How Yoga Helps With Depression Depression is a problem that needs to be taken seriously. Many people turn to antidepressant medication but there are many who do not respond to that treatment. Doing yoga will naturally boost the brains dopamine levels and provide endorphins. It will help to stimulate the healthy growth of new brain cells and return abnormal brainwave patterns to normal. A regular yoga practice can help improve concentration and can help with a loss of energy.
Yoga has been like a gateway drug for me on many different levels. I've suffered with depression all through out my life. With it I had a lack of confidence, lack of concern for my health and well being, lack of motivation and direction. When yoga found me the timing couldn't have been more perfect; I was going nowhere fast. As I began my journey through yoga I gained a new sense of compassion for my mind, body and spirit and chose to dive deeper into understanding my place in this world. I began to explore my inner demons and how to nurture them into the light and begin to set them free. I became enthusiastic in spreading the word that if I can overcome these hurdles anyone can! I've gained a new meaning to spirituality, being "fit", and self love all because yoga was brought into my life. I can't speak enough about this beautiful practice and am honored every time a student comes to their mat and allows me to join them in their journey, even if for an hour at a time. I hope to become a beacon of the impact yoga can have not only for a healthy lifestyle but as a portal to everything this world can truley offer!
How Yoga Helps With Anxiety Its easy to get lost worrying about future events and outcomes, which can also cause physical effects. A regular yoga practice can help to lower your blood pressure, reduce your heart rate, and control your breathing. Yoga is all about the breath. Learning how to breathe and how to be present in the poses help to teach you how to stay in the moment and observe what is really happening.
I do yoga to relieve anxiety, to feel more centered, and get away from busyness of life.
How Yoga Helps With Improving Focus The monkey mind that many of us suffer from prevents us from devoting our attention to the present moment. We move through life with a hundred things on our mind. We forget where the car keys went, why it is that we walked into a room, or if we’ve locked the house. Becoming more present in the moment, consciously aware of what we are doing and why, helps to retrain the mind and improve focus. Yoga teaches you how to focus on the present, how to focus on your body. Your mind.
I have a friend who has a great body who does yoga religiously. My initial interest in yoga was to look like her! My mind is always going 100 miles an hour, yoga for some reason can quiet it. Shivasana was so difficult at first, I would sit there and think “are you kidding me, let’s get this over with, I have things to do” and now I dread when the bell rings.
Why I yoga.... connect to my body and a place of meditation, focus, strength, flexibility, balance both physically and mentally, peace and calm...helps with anxiety, self care, to feel a sense of continual growth, community, last but not least...to be playful and have fun!
How Yoga Helps Me Sleep Better. Stimulation is good, but too much of it taxes the nervous system. Yoga can provide relief from the hustle and bustle of modern life. Restorative asanayoga nidra (a form of guided relaxation)Savasanapranayamaand meditation encourage pratyaharaa turning inward of the senseswhich provides downtime for the nervous system. Another by-product of a regular yoga practicestudies suggestis better sleep—which means you’ll be less tired and stressed and less likely to have accidents.
How Yoga Helps With Improving Addiction Addiction comes in many forms. Unfortunately for many, a destructive form of addiction may manifest itself in the form of drugs or alcohol, pornography, food, seeking pain, etc. I’ve often heard that yoga itself can be an addiction, albeit a healthy one. Exercise assists the body in boosting the brain’s serotonin levels which elevates the mood. Yoga also empowers you to look inward, which will help you to observe the origins of our emotions and the underlying reasons for the addictive behavior. Creating a healthy hobby can keep oneself occupied.