Yoga for mental health
April 2024
Yoga for mental wellness
Yoga teacher Nitya Rajagopal spreads awareness on how yoga can help alleviate stress, common in today’s world, and prepare us mentally to deal with the ups and downs of everyday life
As a yoga teacher, I’ve recently observed an interesting trend. With growing awareness around mental health g, particularly among the younger generation, there are more and more people taking to yoga as a natural, holistic way to improve their mental well-being. While in the past, people took to yoga as a way to improve physical ailments and overall health, today, yoga is being actively sought out by practitioners as a viable path to peace of mind.
When people approach me to join my yoga classes, I usually ask them their reason for choosing yoga and what they wish to get out of their practice. The responses range from finding greater balance, clarity, and peace in life to the desire to manage depression and anxiety. I have been approached by people who identify as autistic or neurodiverse and see yoga as a way to help them cope with these particular challenges and day-to-day stress. Some of my students are those dealing with trauma and grief, who have turned to yoga for solace and healing. These are just a few examples.
There seems to be a widespread awareness that yoga can indeed help improve one’s mental health. Numerous studies have shown that doing yoga can reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, provide relief to those diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, reduce stress, help insomnia, and improve sleep. However, from what I have observed in people who opt for yoga for its mental health benefits and whom I have interacted with, I have understood that they are driven more by an intuitive understanding of yoga’s impact on the mind rather than an objective study. Furthermore, many people turn to yoga as part of a multipronged approach which could include therapy, various healing modalities, and spiritual practices.
As a young teacher myself, in the beginning, I would sometimes doubt if I had the life experience to handle these issues. Was I really qualified to take on these students, work with them, and help them with what they were seeking? This said, despite my self-doubt, I always had full faith in the power of yoga. I realised that without knowing it or thinking about it, I myself had experienced the mental health benefits of yoga, and much of my personal practice was geared towards mental and emotional health. Yoga has been my anchor through difficult and uncertain times. As my students placed their faith in me to share the knowledge of yoga in a way that could directly benefit them, I found myself spontaneously adapting classes to their individual needs and sharing aspects of my personal practice in the process.
Focussing on the inner experience
So how is a yoga practice geared towards mental health different from any other type of yoga practice? Here is what I have found. First of all, it is important that the yoga class offers a safe, non-judgmental space, where people feel welcome as they are and free to express themselves without inhibition. Also, while the actual postures, or asanas, in such a class are no different, the distinction lies in the intention and the awareness with which they are performed. The focus here is not on getting the asanas absolutely perfect but on one’s own inner experience as they perform each asana. This automatically shifts the practitioner’s focus from the outer to the inner, from the body to the mind. In this way, the practitioner brings their attention to the various minute sensations in the body, without trying to control them or fight them.
The mental health benefits of yoga multiply manifold when the emphasis of the practice is on bringing together the body, mind, and breath. While this is an inherent part of some styles of yoga, it is not always the case. For anyone practising yoga for its mental health benefits, it’s important that they add this dimension to their practice or seek out a teacher or a style of yoga that actively does so. Including pranayama, or breathwork, and meditation as part of one’s yoga practice can also be a powerful way to release stress and pent-up emotions, and calm the mind.
Mental health is not a destination; it’s an ongoing journey. There is no miracle pill. Our thoughts and emotions are rarely under our control, let alone the unpredictable situations and circumstances we might face in our lives. The key to mental health lies in how we perceive and respond to situations, whether internal or external. How do we handle emotions like pain, fear, insecurity, and anger when they arise? In the moments that we are completely overcome with anxiety or depression, how do we react? What do we do when faced with an unforeseen event?
Strengthening the body-mind connection
The body and mind are intimately connected. While it is possible to bring changes in our mindset through introspection and consciously cultivating positive thoughts, it can be difficult for those facing mental health challenges, particularly when they are in the grip of a difficult thought pattern or emotion. In such moments, the feeling of being disconnected or not in control of yourself can be overpowering. The easiest thing to do at a time like this is to move the body. Even something as simple as shaking the body or jumping up and down a few times can create a shift.
This is where having a regular yoga practice can be extremely helpful. Yoga, by its inherent nature, is a mind-body practice which encourages non-judgemental awareness. One may feel good after attending a few classes, but committing to a regular practice trains the body and mind to come together automatically, particularly in moments of discomfort, stress, or crisis. Think of a yoga class as a practice ground. Each time you get on the mat, not only are you doing asanas and breathing exercises, but you are also nurturing and strengthening your mind-body connection. As this training seeps into your system, it slowly becomes an automatic response that kicks in when you are under any kind of stress and provides immediate relief.
Perhaps the feedback I have received most often from my students is that after committing to their practice and attending regular classes, they suddenly find that what they learn in class seeps into everyday life. When feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious, they find their attention turning to their breath. When depression creeps in, they find their bodies spontaneously engaging in gentle stretches or asanas. When intense emotions arise or they are unable to sleep, they might practice certain asanas or mudras with deep breathing. From what they say, this happens instinctively, without any effort. Just knowing that they have these tools and techniques at their disposal, which they can draw on at any time, provides comfort and makes the fluctuations of the mind less daunting.
Changing our perspective on health
In the modern paradigm, health is commonly understood as the absence of disease. In other words, if a person is not ill, they’re healthy.
In contrast, from the yogic perspective, health is understood to be the vibrant and harmonious expression of our life force energy. To paraphrase Dr Kausthubh Desikachar, this means a strong, healthy, and radiant body, deep and uninhibited breathing, a peaceful mind, the ability to express emotions in a healthy way, and a positive outlook on life.
This is an important distinction because, from the modern perspective, mental health means eliminating what is termed as mental illness. Thus, the focus becomes on the imbalance, or the ‘illness,’ and how to ‘cure’ it.
In contrast, mental health from a yogic perspective implies a peaceful mind. Yoga recognises that the various ups and downs of the mind are a part of its nature and often not under one’s control. The focus of yoga is not to eliminate these fluctuations but to detach oneself from them and observe them with the light of awareness. The practice of yoga thus helps create an intermediary space between a person and their mind, so that they can observe their thoughts and emotions by distancing themselves, rather than plunging themselves into them. This space of awareness can be tremendously healing and empowering, and it only grows with practice.
This is not to say that one perspective is better than the other. Both these approaches have their place and can be used in a complementary manner. While the modern perspective can help bring relief in the short term, the yogic approach can help strengthen the mind and body in a holistic manner and provide long-term benefits. The ideal approach depends purely on the individual and their needs, and could even be a combination of the two.
Improving physiological health to benefit the mind
There is a direct link between mental and physical health. Research has shown that mental fluctuations also cause chemical and structural changes in the body. For example, a stressful situation, such as a conflict, can activate the sympathetic nervous system and trigger the fight-or-flight response: dilated pupils, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, sweaty palms, and the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol. While this is a response which evolved in early human history to help us survive life-threatening situations, today, it can come into effect for any situation which causes us stress, even if it is not dangerous. For those who suffer from chronic anxiety or stress, the sympathetic nervous system is constantly aroused, making them feel as if they are responding to perceived threats.
In this sense, as a mind-body practice, yoga becomes a particularly effective practice for promoting psychological and physical health because it also works on our internal systems, such as the endocrine and nervous systems, which are intimately connected to mental health.
Yoga stimulates the body to release feel-good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, which boost the practitioner’s mood, and leaves them with an overall sense of well-being after their practice. Yogic asanas and practices can also stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, the counter to the sympathetic nervous system, activating the rest-and-digest process, which calms the nervous system and makes a person feel safe and at peace. Vagus nerve stimulation is another benefit of practising yoga, which increases what is known as vagal tone. It means that the body is able to return to equilibrium sooner after the experience of stress.
Yoga elevates the prana or, subtle energy, flowing through one’s system. This has a direct effect on our moods, thoughts, and feelings. High levels of prana are associated with feelings of joy, enthusiasm, motivation, and generosity, whereas low levels are linked to feelings of dullness, lethargy, lack of motivation, and turmoil. Stress, repetitive thought patterns, and unresolved emotions can create blocks in the system, which inhibit the free flow of prana. When the prana in our system increases, it can open up these blocks and restore the uninhibited flow of energy, resulting in a feeling of vitality and lightness. The effects of increased prana in the system are immediate and can appear almost miraculous.
Applying yoga to daily life
In today’s world, for many people, stress has become an unavoidable part of life. Often, whether in the personal or professional spheres, there is no respite. Over time, constant stress takes its toll on the body and the mind. While the factors that cause stress may be out of our control, the good news is that the way we handle stress is in our control. Therefore, it’s more important than ever to inculcate sustainable, long-term, holistic practices in our daily life that can make us more centred and grounded. They don’t have to be long in duration; even a few minutes every day are enough. By becoming more in tune with ourselves and having an effective mechanism to eliminate stress in the system before it accumulates, we can greatly improve our mental health. Yoga is an ideal mind-body practice that provides a safe space for people to come as they are, tune into their innermost feelings, and release physical, mental, and emotional tension through time-tested practices and techniques.