8 Ways Yoga and Meditation Can Improve Your Mental Health

 8 Ways Yoga and Meditation Can Improve Your Mental Health

There are few things in this world that can improve your mental health more than daily yoga and meditation practice. Both of these practices have been shown to reduce stress, reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, increase your sense of well-being, and help you to sleep better at night (and yes, all of those things will contribute to your overall mental health). This guide explores how you can incorporate more yoga and meditation into your life in order to reap the incredible benefits that these two practices have to offer.

1) Yoga lowers depression and anxiety

A number of studies have found that yoga helps to lower depression and anxiety levels, with some research indicating it may be just as effective as conventional treatments. In one 2010 study, researchers surveyed 12 healthy female adults who had never tried yoga. They were then asked to participate in 30-minute Iyengar yoga sessions three times a week for three months. At the end of their study period, participants reported significantly lower anxiety scores compared with those who did not practice yoga during that time frame.

2) Yoga reduces stress

With so many people in today’s world suffering from stress, it’s no wonder that more and more individuals are turning to yoga as a way to reduce anxiety. According to a study published in Clinical Psychology Review, people who did yoga were less stressed than those who didn’t do yoga. This can be attributed to many factors including increased endorphins, reduction of cortisol levels (which promotes relaxation), among others.

3) Meditation can make your brain stronger

Researchers at Harvard, Yale, and Massachusetts General Hospital wanted to determine how meditation affected people’s brains. They found that just eight weeks of mindfulness training made measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy, and stress.

4) Yoga improves physical strength

If you’re looking to improve your physical health, yoga is a great place to start. The practice involves stretching, breathing exercises, and movement that targets major muscle groups like your glutes, shoulders, chest, legs, and back. All of these actions improve strength in your muscles—and if you take yoga classes regularly (i.e., two or more times per week), then you’ll start noticing an overall improvement in your stamina with almost every physical activity.

5) Yoga provides body awareness

When you’re practicing yoga, you’re focusing on your body in a unique way. Not only are you trying to focus on stretching and breathing—but you also have to think about what poses look like from other people’s perspectives. In addition, yoga involves mindfulness, which is a form of meditation: You take time out of your day to concentrate on how each pose makes you feel, as well as how you fit into each pose as a whole.

6) Yoga helps with insomnia

With its combination of stretching, meditation, relaxation and breathing exercises, yoga can help you sleep better at night. According to one study published in Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine (2010), patients who practiced yoga demonstrated improved sleep quality after only a few weeks of practice.

7) Mindfulness makes you calmer

Mindfulness can help you become calmer. When your mind is calm, you’re less likely to be triggered by stressful situations. And because it takes time for your body to respond to stress, being in a calmer state can protect you from physical symptoms of stress like headaches or heart palpitations. According to research in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, mindfulness meditation can also help prevent panic attacks.

8) Meditating at home is easy

Start by sitting with your back straight, legs crossed, or both feet flat on the floor. Let your hands rest gently in your lap. For a few minutes each day, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. If a thought pops into your head that’s not related to meditation (or something you want to think about later), let it go. After several weeks of regular practice, you’ll likely find that meditating has become more natural for you.