A 5000-year-old spiritual practice, yoga has gone wildly popular around the world over the past decade, and for a reason, too. Apart from physical benefits, yoga is a precious tool that can dial up your mental health and cognitive faculties. But how exactly does yoga affect the mind and what gains will you be in for if you make yoga classes a regular on your weekly agenda?
Depression Treating
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Latest statistics show that one in 10 Americans will have suffered from depression at some point in their life, but the figure of U.S. citizens affected by the condition is much higher since as many as 80% of depression cases go by undiagnosed. In case you’re prone to the blues, be sure to sign up for yoga classes right away: researchers have found yoga combined with conscious breathing can significantly improve mild to severe depression.
Memory
On top of improved focus, yoga can take your brain’s information retrieval to a whole new level and upgrade your memory within weeks. Due to its benefits for the nervous system, yoga can be a precious tool in preventing brain fog, forgetfulness, memory dips, dementia, and Alzheimer’s, so if you want to build lean muscles, steel-strong nerves, and bulletproof memory, you’d better sign up for yoga classes straight away.
Stress Relief
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Since it shifts the focus from the sympathetic to parasympathetic nervous system, yoga can take your stress relief and relaxation game to the next level. Conscious breath control during asanas and flows calms the nervous system and swaps fight-or-flight response for rest-and-digest. By taming the stress response, yoga practices help regulate heart rate and blood pressure, which is essential for long-term physical and mental wellbeing.
Self-Awareness
Not only is life in the 21st-century a byword for stress, it’s also a serious threat to the mind-body equilibrium as it favors the cerebral over the intuitive. Fortunately, yoga can help you get back in touch with the spiritual and instinctive side of your personality and thus complete individuation more easily and successfully. On top of that, regular yoga practice can help preserve mind-body equilibrium, improve self-awareness, and build self-esteem.
Concentration
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In a world where distractions lurk at every corner and we’re being shell-shocked by information from every angle, attention span has shrunk to under 2 seconds, and that’s another point where yoga can help. A powerful concentration booster, yoga helps flush mental clutter, stretch the attention span, and improve cognitive faculties, allowing you to maximize your productivity and performance in intellectually demanding tasks.
PTSD Healing
Did you know yoga can help you get over a traumatic experience? It’s true, apparently: a recent study shows yoga helps alleviate symptoms of PTSD, which is why it can make a great adjunctive therapy for veterans, abuse victims, and other individuals who experienced severe psychological trauma. If you thought that yoga can’t heal a broken heart or shattered peace of mind, you were utterly mistaken.
Looking to take your mental health game to the top? Yoga can keep you safe from anxiety and depression, it’ll also help you reach and preserve peak mind-body equilibrium and optimize cognitive function while toning your skin, strengthening your muscles and sculpting your body at the same time. Ready, steady, go and hit the mat immediately, for the sake of your body – and your mind, too. Namaste!
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