Health Benefi ts of Activity

It is well documented that there are numerous health benefi ts 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 fi rst 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 diffi cult 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 scientifi c 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 ‘fi ght-or-fl ight’, 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.

As well as our friends the endorphins, we can add serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin, to our happy hormone family. All of which promote positive feelings such as happiness and pleasure. Research shows that serotonin production plays a role in the treatment of depression and yoga naturally increases serotonin production. One study even suggests people with depression have lower serotonin levels.

Aging and Mental Health journal published a review of 15 studies that studied the effects of a variety of relaxation techniques on depression and anxiety in older adults. These techniques included yoga, massage therapy, progressive muscle relaxation, stress management, and listening to music. While all methods provided some benefi t, yoga and music were the most effective for both depression and anxiety. And yoga appearing to provide longerlasting results.

Recently, one of my students sent me a photo of a page from the New Scientist magazine. The title read “Did you know yoga shrinks brain areas involved in fear and anxiety”. Now, how amazing is that? Thanks to modern technology, we’re now able to see how a regular yoga practice affects the brain, changes its structure, which then in turn goes on to produce mental health benefi ts! So, there you have it, a little bit of science. But to wrap up, I thought you might be interested to hear from my students, so I asked them to drop me a few lines on how our yoga classes have helped their mental health –

“I love yoga with you. It gives me time and space for me. My head is a very busy place that doesn’t stop, yoga helps me change it down a gear for a short time…” “helps me step out of busy life just for an hour and chill... I love looking after my body and my mind… the headspace thing really makes a difference…”

“I started yoga to fi nd a way to manage my heightened anxiety and help my low mood. I love the calm it brings… I use techniques in my everyday life when a situation gets a bit much… having a class and teacher I connect with is a bonus too!”

“it helps me feel grounded and focused… time out… relaxed… part of a community… no judgement… I love it!”

If you would like to know more about our classes, please do get in touch. We’d love to hear from you www.yogibird.co.uk