Does Yoga Help with Mental Health?
Short answer: Yes!
Long answer: The mind and body are in constant communication, influencing one another in ways sometimes we recognize and sometimes happen more behind the scenes. Yoga provides an opportunity to connect with both the mind and body at once, and tap into that line of communication more intentionally. The movement aspect of yoga connects us to our feeling bodies by recognizing where our body is and moves in the space, and bringing awareness to how different movements or positions feel in our bodies physically. The mindfulness aspect of yoga connects us with our thinking brains by channeling our thoughts somewhere specific, being present in our experience, and teaching the mind to be curious about what the body is feeling.
Which type of yoga is best for mental health?
Any kind of yoga can be good for mental health, and there are many types of classes out there to support you! If you prefer yoga classes that are heated or that get your body moving and bring some internal heat, those warm/hot power classes may be your jam! If you prefer yoga classes that are more relaxing and meditative, then classes like yin, restorative, nidra, or gentle flow may be more what you’re looking for.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the asana (the movement part of yoga you typically think of with yoga class) is only part of what yoga is. Yoga also includes breath, meditation (without movement!), and other guiding principles of living a life aligned with your highest good. If you’ve ever done a breathing exercise that involved noticing your breath, you’ve already done yoga!
What yoga is best for anxiety?
Anxiety is an activating state, oftentimes bringing high energy to the mind and body. If your fight-vs-flight system is turned on, your body feels that high energy through increased blood pressure and heart rate, increased pace of breathing, and increased adrenaline. If your fight-vs-flight system isn’t turned on or at least not noticeably fully on, you still may be experiencing high energy in your thoughts through overthinking thought spirals of worry thoughts that seem to never end.
For many people that work with me, their thinking brains are in hyperdrive. Always on and always running, with awareness of the feeling body being slim-to-none. The goal of yoga for anxiety is to reconnect the thinking brain and the feeling body.
Because of the high energy, yoga for anxiety can be helpful by:
Slowing down the high energy in the body: breath and paced movement help to slow down heart rate and blood pressure, and build towards longer and slower breaths. This slow down in the body communicates back to the brain to lower the intensity of anxiety.
Focusing the mind: shifting the focus from the worry thoughts onto your body’s experience of the breath and/or movement helps take the spotlight off of the anxiety. When this happens, the anxiety also begins to lessen since the “add 30 seconds” button in your brain isn’t getting pressed as often.
Increasing distress tolerance: moving through poses and postures that aren’t the most comfortable (but not painful!) helps you to recognize your ability to tolerate discomfort that may not feel emotionally pleasant, but is not painful to your body.
How is yoga used as therapy?
When we incorporate yoga into therapy, we’re utilizing it as a bottom-up method of therapy. This means we’re pulling energy and awareness from the thinking brain and into the feeling body as a way to support emotion regulation and improve our wellbeing.
There is a time and place for talk therapy, but sometimes holistic therapy practices can be more beneficial when the thinking brain is over-energized. Yoga is one of the holistic practices that supports this by focusing on the breath and movement, and bringing focus to how the body is experiencing those things over time.
What does yoga in therapy look like with Kimberleigh?
Kimberleigh is a RYT-200 yoga teacher, and completed training in bringing yoga into mental health therapy. With online therapy, Kimberleigh is able to support in practicing yoga in a way that works for you and in the space you’re in. Many of the poses and flows can be done sitting in a chair, but movements can be modified if you prefer to stand or hop on your yoga mat! Kimberleigh can also help you utilize yoga in sessions, even when you’re in a snug space like your car or a closet!
During therapy sessions, yoga can be utilized in multiple ways:
Breathing exercises that focus only on the breath and the body’s sensations of the breath, but with minimal to no other movement.
Brief movements that last just a couple minutes to bring awareness to a certain part of the body, or to a breathing exercise. Anxiety can lead to tense neck and shoulder muscles, so Kimberleigh may invite you to bring purposeful movement into these areas to support the release of the anxious tension.
Short sequences or flows that last 10-20 minutes and move through several yoga postures that bring awareness to how the body experiences movement and where emotions may be stored.
Want to see how yoga in therapy could help you overcome anxiety?
Kimberleigh can help! To begin online therapy with Mindfully Balanced Therapy:
Schedule a consult call with Kimberleigh or fill out a contact form on our website.
Meet with Kimberleigh to talk about how your anxiety is currently showing up and impacting your life, and learn about how Mindfully Balanced Therapy can help you use yoga and other holistic practices to overcome the anxiety.
Feel more connected with your feeling body, and less ruled by your overthinking brain!
