It is well documented that there are numerous health benefits to be had when it comes to taking regular physical activity. Exercise can lift your mood and it does this by lowering our levels of stress hormones whilst increasing levels of endorphins, often referred to as the ‘feel good’ hormone. But why in particular is yoga so good for our mental health? When I first stepped onto a yoga mat, it was for ‘exercise’. Little did I know it had so much more to offer me. It has without a shadow of a doubt helped me through some particularly difficult times, including my struggles with anxiety and low self-esteem. But don’t just take my word for it many studies have shown that yoga can help with anxiety, stress and depression.
So, let’s dive a little deeper and explore some of the scientific evidence. Yoga is a combination of physical postures, meditation and focus on breathing. Meditation helps us clear the mind by bringing us into the present moment. By focusing on how we feel in our postures and moving mindfully we can help strengthen our mind-body connection. I regularly encourage my students to focus on their breathing throughout their practice and we always perform a few breathing exercises towards the start of the class. I can remember in my early days of practicing yoga thinking “will the teacher stop banging on about the breath, already!” but I soon came to appreciate its value. When we start breathing more deeply and controlled, we calm our nervous system. We move from the sympathetic nervous system, more typically known as ‘fight-or-flight’, to the parasympathetic nervous system, more commonly known as ‘rest-anddigest’. Therefore, we become more relaxed with less anxiety. Breathing exercises can be done anywhere and are not just for your yoga mat. The NHS website has some you can follow here.
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