October
2007
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October
2007
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| Of Like Minds is now Mood! Over 175 articles on: Help support Mood --
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Yoga: Prescription
for wellness Learn techniques for relieving anxiety and lifting mood |
Summary Yoga can relax and revive you, lift your mood and strengthen your body. It's convenient, costs little or nothing and has no side effects. Research has found yoga's postures and controlled breathing to be beneficial in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders and sleeping problems. You can find yoga classes in the
telephone directory under "Yoga Instruction," at health clubs,
and recreation and community centers. You can also practice using tapes,
books and videos.
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What can relax and revive you, lift your mood and strengthen your body and is convenient, costs little or nothing and has no side effects? Yoga can. The postures and controlled breathing exercises of yoga can ease stress and tension, and provide a respite from depression and anxiety. Yoga is defined by the union of mind and body. A 6,000 year-old practice that originated in India, it has grown increasingly popular in the West. And, the mainstream medical community is beginning to recognize yoga as an effective way to maintain good physical and mental health. "It is a way of remembering the health and wholeness that is our natural state of being," says Beth Shaw, founder and president of Yogafit Training Systems Worldwide, Inc. "Yoga, when broken down to its simplest form, is breathing and feeling, through which we learn to control our reactions to events and people. It is not the events and people in our lives that give us stress, but the way we react to them." How can yoga improve my mental health? "Our perception of life has been conditioned by our experiences and sometimes we close ourselves off from feelings and emotions," says Shaw. "Through yoga we learn to bring awareness to all parts of ourselves with the understanding that, through integration, we come to a natural place of balance ……Yoga teaches a whole set of patterns which are helpful in reducing stress." Psychological benefits
of a regular yoga practice include:
"When someone is depressed," says Karen J. Greene, a clinical psychologist who practices yoga, "they have negative thoughts, low self-esteem, poor concentration. They feel as if they're walking through mud. Yoga gets us involved in the here and now, focusing only on awareness of our bodies and the sound of our breathing. "Someone who's depressed feels that things will never be different. But, for that hour, they see that things have been different - they have been different. As they stretch a little more each time, they gain a sense of accomplishment and control. And, practicing yoga in a class, with a caring teacher, can alleviate the social isolation that often accompanies depression." How does it benefit my body too?
How does yoga work?
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Breathing in deeply to fill your lungs and breathing out through your nose calms you. As you concentrate on your breathing, you learn to gain control over your body and mind. How do I get started? Click for yoga postures you can begin to practice now.
Yoga by itself is not adequate treatment for severe depression or anxiety, but is therapeutic if used in combination with medication and/or psychotherapy.
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Yoga
postures can relieve your tension, which then relaxes your muscles. Some
postures increase blood flow to the brain, increasing oxygen and glucose,
boosting neurotransmitters that enhance your mood and sense of well-being.
You may do only poses which are comfortable for you and only for as long
as you are comfortable.