Did you know that up to 90% of doctor visits are now linked to stress-related issues? Yoga is a perfect remedy as it’s the one tool that simultaneously releases stress while improving all aspects of your health. No pill that has been ever made has the power to benefit so many areas of your life at one time.
For decades the practitioners of yoga have emphasised how yoga is not just a form of physical exercise. The benefits are so much more as Dr. Corinna Keenmon, medical director at Houston’s Methodist so rightly describes. She says “Yoga is a total package that helps us physically through increased flexibility, along with improving our heart health. Plus, the emotional improvements that happen over time are priceless”.
So, what makes yoga so good for us and how does it work?
The mechanism that makes yoga effective in contributing to the health and well-being of an individual is actually fairly simple. Yoga works by connecting the movement and flow of your mind and body with the rhythm and control of your breath. This is the integral element that makes yoga such a powerful tool to enhance our wellness.
We are all searching for some peace and quiet, as we so often get caught up in the stress that surrounds us- both seen and unseen. We think, overthink, worry, get anxious and it seems like we are in a never-ending cycle. From a yoga perspective, breath is the bridge between your mind and body. And so, the key to quietening your mind is by slowing and deepening your breathing. Make yoga a daily practice and over time you will regain mental stability, and stay calm and tranquil.
A study published on the effect of yoga on mental health concludes that practising yoga daily shows promise for promoting better mental health.
- Improved mood through the release of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is associated with better mood and decreased anxiety.
- Meditation, which is an important aspect of yoga, helps decrease your emotional reactivity which makes you respond more calmly in stressful situations.
- Helpful in managing post-traumatic stress disorder by better regulating your breathing to steady and calmer breath.
- Helps you stay in the moment and be mindful of your thoughts and actions.
“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”
– Bhagavad Gita