There is increasing interest from the scientific community in the positive effects of yoga. Research shows that yoga not only makes you physically healthier; you also become more mentally and emotionally resilient and less prone to stress. In this blog, I'll take you through the underlying principles and recent research findings.
Holistic approach
According to yoga anatomy, there is no clear distinction between "the physical" and "the mental. This is different from our (Western) society, in which we tend to see the two separately. Simply put: with a physical complaint you go to the physical therapist, with mental complaints to the psychologist. From yoga, everything is connected, including the different dimensions in our body. These dimensions are called 'koshas' in Sanskrit. The human body is seen as "a holistic entity consisting of several interrelated dimensions that are inseparable from each other. The health or illness of one dimension affects the other dimensions.' A recent publication on effective burnout treatment (CSR Center, 2020) endorses this holistic view, concluding that "chronic stress alters not only people's behavior, mood and emotions, but also underlying neurophysiological processes and functions. The result is declining resilience, increasing fatigue, and increasing mental and physical stress symptoms.'
Yoga is customized
Yoga combines physical activity with a focus on awareness of the self, breathing and energy. Yoga is an individual practice. Even though you follow your class in a group, thanks to specific instructions and modifications (even in changing specific style, dynamic or just in silence), it is not a "one size fits all. As you learn to observe your thoughts and actively focus on your breathing, muscles and movement patterns, you develop more insight. From this you can recognize unhealthy patterns more and more easily and eventually even get ahead of them. In that sense, yoga is also empowering. No superfluous luxury in these times, when we are often forced to spend hours of sessions behind our laptops at the kitchen table. If you are not sufficiently aware of your posture and the effect of sitting still for a long time, you easily develop injuries. This has already led to a sharp rise in the number of back, neck and shoulder complaints among home workers.
From fight-or-flight to relaxation
Yoga encourages you to relax, slow down breathing and focus on the present. In doing so, you shift the balance from the sympathetic nervous system (and the fight-or-flight response) to the parasympathetic system (and the relaxation response). The latter is calming and restorative; it lowers breathing and heart rate, lowers blood pressure, lowers cortisol levels and increases blood flow to the gut and vital organs.
Improved brain function
Yoga can boost brain function and boost energy levels, according to several studies. A 2017 study showed that Hatha Yoga improved people's executive functions of the brain and mood. Executive functions are "brain activities related to goal-directed behavior and the regulation of emotional responses and habits. Other research suggests that yoga may improve mental flexibility, task switching and information recall in older adults.
A positive effect on anxiety and restlessness
Although most people feel anxious from time to time, anxiety is also a symptom of many conditions (including panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and phobias). A 2016 meta-analysis found that practicing Hatha Yoga had a promising effect on anxiety. Yoga was most beneficial in people who had the highest levels of anxiety at the beginning of the studies. An older study from 2010 showed that yoga improved mood and anxiety levels more than walking. The researchers suggested this was due to higher levels of the chemical gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. A study of 64 women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) showed that practicing yoga once a week reduced symptoms. After 10 weeks of yoga practice, 54 percent of the study participants no longer had symptoms of PTSD at all.
Reduced symptoms of depression
A 2017 systematic review found that yoga can reduce depressive symptoms. Another 2017 study looked at people with depression who had not responded well to antidepressants. Study participants who practiced yoga for two months experienced a reduction in depressive symptoms, while the control group showed no improvements. Researchers suggest that yoga may reduce symptoms of depression by reducing cortisol, or the "stress hormone.
Yoga as complementary therapy
Researchers are slowly beginning to better understand how disciplines such as yoga promote personal growth, health and well-being. Currently, the treatment of anxiety and depression primarily includes psychological and pharmacological interventions. However, interventions between mind and body are becoming increasingly popular as a means of reducing stress in individuals. Yoga can (and should!) be considered a complementary therapy or an alternative method to medical therapy.Research findings support that yoga is beneficial in the treatment of stress, anxiety, depression and other mood disorders. Yoga has been shown to create a greater sense of well-being, increase feelings of relaxation and improve self-confidence and body image. In addition to increasing focus and attention, regular practitioners show lower irritability. You could say that yoga encourages an optimistic outlook on life. And who wouldn't want that?
Want to know more?
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/yoga-benefits-beyond-the-mat
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326414#stress
https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/fitness/science-based-benefits-behind-yoga
https://www.csrcentrum.nl/whitepaper-een-nieuwe-kijk-op-stress/