The
practice of yoga has endured for thousands of years and is noted primarily for its
ability to increase bodily flexibility and focused awareness. This focused
awareness, achieved through breath work and bodily attunement, is a form of mindfulness. Mindfulness is the practice of focusing attention on the
present moment without judgment. Thus, yoga is a dual practice of body and mind work. The key
to yogic benefit is to perform a well-formulated sequence of postures, called
asanas, with long hold times.
Yoga has been shown to have a number of health
benefits. Yoga can enhance weight loss
and help maintain weight over time. Because yoga increases mindfulness,
mindfulness promotes a better relationship with food where food is savored and
urges for emotional eating can be better managed. The inner focus associated with yoga can
promote a healthier body image that is less encumbered with critical
evaluation. Decreases in blood pressure,
lower cholesterol and lower blood glucose (sugar) are the cardiovascular
benefits associated with practicing yoga. The overall fitness benefits of yoga
include increased endurance, muscle strength and balance.
Yoga also
has neuroscience benefits that only recently have been explained. For simplicity sake, let’s divide the brains
response to stress along two reactive systems – the emotional reaction and the logical
reaction. The emotional reaction to
stress is the activating response that turns on the body’s emotions (fear,
anger, etc.) and stress hormones (adrenalin and cortisol). The logical
reaction to stress does the opposite. It tries to turn the stress signal off
and relax the emotions and body. The
pathways of both these systems are located in various parts of the body.
Yoga
activates both of these pathways through the engagement of postures or asanas.
When a posture is held, the logical system is activated as one focuses on the position. When the body bends
forward, relaxation is ignited through bodily nerve pathways. So, bending
forward while concentrating forces the logical brain to increase at the same
time relaxation is increased producing enhancement of both. When the body bends
backward, the logical system is engaged but the contracted muscles produce a
stress response. Now, the logical system is challenged to overcome the stress
response. The process of overcoming the stress response strengthens the logical
system in the presence of stress, thus improving overall and long-term stress reduction. Practicing yoga regularly helps rewire the
brains circuitry to improve and increase the connections to the logical system
making it easier to manage stress. In
terms of behavior, this means that negative thinking is better controlled and
minimized and negative mood states (anxiety and depression) are reduced. For these reasons, yoga has successfully been
used in the treatment of trauma and is being explored for its use in cardiac
and cancer treatments, all of which are affected by stress.
Submitted By Holly Houston, PhD. Licensed Clinical Psychologist
