Yoga has changed my life. I will share some of the benefits I have personally experienced through having a regular yoga practice. There will be other benefits so please don’t take this list as definitive.
- Reduces Anxiety and improves mental health
The main reason I started practising yoga is because I was living with chronic anxiety and hypervigilance, which started at the age of 12. Since practising yoga which includes meditation and breathwork my chronic anxiety slowly started to lesson. I noticed I am no longer triggered in the same situations I had always been triggered by. My mind and body started to calm and I started to feel more safe and confident in my own skin. There are many studies showing the effectiveness of yoga as a treatment for mental health problems. It may be a slow journey, but if you show up consistently the healing benefits will show in time.
- Regulating your nervous system and the healing of health problems caused by dysregulation.
When we practice yoga we are encouraging the activation of a part of the autonomic nervous system called the parasympathetic nervous system. When active the heart rate slows down, blood pressure lowers and digestion functions optimally. In this state we feel joyful, safe and calm, enabling us to socially connect with others, play and experience growth and restoration. If we are living predominately in a stress response (sympathetic activation) we may feel unbalanced and have mental health and general health problems. Yoga and a holistic approach to healing might heal health problems that are caused by dysregulation, it did mine. To learn more about this click here to read my blog post “The science of how yoga helps to heal the mind and body – Polyvagal theory”, or here to learn more about my personal journey of healing.
- Creating states of relaxation and stillness
As we continually focus our attention on our breath and body when we practice we are building concentration and our ability to focus our mind, which in turn helps to calm the mind. Also, as we slow down the breath and encourage the activation of the parasympathetic our mind may naturally begin to calm. With practice we will start to notice a calmer and more focused mind, growing our ability to be in a state of stillness and relaxation. Allowing us to feel more peace and giving us a break from the constant stream of thoughts we experience in our day-to-day life.
- Deeper connection to your body
When you practice yoga, you turn your attention into the body and move with awareness. As you do this you are building your connection to your body. The body communicates with us by sending us signals to help us meet our needs, for example the feeling in the belly of being hungry or the lack of energy you feel when you are tired and need rest. The body is also where we feel our intuition and our emotional responses. Building a deeper connection to your body increases your ability to pick up on these signals, to know how you are feeling and to take action to give your body and yourself what you need. Often we have become accustomed to living in our head completely disconnected from our bodies and therefore not sure how we feel, not aware of our needs and not connected to our intuition.
- Increased ability to regulate and feel emotions
Slowing down our breath calms the nervous system, we can do the same when we are emotionally overwhelmed, helping us learn to regulate our emotions. Also, as emotions are physiological responses in the body, as you build you connection to your body you are building your ability to identify what you are feeling emotionally. It also helps you learn to pause and feel your emotions, just like how we pause and feel the physical sensations of a muscle stretching or the breath.
- Becoming the observer and less reactive to emotions
As you practice yoga, meditation and breathwork you are practicing observing your mind and body creating space between your thoughts, your emotions and you (the observer). As you do this you are developing your capacity to become more responsive to your emotions and less reactive. When we react, we often regret what we say and do as we are coming from the reactive place of emotion, rather than choosing how we would like to respond to what we are feeling.
- When you prioritise yourself you are building your relationship with yourself
It is an act of self-love to practice yoga, in taking the time to do something that is good for you are giving yourself the message you are worthy of prioritising. Practising is taking the time to care and nurture yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. So, in doing so you are caring for yourself which is a part of building a healthy relationship with yourself.
- Challenging yourself builds confidence
One way to build confidence is to try things you believe you cannot do. It is often a limiting thought and a lack of belief in oneself which is in the way. If you manage to do things you thought you couldn’t your confidence will grow, but it means taking that risk in the first place. Also, just to challenge yourself and push yourself outside of your comfort zone is how we grow. We work our muscles hard outside of what is comfortable and they become stronger, it is the same for our mind, as we push ourselves outside our comfort zone our comfort zones begin to widen and we start to feel more confident.
- Yoga increases your neuroplasticity – the brains ability to change and reorganise itself according to its environment
Stepping outside your comfort zone, trying something new and meditation all increase your neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the science of how our brain is malleable and adapts to its environment, it is how change is possible. When we do something neural networks fire in our brain and the more we repeat it the more it fires, the more entrenched it becomes, making it easier and habitual over time. Like how learning to drive takes your full focus in the beginning but once practiced enough doesn't take much effort and becomes habitual. But it is also why change is difficult in the beginning until we repeat the new enough so it becomes more entrenched in our brain.
- The physical benefits
Practising yoga helps us build strength, flexibility and balance in our body. It also relieves tension we hold in our muscles and fascia tissue, increases our mobility, reduces the chances of injury and improves our posture. Also, stretching and moving our body may help to release repressed emotions or fight and flight energy stored in our muscles, fascia tissue and nervous system.
- Deeper connection to yourself
All of the above deepens your connection to yourself. As you start to slow down, tune inwards, connect with your body and build your confidence, you start to feel more connected to yourself.
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