If you have ever wondered what are the benefits of Mindful Yoga, or what to say to others who ask about yoga & meditation please have a look below and see if these are benefits that you have experienced or are looking forward to experiencing in the future
Brain Health
When you do yoga, your brain cells develop new connections through increased awareness, and changes occur in brain structure as well as function, resulting in improved cognitive skills, such as learning and memory. Yoga strengthens parts of the brain that play a key role in memory, attention, awareness, thought, and language. Think of yoga as weightlifting for the brain.
Studies using MRI scans and other brain imaging technology have shown that people who regularly did yoga had a thicker cerebral cortex (the area of the brain responsible for information processing) and hippocampus (the area of the brain involved in learning and memory) compared with non-practitioners. These areas of the brain typically shrink as you age, but the older yoga practitioners showed less shrinkage than those who did no yoga. This suggests that yoga may counteract age-related declines in memory and other cognitive skills.
Improved Mood
Meditation also reduces activity in the limbic system—the part of the brain dedicated to emotions. As your emotional reactivity diminishes, you have a more tempered response when faced with stressful situations.
A review of 15 studies, published in the journal Ageing and Mental Health, looked at the effect of a variety of relaxation techniques on depression and anxiety in older adults. In addition to yoga, interventions included massage therapy, progressive muscle relaxation, stress management, and listening to music. While all the techniques provided some benefit, yoga and music were the most effective for both depression and anxiety. And yoga appeared to provide the longest-lasting effect.
Decrease Stress
Yoga is known for its ability to ease stress and promote relaxation. In fact, multiple studies have shown that it can decrease the secretion of cortisol, the primary stress hormone. One study demonstrated the powerful effect of yoga on stress by following 24 women who perceived themselves as emotionally distressed. After a three-month yoga program, the women had significantly lower levels of cortisol. They also had lower levels of stress, anxiety, fatigue and depression.
Relieves Anxiety & PTSD
Many people begin practicing yoga as a way to cope with feelings of anxiety.
Interestingly enough, there is quite a bit of research showing that yoga can help reduce anxiety. In one study, 34 women diagnosed with an anxiety disorder participated in yoga classes twice weekly for two months. At the end of the study, those who practiced yoga had significantly lower levels of anxiety than the control group. Another study followed 64 women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is characterized by severe anxiety and fear following exposure to traumatic events. After 10 weeks, the women who practiced yoga once weekly had fewer symptoms of PTSD. In fact, 52% of participants no longer met the criteria for PTSD at all.
Reduces Inflammation
Inflammation is a normal immune response, but chronic inflammation can contribute to the development of pro-inflammatory diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
A 2015 study divided 218 participants into two groups: those who practiced yoga regularly and those who didn’t. Both groups then performed moderate and strenuous exercises to induce stress. At the end of the study, the individuals who practiced yoga had lower levels of inflammatory markers than those who didn’t. Similarly, a small 2014 study showed that 12 weeks of yoga reduced inflammatory markers in breast cancer survivors with persistent fatigue.
Improves Heart Health
Studies show that yoga may help improve heart health and reduce several risk factors for heart disease. One study found that participants over 40 years of age who practiced yoga for five years had a lower blood pressure and pulse rate than those who didn’t. High blood pressure is one of the major causes of heart problems, such as heart attacks and stroke. Lowering your blood pressure can help reduce the risk of these problems.
A study followed 113 patients with heart disease, looking at the effects of a lifestyle change that included one year of yoga training combined with dietary modifications and stress management. Participants saw a 23% decrease in total cholesterol and a 26% reduction in “bad” LDL cholesterol. Additionally, the progression of heart disease stopped in 47% of patients.
Quality of Life
Quality of Life is one of the most precious experiences we can have, and becomes especially important in the elderly, when we experience illness, or live with a disability or mental illness. In one study, 135 seniors were assigned to either six months of yoga or a control group. Practicing yoga was found to significantly improve quality of life, as well as mood and fatigue, compared to the control group.
Other studies have found that yoga may help improve sleep quality, enhance spiritual well-being, improve social function and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with cancer.
Results from this study show that yogic practices enhance muscular strength and body flexibility, promote and improve respiratory and cardiovascular function, promote recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improve sleep patterns, and enhance overall well-being and quality of life.
Decreases Depression
Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the world. It is estimated that there are 350 million people worldwide who have some form of depression. Stress and depression are clearly linked, as stress may precipitate or exacerbate depressive symptoms and depression may be a cause and/or outcome of acute or chronic stress. Therefore, use of additional therapeutic approaches to address stress and depression, such as complementary therapies including yoga, may contribute importantly to symptom reduction. Yoga is able to decrease levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that influences levels of serotonin, the neurotransmitter often associated with depression.
Activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) are essential for dealing with acute stressors, these systems can become chronically over activated given the “on-the-go” multi-tasking expectations of individuals within modern society. Ongoing arousal of the SNS/HPAA has both physical and psychological consequences: chronic stress increases the risk of gastrointestinal distress, decreases immunity (e.g., increase in colds/flu, slower wound healing), increases cardiovascular events and endocrine complications (e.g., Type 2 diabetes mellitus, erectile dysfunction, and libido issues), anxiety, and depression. reference
Yoga that embeds Pranayama into its practice is the most effective in treating depressive disorders. For instance in one study, participants in an alcohol dependence program practiced Sudarshan Kriya, a specific type of yoga that focuses on rhythmic breathing.
After two weeks, participants had fewer symptoms of depression and lower levels of cortisol. They also had lower levels of ACTH, a hormone responsible for stimulating the release of cortisol.
Reduces Chronic Pain
A significant proportion of older people suffer from chronic pain, which can decrease quality of life. Chronic pain is a complex, multifactorial condition that negatively impacts older adults’ physical and mental functioning, and quality of life.
Chronic pain is often experienced with inflammatory disorders (e.g. arthritis, irritable bowel disease) and inflammation has been linked to other chronic pain conditions, such as low back pain [22]. Existing studies have highlighted the association between yoga practice and reduced inflammation. Two pilot randomised trials found that yoga reduced pain severity and pain interference among older adults with osteoarthritis.
Improved Sleep Quality
Poor sleep quality has been associated with obesity, high blood pressure and depression, among other disorders. Yoga has been shown to increase the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep and wakefulness. Yoga also has a significant effect on anxiety, depression, chronic pain and stress — all common contributors to sleep problems.
Improves Flexibility, Balance & Mobility
Many people add yoga to their fitness routine to improve flexibility, mobility and balance.
There is considerable research that backs this benefit, demonstrating that it can optimize performance through the use of specific poses that target flexibility and balance.
A recent study looked at the impact of 10 weeks of yoga on 26 male college athletes. Doing yoga significantly increased several measures of flexibility and balance, compared to the control group.
Another study assigned 66 elderly participants to either practice yoga or calisthenics, a type of body weight exercise.
After one year, total flexibility of the yoga group increased by nearly four times that of the calisthenics group.
Improved Breathing
In one study, 287 college students took a 15-week class where they were taught various yoga poses and breathing exercises. At the end of the study, they had a significant increase in vital capacity. Vital capacity is a measure of the maximum amount of air that can be expelled from the lungs. It is especially important for those with lung disease, heart problems and asthma.
Breathing well not only effects the functions of the body but also of the mind. The effects of Pranayama on Mental Health issues is significant. Pranayama helps in bringing the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system into harmony. Through breathing we can influence the nervous system. Pranayama may allow bronchio-dilatation by correcting abnormal breathing patterns & reducing muscle tone of respiratory muscles. Reference
Decreases Mental Health Relapse
The key finding in current research is that yoga & mindfulness practice has long-term positive effects. The trends in the data suggest that exposure to yoga may convey a sustained positive effect on depression, rumination, stress, anxiety, and health-related quality of life. Whether an individual continues with yoga practice, simple exposure to a yoga intervention appears to provide sustained benefits to the individual. This is important because it is rare that any intervention, pharmacologic or non-pharmacologic, for depression conveys such sustained effects for individuals with MDD, particularly after the treatment is discontinued.
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