We live in a world that is complete with mental pressure, stress, overthinking, emotional instability, and unhealthy competition, and to top it all off, we have appeared in one of the worst times of human existence, the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is Yoga Pose For Mental Health.
All these parts are enough to drive us crazy and trust me, being locked down in our homes with no proper schedule is making everyone even crazier. Therefore, it is high time, you start concentrating on the inside rather than the outside, and the best way to start is by doing some yoga.
Scientific Reason For Effectiveness Of Yoga Pose for Mental Health
Your body has a week-defined nervous system that is distributed into the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral Nervous System (PNS). The PNS is more divided into the somatic nervous system and the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). It is the ANS that acts a major role in helping our body to cope with the external environmental condition.
The sympathetic system of the ANS is effective for preparing our body for the ‘Flight, fright and fight’ response while PNS plays an essential role in calming our body, taking care of our digestive system, and most importantly giving our mental peace.
As acetylcholine is published during Parasympathetic activation and it has been found that this neurotransmitter is effective for keeping the mind attentive, alert, arousable, motivated, and with high memorizing potential.
Moreover, doing yoga directly improves the parasympathetic system to take over the sympathetic system through the vagus nerve, which in turn cools down your body and clams your brain for sure. Additionally, preparing regular yoga with a proper breathing technique helps to reduce the over-activation of the hypothalamic gland and the pineal gland.
Yoga Pose For Mental Health
All the yoga asanas, if done accurately, can give you amazing results in both your physical and mental health.
Shavasana (Corpse Pose)
Shava means a dead body or corpse and this asana makes us lie still as a dead body. After doing strenuous activity, this asana is usually done to relax the body. Even when you are under mental stress, you can easily do this asana which requires you to use zero physical effort.
Instruction :
- Lie on a flat area with the back of your head, your shoulder, your hands, your lower back, your buttocks, the back of your thigh and calf, and the back of your ankle touching the ground.
- Keep your palm facing near the ceiling
- Shut your eyes and lie still
- Now lightly breathe in and breathe out
- You can lie down in this asana until you sense calm and relaxed, and take your own time to sit up in another posture.
Natarajasana (Lord Of the Dance Pose Or Dancer Pose)
This asana is generally known as “the dancer’s pose”. In this asana, your balance plays a significant role; therefore this asana is very useful in improving your attention span. With the balancing of mood swings, this asana has also shown to be effective for those people who are fighting depression.
Instruction :
- Begin by standing erect with both feet on the ground
- Slowly breathe and as you inhale bend one of your knees backward.
- Grab the ankle of the leg whose knee has been bent behind with the hand of the same side.
- Keep the other hand gently ahead making a Gyan mudra.
- Now gently exhale
- Hold this position for 1-2 minutes with deep inhalation and exhalation
Pro Tip-While doing this asana, try to keep your center on your breath, and at the same time try to adjust your posture without falling.
Viparita Karani (Legs-Up-The-Wall Pose)
This asana requires you to use your hips and trunk. Restorative yoga also urges this asana and you are admitted to use props while doing this posture. This particular asana is very effective in increasing your circulatory flow and as you are to this yoga against gravity, your lymphatic activity also increases which in turn boosts your immunity.
Instruction:
- Lie flat on the area with your trunk and the back of your head touching the floor.
- Your legs need to be fixed against the wall with the toes parallel to the ground
- The buttocks also require to touch the wall
- Or you can try it without the wall by lifting the trunk from the ground with the help of your hands
- keep this posture for 5-10 minutes while you inhale and exhale gently.
Precaution
Do not attempt to try this asana externally with the aid of the wall if your abdominal muscles are weak. You can always switch to doing this asana without the wall help once you are capable of performing it properly and when your core muscles get restored.
Summary
Doing yoga can ease you as it helps to prepare your body for higher possibilities. Therefore, it is constantly better to start working on your body and mind’s health by doing yoga or meditation, rather than focusing on medication later falling under some serious health conditions.
