#Causeachatter- “Yoga & Mental health”- 5 amazing mental health benefits of yoga!

Excited to share another post for #Causeachatter campaign hosted by blogchatter. My theme for #Causeachatter is “Mental health talks”. In this post, I am talking about “Yoga and mental health”.  

Yoga is an ancient science that works as an excellent combination of exercise, meditation and relaxation and offers great benefits for our overall health and well-being. How can yoga improve our mental health? And what are mental benefits of practicing yoga? Read the post to know more! 

What is yoga? 

The word ‘yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit word “yuj” which means “to unite or integrate”. It is a 5000-plus-year-old ancient Indian science that brings harmony in life. Though it is an ancient science, but it has gained immense popularity in recent times, due to its amazing health (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) benefits.  

According to the  National Health Survey, which included a comprehensive survey on the use of complementary health approach, yoga is the 6th most commonly used health practice among adults. According to this study, more than 13 million adults and more than 1.5 million children practiced yoga in the previous year. People who practiced yoga experienced reduced mental stress, improved physical fitness and enhanced quality of life. 

Here are some amazing benefits of practicing yoga for our mental health.  

Yoga and Mental health 

5 amazing mental health benefits of yoga 

 
Yoga reduces mental stress and increase mental strength 

Practicing regular yoga definitely requires a lot of dedication, patience, sincerity and most importantly, a desire to learn a new way of living a life. But once you get involved in a proper yoga practice routine, the positive effects could transcend into other areas of life, including your mental health. Yoga is a powerful way to keep our mental stress in check. 

 By practicing rhythmic breathing, you can increase your mental strength and self-awareness. Yoga helps in calming our mind and reduce the level of stress hormone (cortisol) in your body. It also improves your sleep quality and helps in releasing emotional energy. With regular practice, you have a new and positive outlook in every aspect of life and develop a better capability to deal with routine stresses of life.  

 
It helps in cultivating “Mindfulness” 

We lived in an incredibly busy world. Our pace of life is often frantic. Most of the time, our mind either stays in past memories or goes far into the future to worry about it.  

To keep ourselves calm, it is very important to learn “press the pause” switch and be present in the moment. Being mindful of what you’re doing is the simplest thing that could bring a miraculous change in our life. Yoga helps you to be present in the moment. With the help of yoga, you will develop a deeper appreciation of every moment. It can allow you to let go of the worries of the future. yoga reshapes our brain and improve the quality of our life experience. 

 
Yoga helps in developing a sense of “Self-love” 

Usually, we all had pressure of completing multiple responsibilities every day.  Every morning, we launch into the day without plugging into ourselves first. With this over busy routine, most of us did not get enough time for ourselves. 

 Continually doing this creates a state of exhaustion, stress and irritation. Setting a routine for self-love and self-care is very important for coming out from this exhausting mental and physical state. Self- love is a fuel that gives you an energy to serving others.  yoga is often considered as only a form of exercise, but in true sense it is much more than just asanas, kriyas and poses. It is a beautiful journey that teaches you to be self-compassionate. It helps you to learn how to love yourself. Loving yourself is not self-obsession, it is a great way to help you slow down and spend some quality time with yourself. When you open your body, focus on breath, sit quietly for a moment you automatically fall in love with yourself. 

Yoga offers great help for dealing depression and anxiety 

Yoga is a wonderful way to deal with various mental issues like depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Yoga helps in calming the nervous system and increase the level of GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid- A chemical that helps to regulate nerve activity). GABA activity level is usually low in patients who are suffering from anxiety disorder.   

Yoga especially pranayama also helps in increased flow of oxygenated blood to our body and also helps in cleanse the blood. This action also works great in improving our overall mental health and well-being. 

 
It improves quality of your life and make you a better person!

As a conclusion, I would say yoga improves your overall quality of life and help you to make a better person. Yoga will change your perspective of life and helps you in developing some great qualities, such as: 

• You will learn to listen your body 
• You will have better listening skills 
• You will have more patience and better tools to deal with difficult situations 
• You will have clarity in relationships 
• You will stop complaining and have a positive outlook in your life 
• Improved concentration and better mental health 

So, these are some great mental health benefits of practicing yoga. What are your thoughts? Please share with me. 

This post is a part of #CauseAChatter with Blogchatter.