Yoga Can Help You Deal With Depression
Yoga, traditionally an Eastern discipline, has enjoyed some growing popularity in Western countries thanks to its many health benefits. Yoga can help you improve flexibility and strength while also improving your mental health. For instance, yoga, when practiced regularly, can improve concentration and focus while relieving anxiety and depression.
Yoga – Where to Begin?
If you have the signs of depression, the first step is to go to your practitioner. Sites like ZocDoc or Yelp can help you find a highly rated one and make an appointment online, and they’ll be able to help you decide which medical treatments are appropriate. You can then begin looking at complementary treatments, such as yoga, that will work with other treatments safely to improve symptoms. Yoga can be customized to your personal physical health if you are pregnant or have conditions that limit your mobility. For instance, the elderly may opt for an easy yoga class to help loosen joints and improve feelings of well-being. Most communities have a wide range of yoga classes to choose from that will fit your personal needs perfectly.
Starting with an easy or beginner’s yoga class is ideal for most people who are new to yoga. You will begin by learning some basic yoga poses and breathing techniques. Breathing techniques are an important part of yoga. Some advocates of yoga as a treatment for depression claim that breathing properly during yoga allows energy to move through stagnant parts of the body, releasing emotions like sadness or anger. Others say that the simple act of moving your body helps to release endorphins, the feel good hormones that are responsible for greater feelings of well-being. Regardless of why yoga works, the bottom line is that yoga has some definite benefits for those struggling with managing the symptoms of depression.
Yoga – Who Can Benefit?
Those who were noted to have the greatest benefits from yoga were people with mild to moderate symptoms. It may be advisable to set up an appointment with a practitioner before beginning yoga if you have serious symptoms of depression or if you are being treated for another medical condition. Your practitioner can advise you on which types of yoga are best for your personal health and may be able to provide assistance with medications and other treatments that will work with yoga classes to eliminate the symptoms of depression. Nearly everyone can benefit in some way from taking yoga classes, however, including people with chronic medical conditions like hypertension and arthritis.
Treating depression is often multidimensional and requires both holistic and traditional methods of treatment. Holistic treatments are those that treat all aspects of a person, including spiritual health. Yoga tends to work best when practiced regularly over the course of several weeks or more. Studies have shown that yoga can improve many of the symptoms of depression, such as insomnia, sadness and fatigue, within two months of beginning classes. You don’t have to choose one specific type of yoga to see benefits.
Even easy and beginner’s courses have the same benefits as advanced yoga classes when considering the impact of yoga on mental wellness. The increased social interactions and physical benefits of yoga be key to determining how yoga benefits the mind. When used along with traditional therapies, yoga is a simple way to increase mental health and reduce the signs of depression.
Author Bio: Paisley Hansen is a freelance writer and expert in health, fitness, beauty, and fashion. When she isn’t writing she can usually be found reading a good book or hitting the gym.
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