Yoga is an excellent stress reliever and can help you if you struggle with depression, anxiety, and even if you struggle to sleep. Yoga is perfect for your mental as well as your physical health. It calms the mind and helps you to become stronger and more flexible. Yoga is definitely a self-care regime you should add to your Sunday routine. In this article, we will discuss 9 yoga poses (asanas) that can help you to improve your mental health and well-being.
Balasana
Balasana pose is an excellent movement to help with that pesky shoulder and back pain. When we sit at our desks all day or have to carry heavy equipment, our back is usually the first part of our body to feel discomfort and pain. When you are in this pose, and you reach forward with your arms and push your tailbone back, you get a much-needed stretch that will release all the tension from your spine.
Not only is this pose great for releasing tension and relaxing your body, but it is also great for your mental health. You can shut out the world, calm down racing thoughts and focus on yourself and your breath.
Happy Baby Pose (Ananda balasana)
This pose is used in yoga as well as in Pilates and gets its name from the cute movements a tot always makes with their legs and arms. It is a relaxing and soothing movement where you roll from side to side while holding your feet.
This pose will help you to focus on the present moment and help you to destress and relax. The main focus of this pose is to take your attention away from work, studies, and relationship issues for a bit and create a safe and carefree mental space. It stretches and opens up your inner thighs, hips, hamstrings, and groin. Although a gentle movement, it improves flexibility and is even good for your heart health.
Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
People who struggle with swollen legs or feet, diabetes, or painful legs and feet after a hot day or flight can also use this pose to relieve the pain. If you spend long hours on your feet during the day, you can use this pose after a hot bath or shower to help your aching feet and legs and promote lymph and blood flow.
Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
When thinking about yoga, this is probably the first pose that will pop into most people’s minds. It is one of the most basic yoga poses and is usually one of the first (and one of the last) poses you do in your practice.
This pose is not just a great way to stretch and lengthen your spine; it is also a phenomenal strength exercise. One of the greatest benefits of this pose is that it strengthens your upper body and can help prevent osteoporosis and loss of bone mass. If you have terrible posture or are sitting all day, this pose can help your body to release all that tension and improve posture.
Chair Pose (Utkatasana)
This is a strong and powerful pose that focuses on your entire body. This pose helps with determination, perseverance, and intense concentration. Do not be fooled by the name of this pose. Easy and comfortable, it is not. The chair pose engages the strength of your legs, back, ankles, and even arms. This pose will demand a lot of strength and stamina from the body and will help you to stay connected to your breath and your energy.
Dancer’s Pose (Natarajasana)
The Dancer’s pose is a great way to improve your balance and to improve your focus. If you struggle with a mental illness like depression or anxiety, this can be a great pose to balance your mood and find a bit of inner peace. The beauty of this pose is the fact that it gently redirects negative thoughts and reminds you to focus on the present. On a physical level, it strengthens and stretches your ankles, legs, thighs, chest, abdomen, thorax, and hips and develops greater flexibility in your spine, shoulders, and hamstrings.
Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana)
This is a rejuvenating and energetic pose where you will build up your core and legs. It allows you to open up your chest and improve flexibility and strength in your back and spine. This pose has amazing physical benefits like strengthening your glutes, hamstrings, and back and also has the ability to relieve symptoms of asthma and high blood pressure.
Headstand (Sirsasana)
This is probably the most challenging pose on this list. However, incorporating this pose into your daily practice is definitely worth a try. This might feel like a very strange movement to do at first, but when you are upside down, you are increasing the blood flow to your brain, and this can help improve your mental function and increase concentration.
Corpse Pose (Savasana)
To the untrained eye, this pose can easily look like you just fell asleep on your yoga mat. But this pose is actually one of the best poses there is for your overall health and well-being. In this pose, you can release all your stress and anxious thoughts, which will give your body and mind a good boost. This can lower your heart rate and is an excellent pose for people just starting out or struggling to be mindful.
Final Words
Yoga offers multiple physical and mental health benefits for everyone. It does not matter how old you are or where your fitness levels are; making yoga a part of your daily routine can make you more balanced and calmer during your day. Yoga can even assist you if you are going through a depressive episode or can be used as soothing therapy after surgery and assist with the healing process.
