How The Practice Of Yoga Can Improve Your Mental Well-Being
By now, you have probably heard of yoga; there is a yoga studio popping up everywhere; celebrities are practicing yoga on their social media channels, and your friend has probably told you about the yoga class she took last week.
Whether you are a seasoned pro or you are just about to dabble into yoga, let me tell you why you should practice yoga. Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj,’ meaning ‘to join’ or ‘to unite.” Yoga is a discipline that aims to bring harmony between your body and mind. The practice of yoga builds self-awareness, self-esteem, and muscle strength. There are many different types of yoga, from the active Vinyasa and Hatha to the gentle restorative and yin, to name a few. All with their own styles and a common thread to use poses “asanas,” rhythmic breath “Pranayama” and meditative exercises to connect the mind, body, and spirit.
To understand the way yoga can improve your mental well-being, we must first set the stage for what is going on in your body. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is an involuntary system that regulates physiologic processes such as heart rate, respiration, digestion, and sexual arousal. The ANS is further composed of three distinct anatomic divisions: sympathetic (“fight and flight”), parasympathetic (“rest and digest”), and enteric. All of these systems are necessary but are best when working in harmony. When we experience stress, our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) takes control, which in the short term, is okay. When we experience extended times of stress, the excess release of hormones such as cortisol affects how the rest of our body functions. The practice of yoga can help support the nervous system with yoga postures, breath, relaxation, visualization, and meditation. This activation of our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is important to repair and relax the body, essential to modulate the stress response. So how exactly can this happen?
Yoga affects brain structure.
Studies demonstrate that the practice of yoga can affect brain structure. More specifically, it has been shown that yoga can increase grey matter volume and density in the prefrontal cortex area of the brain. The prefrontal cortex is important for a number of executive functions, including managing emotions, making decisions, problem-solving, and setting goals. Yoga can also affect another region of our brain, known as the amygdala, which is important in regulating emotions and also shows an increase in size in practitioners of yoga.