Learn about the Emotional Benefits of Yoga
You’ve probably already heard about some of the amazing things this age-old practice can do for your body. This is especially true when it comes to your muscles, joints, and heart. One thing you don’t hear as much about is the psychological, emotional benefits of yoga. Well, that’s what we’re going to focus on today. Read on!
You’ll surely be encouraged to give a chance to that class that piqued your curiosity or that video for beginners that you have available on Youtube once you know more about these benefits.
Yoga and your emotions
For many, yoga is a way of life, a way to find well-being and inner peace. It implies observation of the inner self, a disconnection from noise and agitation, and a connection with your own inner world. It’s deep and authentic. This is what allows you to discern between what’s really important and what isn’t, to act in a coherent, but above all harmonious and kind way with yourself and the rest of the people.
Now, the main benefits of yoga cover three main areas: body, mind, and spirit. For this reason, it doesn’t only provides a certain type of well-being, but an integral one. In other words, it works the emotions but isn’t limited to these. In fact, it also works the body and breathing, among others that bring about physical and mental health.
Breathing integrates with movement (through various postures) so this practice changes you in an indisputable way both physically and mentally. It has the ability to stimulate several processes in the body, such as blood circulation, oxygenation of cells, and energy transport. In turn, it helps improve postural hygiene and release emotional tension.
All these benefits are undoubtedly related to an improvement in mental and emotional levels. Thus, yoga isn’t only good for the body but also for the soul. Thus, its use as a preventive, healing, and rehabilitative medicine isn’t surprising.
The emotional benefits of yoga
If you’re looking for an activity with a lot of psychological benefits, don’t wait to try this ancient, beautiful practice. Here are the main emotional benefits of yoga:
1. It brings you peace and serenity
Modern-day city life turns a lot of us into nervous, anxious, and irritable people.
When you do yoga, deep breathing helps to relax you. It calms you down and helps you see things from another point of view.
By breathing correctly, you get rid of your feelings of anger, stress, and anxiety. Ultimately, it gets rid of all these feelings that bring you down, feelings that keep you from living in harmony with yourself.
2. One of the emotional benefits of yoga is it reduces stress
This word – which we’re all more than familiar with – exists because of our intense, fast-paced lifestyle. You walk around in a rush. You go from here to there with a frown. Or, you might even argue with people that you don’t know. You’re surrounded by noise all the time… But then, you go to a yoga class. When you’re there, it seems like the world changes completely.
Science confirms that practicing this age-old technique can help reduce your levels of cortisol, a hormone that results from stress. This isn’t only related to the fact that physical tension is released by performing postures, or breathing at a slower pace, or paying attention to the present moment, but rather to the whole set of processes that occur simultaneously throughout the practice.
3. It improves your self-esteem
This is one of the wonderful, surprising emotional benefits of yoga. Not many people nowadays can say “I believe in myself” or “I have faith in my abilities.” With yoga, you can improve your self-esteem and get to know yourself without any self-criticism. You can also get rid of the negative thoughts that limit you and fill your mind with positive ideas that allow you to grow.
This is a fantastic tool for starting to see things more clearly. Plus, it also boosts your energy levels. Ultimately, it increases your confidence in your abilities and helps you make more definitive decisions.
4. It improves the quality of your sleep
Melatonin is the hormone in charge of regular sleep cycles. The neurotransmitter serotonin deals with regulating your mood and appetite. Both of these become balanced when you do yoga. As a result, you can sleep better every night.
If you have insomnia, too many nightmares, or have trouble getting to sleep, there’s nothing better than a yoga session. You’ll sleep like a baby at night and feel completely renewed in the morning.
5. Another of the emotional benefits of yoga is it boosts your intellectual capacity
Practicing this Eastern discipline improves your ability to logically reason, make decisions, and think clearly. I t also improves your concentration thanks to the breathing and the stillness involved in the postures. You can translate that into just about any daily activity, including work, studying, etc. It helps you avoid distractions and have a better memory.
6. It boosts your mood
Everyday problems like bills, traffic, working extra hours… These change the way you see things. Hectic modern life turns you into an unhappy, grumpy person.
But when you do yoga, you increase your serotonin levels. This helps you prevent depression, anxiety, and anger, just like other forms of physical exercise do.
7. It improves your self-relationship
Being in balance with your mind and body is a good thing. If you are, you can get along well with other people, figure out what you want in life, and just be happier.
But if you don’t forgive yourself, constantly look out for your mistakes, and compare yourself to everyone else, all you’ll get is sadness and frustration. Yoga can help you:
- Be self-confident
- Improve your emotional management
- Regain your mental balance
- Find the positive side of things
- Maintain the good things you have
8. One of the emotional benefits of yoga is it helps prevent neurodegenerative diseases
Yoga, along with meditation, increases the size of structures called telomeres. When they’re small, they cause premature aging, various diseases, and premature death.
With just 15 minutes per day, you’ll help these structures grow bigger. This means that yoga can be helpful in the fight to prevent degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
So, are you ready to give yoga a try and reap all of its emotional benefits?
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Menezes, C. B., Dalpiaz, N. R., Kiesow, L. G., Sperb, W., Hertzberg, J., & Oliveira, A. A. (2015). Yoga and emotion regulation: A review of primary psychological outcomes and their physiological correlates. Psychology and Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0100353
- Bonura, K. B., & Tenenbaum, G. (2015). Effects of Yoga on Psychological Health in Older Adults. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2012-0365
- Hartfiel, N., Havenhand, J., Khalsa, S. B., Clarke, G., & Krayer, A. (2011). The effectiveness of yoga for the improvement of well-being and resilience to stress in the workplace. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.2916
