Yoga as an Integrative Therapy for Mental Health Concerns

Mental health problems can affect your mind, body and well-being. The importance of mental health has become one of the things that people pay attention to. Many now no longer define health as limited to physical health, but also includes mental health. The high pressures and burdens of people's lives can be seen to have an impact on a person's mental health. Various conditions related to mental health such as stress, anxiety, and depression that often occur are difficult to manage so that they can reduce a person's quality of life.

A variety of self-care activities and relaxation techniques are available to address psychological and mental health problems. Of the various things that can help solve psychological problems and improve mental conditions, one of the things that can help is yoga. Because yoga itself has been quite popular for quite a long time.

What is yoga?

Yoga comes from ancient Indian Sanskrit, the term yoga means "to bend" or "to unite". The practice of yoga involves the union of body, mind, and spirit. Through breathing exercises, meditation, movement, and relaxation, yoga can help restore personal balance, feeling more calm, peaceful, and in control.

Yoga has become a popular activity for renewing the body by increasing strength, improving balance, and increasing flexibility. Given the many benefits of yoga for reducing stress, it is not surprising that yoga can also help with fear, panic, and anxiety.

How can yoga build mental health?

In the world of psychology, to overcome some psychological problems such as stress, anxiety and tension, one of the most popular techniques used is relaxation techniques. Various studies have found that relaxation can help a person in overcoming mental problems such as tension, anxiety to physical complaints such as insomnia and high blood pressure.

Some of the most commonly used relaxation strategies include breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, and visualization. These techniques have been found to reduce anxiety and may even be helpful in managing panic symptoms. Yoga itself is an activity that includes these three general relaxation techniques. In addition, yoga has been known to help relieve stress, reduce feelings of nervousness, and increase awareness. Thus, yoga is considered potentially beneficial for people with anxiety disorders, including panic disorder.

The way relaxation techniques work like yoga itself is based on the human nervous system. In short, the human body is composed of a nervous system, one of which is the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system itself consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. When the body experiences stress or tension, the nerves that work are the sympathetic nerves. Meanwhile, when the body is relaxed, the nerves that work are the parasympathetic nerves. In this case, relaxation techniques such as yoga play a role in relieving stress by replacing conditions of anxiety and tension into a sense of relaxation.

Yoga postures, known as asanas, can also help relieve physical discomfort caused by anxiety. Asanas work to stretch, lengthen, and balance muscles. This posture can help release muscle tension and stiffness that builds up throughout the body. In this case relaxation yoga not only helps in calming the body physically, but can also help the mind and mental.

Benefits of yoga for mental health

Reduce stress

In reducing stress, yoga can help the body by lowering cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the body. Yoga can also help you relax by having a relaxing effect on your body. Various studies have also confirmed the benefits of yoga for health and in reducing and dealing with stress in humans.

Reduces anxiety and depression

Yoga is known to help with depression and anxiety. Yoga works by increasing awareness of the present experience and focus of attention, and as a result, can help individuals become aware of the negative moods that are characteristic of depression.

Helps reduce PTSD symptoms

Yoga can be especially helpful for those struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many of the symptoms of PTSD are physical, such as an increased heart rate and sweating that sometimes accompany “flashbacks” or vivid memories of the trauma. In this case, yoga is known to help reduce the physical symptoms of PTSD.

The benefits of yoga for physical health

Here are some of the benefits that can be obtained from yoga activities: