The secret to psychological and emotional recovery is yoga, but it cannot take the place of medication or treatment.
You feel good physically and mentally after doing yoga. Regular yoga practise can enhance the intake of serotonin, a hormone that regulates mood, attention, sleep, and pain. The body’s levels of tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin, are raised by both yoga and meditation.
Yoga as a whole helps us work with human nature, how emotions reside in our bodies, and how they influence our thoughts and behaviours.
These are the top five ways that yoga improves mental health:
Decreases anxiety –
By switching your sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system, it transitions you from the flight-or-fight phase to the rest-and-digest process. When you begin to breathe deeply, your nervous system becomes calmer and the quickness of the flight-or-fight response is slowed down. Yoga has been proved in studies to reduce tension and anxiety.
Improves your sense of identity –
Yoga helps you get to know yourself better and develop a nonjudgmental relationship with yourself. By making the effort to practise yoga, your unconscious mind tells you that you are deserving of some “me time,” thus there is a better sense of self-care. When you grow self-assured in your physical prowess, it positively influences your self-esteem as well. Additionally, the happy chemicals known as endorphins that are released during exercise improve your mood.
Builds relationships –
According to a study, regular yoga practise helps you have better social ties. This is due to the fact that you feel more grounded and at peace, which enables you to see other relationships with the same compassion and love. You become less reactive and more engaged in making efforts with your partner, which primarily affects love relationships.
Improves awareness of oneself –
Swiss psychiatrist used the term “shadow” to refer to those facets of our personalities that we suppress and deny. We all have aspects of ourselves that we don’t like or that we believe society won’t like, so we push those aspects down into our unconscious psyches for various reasons. Yoga promotes mindfulness, which helps us become more conscious of our hidden attributes as well as our strengths and faults.
Helps in treating substance abuse –
Yoga is more than merely performing a pose or asana. Numerous studies demonstrate the benefits of yoga for overcoming addiction and achieving sobriety.
Yoga treats the HALT triggers by lowering the anxiety and depressive emotions that frequently cause an addict in recovery to relapse (Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired).
People who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction can benefit from yoga. For individuals who are committed to stop smoking, it also works. Yoga’s meditation practise focuses on the main signs of substance misuse, such as impulsivity, cravings, and a negative response to stress.