Can Yoga Reduce Anxiety and Stress? Mental Health Benefits of Yoga Practice
The physical benefits of yoga may seem obvious. Stretching and relaxing tight muscles, strengthening through challenging postures, and getting the heart rate up through a vinyasa practice are just a few that come to mind. But what about the mental health benefits? Can yoga actually help reduce anxiety and stress?
Yes! Keep reading to see how and why yoga can reduce anxiety and stress.
Intentional Breathing
Yoga has several ways that it helps balance our nervous systems during practice. With anxiety and stress, our sympathetic nervous system can take over and put us in “fight or flight” mode. Pranayama or yoga breathwork practices require us to take more intentional breaths that can help tap into our parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system helps calm everything down, allowing us to enter more of a “rest and digest” state, so we feel relaxed and at ease. These breathwork practices may be offered in a specific meditation class or alongside your physical asana practice in many classes.
Mind-Body Connection
Yoga also helps to strengthen the mind-body connection. The practice requires us to be mindful with each movement, often connecting our breathing with the postures. Being in tune with how your body is moving can help decrease stress and offer the benefits of becoming more relaxed and focused on the present moment. Similarly, finding stillness in the postures can help strengthen the mind body connection and promote relaxation. Deeply restorative poses allow time for calm relaxing breaths in supportive poses. This combination can be a powerful tool for decreasing anxiety and stress.
Time for Self Care
Making time for a yoga practice is a great way to take a break in your schedule and create time for self care. Having regularly scheduled moments to slow down and take time for yourself is an amazing way to reduce stress and cultivate a more mindful lifestyle. A yoga class offers you a chance to combine exercise and fitness goals with mental health goals you may be working on such as decreasing stress. The combination of movement with meditation and breathwork can check multiple boxes when it comes to self care.
Supportive Community
Coming to a group yoga class also provides the benefit of connecting with a community. Having a community is a great way to feel supported through the stress of day to day life and manage anxiety and other mental health challenges. The relaxing environment of the studio may also help you feel calmer and more focused in your yoga practice. Being in person allows you to let the teacher know how you are feeling and allows them to tailor class to your needs. There are specific poses and breathing exercises they can include to help with anxiety and stress.
Most forms of exercise can provide benefits to mental well-being including reducing stress, but the combination of breath, movement and mindfulness makes yoga a unique practice for reducing anxiety and stress.
If you are interested in a class that includes movement, calming breathwork and deeply restorative poses, check out a Core + Restore, Slow Flow + Restorative, Gentle Flow + Restorative or Rest + Reset Class virtually or in person at Yoga Baum! Check out our schedule here.