Yoga and Mental Health
Atlanta Innovative Counseling Center provides you with information and resources designed to help you live your most authentic and fulfilling life. We seek to offer innovative counseling that fits your needs and your lifestyle.
Speaking of lifestyle, are you a yoga fan, or are you interested in learning how yoga can benefit your mental health? Have you been searching for information about a yoga psychologist or yoga psychotherapy?
Read on to learn more about how yoga and counseling psychology can be combined to help treat a variety of mental health conditions or to help you maintain good mental health.
In this article, we’ll explore:
yoga psychotherapy
the mind body connection
yoga poses for mental health
We look forward to sharing more about this exciting topic, and we encourage you to reach out to AICC if you are looking for “yoga therapy near me.”
Please note that this article is for informational purposes only. If you’re experiencing depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or any other mental health condition, please consult a medical professional or seek emergency care immediately if you are in crisis. Yoga alone should not be used to treat mental health or medical conditions.
What is Yoga Therapy?
Yoga has long been associated with a more peaceful, balanced, and healthy lifestyle.
Now, science reinforces what many yogis have always known: yoga can make you calmer and happier!
Some recent studies even link yoga to helping people experiencing substance abuse and PTSD. According to a Harvard University study, “physical exercises (asanas) may increase a patient’s physical flexibility, coordination, and strength, while the breathing practices and meditation may calm and focus the mind to develop greater awareness and diminish anxiety, and thus result in higher quality of life.”
Practicing yoga means experiencing both its physical and mental benefits.
While scientific research on the medical significance of yoga as a therapeutic intervention is ongoing, there are countless stories of people who report feeling better all around when they begin practicing yoga consistently.
Some therapists, including several at AICC, have taken notice of the feel-good power of yoga have integrated it into their counseling work, pairing it with more conventional therapeutic interventions to help clients achieve even better results.
An article published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry notes that yoga can be helpful to those experiencing mental health conditions in at least five important ways:
Calming effect
Increasing awareness
Increasing attention span
Acceptance and adaptability
Sense of security
Specifically, the article mentions how the physical practice of yoga positions (asanas) can help reduce agitation over time and how yoga helps us become more aware of ourselves and our surroundings.
Yoga also helps people learn to maintain focused attention and a sense of calm to the world outside of the yoga studio or counselor's office.
A sense of security can come from spiritual connections made through the practice of yoga. This is a sense of bhakti, or the concept of surrendering to a higher being or spiritual force.
What is the Mind Body Connection?
Understanding the mind body connection is important for understanding why a combination of counseling and yoga might be an effective therapeutic intervention.
We often hear of the mind body connection, but what does this phrase really mean?
According to a University of Minnesota article entitled, “What Does the Mind-Body Connection Really Mean?”, “...our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes can positively or negatively affect our biological functioning. In other words, our minds can affect how healthy our bodies are!”
While people worldwide have known about this mind-body connection for centuries, Western medicine and thought are more often characterized by technology, innovation, and scientific progress. However, this trend is changing today.
Researchers including integrative psychiatrist James Lake, MD, of Stanford University, note how "extensive research has confirmed the medical and mental benefits of meditation, mindfulness training, yoga, and other mind-body practices."
According to Good Therapy, “the holistic focus of yoga therapy encourages the integration of mind, body, and spirit. Modern yoga therapy covers a broad range of therapeutic modalities, incorporating elements from both physical therapy and psychotherapy.”
So, what are some specific poses that might help you reap the positive mental and physical benefits of yoga? And what resources should you check out to learn more about yoga’s role in helping people become and remain balanced and well?
Yoga Poses for Mental Health
When you begin practicing yoga, you’ll discover there is a whole new vocabulary to learn. For example, asanas are postures taken when performing yoga. In addition to learning new words, you’ll also discover that there are several kinds of yoga and numerous positions. There are combinations of movements that are designed to help you achieve specific goals.
Yoga Journal offers many helpful resources, including this guide on basic yoga positions you should learn when getting started.
This resource also offers advice about poses that could help with specific conditions. For example, Yoga Journal recommends these poses for anxiety. Shape magazine also offers suggestions about the best poses to help ease anxiety, as well as instruction videos.
Given the popularity of yoga today, there are myriad resources online that offer guidance and information for those interested in yoga and its benefits.
At AICC, we want to help you live your best life. We are committed to helping you find ways to manage anxiety, depression, PTSD, substance abuse, and other conditions.
We take an innovative approach, and our highly-trained, experienced therapists are here to find a treatment plan that is the best fit for you.
If you’re interested in yoga for mental health, please reach out to us at your earliest convenience. We are eager to help you a journey toward wellness, happiness, and balance.