In the United States, nearly 43 million Americans suffer from a mental illness. Many individuals experience barriers to treatment including stigma, access to mental healthcare, and efficacy of psychotropic medications and will seek alternative approaches to healing, including yoga.
Yoga, a therapeutic practice that originated in ancient India over 5,000 years ago, relaxes the body and calms the mind through the use of breathing, mediation, and postures. Although there are many forms of yoga, all varying in intensity, pace, and setting, the practices are designed to blend the body and soul.
In recent decades, science has confirmed that the ancient practice has overall health benefits improving bone density and brain function. Yoga has been found to increase body awareness, relieves stress, reduces muscle tension, strain, and inflammation, sharpen attention and concentration, and calm and center the nervous system.
What Does Science Tell Us:
There is a growing body of research to support yoga’s mental health benefits. Yoga’s positive benefits on mental health have made it an important practice tool of psychotherapy. It has been shown to enhance social well being through a sense of belonging to others, and improve the symptoms of depression, anxiety, attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder, and sleep disorders. Research on yoga and high school students also shows yoga improves the mood, behavior, and mindfulness of high school students taking yoga classes in addition to PE compared to students taking PE alone. Additionally, yoga and meditation have been shown to improve workplace stress, well-being, caregiver stress, and resilience. Yoga’s benefits have been illustrated with adult caregivers who reported lower life satisfaction, depression, and stress, and high levels of biological markers for inflammation. Research shows that practicing yoga for a 12 minutes per day for 8 weeks resulted in reducing markers of inflammation in adults caring for a loved one diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. Need ideas for your yoga practice? Click here.
The Neuroscience Behind It:
There is emerging evidence that yoga causes neuroplastic changes in the structure and function of brain regions. Researchers at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine used MRI scans on brain regions of participants who practiced yoga and participants who did not. Brain scans of participants who regularly practiced yoga showed larger brain volumes in areas used for attention, mental body mapping, visualization, dampening stress, and self-concept. In addition, yoga boosts brain chemicals typically shown to promote feelings of relaxation and happiness. Similar to many antianxiety and antidepressants, yoga increases levels of brain chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and gamma-amino-butyric-acid (GABA).
How Yoga Helps Us Relax:
Yoga involves a deep state of relaxation brought on by deep breathing. Research illustrates that we are able to activate the body’s natural relaxation response via deep breathing. Deep breathing increases the supply of oxygen to the brain, thus, stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system which promotes a state of calmness. By doing so, we can effectively combat stress, that is the physical and emotional responses to stress including decreased heart rate, blood pressure, rate of breathing, and muscle tension.
When eliciting the relaxation response:
• Your metabolism decreases
• Your heart beats slower and your muscles relax
• Your breathing becomes slowed
• Your blood pressure decreases
• Your levels of nitric oxide are increased
While yoga has many evidenced-based benefits, it is important to talk to your healthcare provider before starting any fitness routine. Also, proper instruction by qualified yoga instructor will help you to get the most from your sessions as well as decrease the likelihood of injury.
Self-help information and information from the internet is useful, but it is not a substitute for professional advice. If you are currently in treatment or in therapy, please consult your therapist, psychiatrist, or other mental health professional.
Resources:
Yoga Journal
American Psychological Association
Harvard Health
