of Fire – Doing this, enables you to reach a higher level of mental and emotional consciousness through intense and controlled breathing.

Yoga For Quitting Smoking

When a person is mentally disturbed or stressed or feeling anxious, he/she can tend to smoke to release these issues and then get addicted to them. It is said smoking also, helps them to stop overthinking. But it is true smoking is the worst addiction and is one of the habits that are difficult to quit. However, Yoga is highly recommended if you want to quit smoking in the most safer and most natural way. This is because there are certain poses that are designed to open the air pathways in the body. encouraging fuller and deeper breaths.

Cobra Pose – In this Yoga pose you bend your back, which further, stimulates the lungs allowing them to expand.

Bow Pose – While doing this pose you stretch the chest cavity to promote better blood circulation to your lungs and heart.

Cat-Cow Pose – While this pose helps to bring air to the abdomen and improve air circulation.

Goals Of Yoga

Yoga is a process of meditation for self-discovery and liberation. It is a diverse collection of practices that has a goal to play in our lives. These include controlling the mind, recognizing a detached witness consciousness, and freeing oneself from the cycle of birth and death.
Yoga, however, teaches us to see ourselves with a clear vision and understand what is true about us. This means understanding who we are and letting go of anything that does not serve us.
Its goal is to make us aware of our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, and to change them when they no longer serve us. Moreover, it gives us the tools to make better choices in life and to live more fully.
It allows us to transform and purify our bodies, minds, and souls and expand our consciousness. And help us connect with nature and the universe.
Yoga’s goal also gives you greater access to inner resources to teach us about self-awareness, acceptance, compassion, patience, gratitude, forgiveness, humility, love, peace, and joy.

Goals Of 6 Different Practices Of Yoga

To improve mental health you can perform these 6 types of yoga practices. Every practice has a benefit to offer and makes you mentally healthy and strong.

Raja (the royal path) – focuses on meditation practices
Karma (the path of action) – focuses on action and service in daily life
Jnana (the path of knowledge) – focuses on discriminative wisdom and self-inquiry
Bhakti (the path of devotion) – focuses on devotion to God
Tantra (the path of ecstasy) – focuses on ritual and initiation
Hatha (the forceful path) – focuses on energy and movement of the body

Tips To Reduce Stress

Here are 5 quick tips for you given by Dietitian Mac that can help you reduce stress.

Summarization Of Yoga For Mental Health

So, as discussed mental health is very important for overall well-being and is more than just being slim. However, if you feel that you are not mentally strong, or healthy, you do not have to go see a doctor but a yoga teacher. Yes, this is because, yoga can help you feel relieved from stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Moreover, nothing could be safer and more natural than doing yoga for your own better mental health. Therefore, chose yoga for mental illness and not medications.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How Many Limbs Does Yoga Have?

Ans: Yoga has 8 limbs mentioned below.

Yama – The moral codes of conduct
Niyama – The physical internal practices and observances
Asana – The proper posture
Pranayama – The proper breathing exercises
Pratyahara – The withdrawal of senses from external distractions
Dharana – Focusing the mind and mental concentration
Dhyana – Focusing on a single point and the meditation
Samadhi – The ending of all mental activity to attain a state of oneness

Q. What Is Modern Yoga?

Ans: When it comes to the West yoga then it is a particular style called hatha yoga. This emphasizes postures or asanas, breathing exercises or pranayama, stress relief, relaxation, physical fitness, and wellness. However, in this, its focus is on the physical body which differs from traditional yoga, where the focus is more inward and spiritual.

Q. Which Is The Best Pose Or Asana Of Yoga For Mental Health?

Ans: Shavasana is the best asana as it helps boost mental health and relaxes the body.

Q. Is Yoga For Mental Health?

Ans: Yes, yoga is a natural way to get stronger mentally. Meditation, asanas, or poses all are the best ways to heal yourself and your mental health.

Fun Fact

So, because of a hectic lifestyle, people tend to gain weight because they don’t get time to take care of themselves. This is also, one of the reasons, for people who want to lose weight but are not able to because of a busy schedule. But after checking out this weight loss transformation, you will 100% start working towards your fitness goal.

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Disclaimer

This blog post was written to help you to make healthy and better food choices altogether. So, be aware and take care. The important thing to consider is your own health before starting a diet that is restrictive. Always seek advice from a doctor/dietitian before starting if you have any concerns.