September is National Yoga Month, designed to educate the public about the health benefits of yoga and to inspire a healthy lifestyle.
How does yoga relate to our mission to restore and strengthen the emotional wellbeing of children and families? According to the American Psychological Association, yoga relieves stress and anxiety, reduces muscle tension and inflammation, and calms the nervous system. It has even been shown to help reduce depression.
Another area that’s shown to improve from yoga practice is PTSD, and that’s been clear to Amalia Sirica, a therapist at North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center who has used yoga with some of her therapy groups. “In people who experience trauma and PTSD, the mind is always on high alert,” she explains. “We’ve seen this alarm response calm down even after just one session of yoga. I can’t say enough about its benefits.”
In an article in Yoga Journal, yoga teacher and licensed psychotherapist Ashely Turner put it this way: “Yoga is a psychology—the whole practice helps us work with the nature of the mind, the nature of being a human, how emotions live in our bodies, how they affect our behavior and our minds.”
Here are some of the top benefits of yoga in the treatment of mental health conditions.
- Yoga helps increase your sense of self-esteem. Healthy self-esteem is a critical component to feeling emotionally healthy. Yoga encourages you to develop a nonjudgmental relationship with your thoughts, so you’re less likely to think of yourself as “bad” or “flawed” or “crazy.”
- Yoga encourages you to be more mindful. Living in the present moment and not obsessing about the past or future leads to a calmer, more accepting state of mind.
- Yoga creates a relaxation response within the body. A quiet mind and body help both with your mood and your sleep.
- Yoga increases “feel good” neurotransmitters known as GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). This allows for a more tranquil mind, allowing your brain to take a break and reduce the pace of obsessive thoughts, anxiety and depression.
- Yoga helps you relax and makes you feel more rested, energetic and in a positive mood. When you feel good, you become more productive and are able to contribute and participate in other activities that can help your emotional mental health.
Yoga can also be a great way to become more social, if you practice in a class as opposed to home on your own. But however you fit yoga into your lifestyle, it’s sure to be a benefit to people of all ages. Here’s to your health!
Sources: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/get-hardy/201305/take-stand-yoga-today
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8505745/
https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/5-ways-yoga-is-good-for-your-mental-health
