What is Yoga? The word "yoga" first appears in the Rig Veda, the world's oldest Indian scripture. Yoga is derived from the San...
What is Yoga?
The word "yoga" first appears in the Rig Veda, the world's oldest Indian scripture. Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit term "yuj," which meaning "to unite" or "unity." Yoga may be dated back over 5,000 years to India.
Yoga is an ancient form of exercise that entails physical postures, meditation, and deep breathing. Yoga can help you build endurance, strength, calmness, flexibility, and overall health. Yoga has become a commonly practiced type of exercise all around the world.
During the late 1890s, Indian monks brought their expertise of yoga to the West. By the 1970s, modern yoga teachings had become very popular in Western countries. While the western world sees yoga as a form of physical exercise, the eastern world sees it as a more holistic approach to body and mind harmonization.
Any kind of yoga contains three types of yogic practises: asana-based (physical), breathing-based (breath), and meditation-based (mental). Various bodily positions are coordinated with breathing in an asana-based technique. Meditation-based yoga entails separating oneself from distracting thoughts and concentrating on one's breathing.
Finally, breathing-based yoga, also known as "pranayama," entails slow and focused breathing with set times for intake and expiration.
Another age-old method that has gotten a lot of attention in recent years, similar to yoga, is mindfulness. Mindfulness is an old Buddhist discipline that involves paying attention in the present moment, accepting internal experiences, and remaining non-judgmental.
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Mindfulness has been shown to have positive effects on mental health, including improved coping and self-compassion, as well as best ways to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and obsessions.
People with poor mental health can gain greatly in the long run by incorporating the ancient Indian practise of Yoga into their everyday life. Yoga is a scientific approach to exercise and relaxation to help people cope with the stress of modern life. Yoga can help senior people with minor memory loss improve their memory, sleep, and overall quality of life.
How yoga therapy works
Yoga has the potential to be a very effective treatment choice for your mental health. Meditation and physical activity, when combined, provide two crucial factors for depression relief.
Meditation assists a person in bringing themselves into the present moment and allowing their brains to clear. Controlled, concentrated movements also aid in the body-mind connection's strengthening.
According to one study, breathing exercises are useful in lowering depression symptoms. Yoga, which focuses on deep, regulated breathing, may be beneficial to you.
Here are some poses that help improve mental health besides providing other health benefits
1. Shashankasana
By stimulating your nervous system, this asana re-energizes your entire body. This asana is a resting position that resembles a child's foetal position. If executed flawlessly on a regular basis, the performer will have a sense of mental, bodily, and emotional comfort.
2. Vipareetakaraniasana
One of the best yoga asanas for boosting blood circulation to the head is this inverted stance. It contributes in the reduction of anxiety, the treatment of depression, and the prevention of sleeplessness, as well as the regulation of blood flow.
3. Hasta Utthanasana
People with high blood pressure, asthma, sinusitis, infertility, and osteoporosis are said to benefit from this yoga position. As a relaxation tool, it also aids in the relief of mild depression and the treatment of insomnia.
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4. Natarajasana
Natarajasana asana, also known as "the dancer's stance," is beneficial for balancing one's mood. It can help people who are suffering from sadness or anxiety.
5. Virabhadrasana
Asana Virabhadrasana, This practise, often known as "the warrior stance," has many versions, all of which require concentration and steady breathing.
6. Vriksasana
This asana, often known as "the tree posture," is a basic one that helps you strengthen your sense of self and centre your body and mind. Maintain a straight posture and strive to balance while breathing evenly.
7. Anjaneyasana
"The high lunge" is another name for this pose. The curved form of this exercise has been shown to enhance blood flow and calm the mind. Make sure your front knee is at a 90-degree angle and your knee is in line with your ankle. It could injure your joints if you do it incorrectly.
8. Garudasana
The eagle pose is a common name for this position. You must breathe while keeping your body balanced in this stance. It aids in the prevention of anxiety attacks while also boosting focus.
Prevent your mind
Yoga has been shown to increase cognitive performance in depressed people, improve emotion detection abilities in people with schizophrenia, and improve memory, deep sleep, and quality of life in elderly people with minor memory impairment.
Yoga practise results in a decrease in the "stress hormone" cortisol, a rise in the "happy hormone" oxytocin, and an increase in brain plasticity markers such Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). Yoga can help prevent brain cell deterioration or even an increase in brain volume in memory-related areas (hippocampus), especially in the elderly. Chanting "Om" lowered brain activation in areas connected to emotional control in healthy people, suggesting that it has the capacity to settle emotional disturbances.
