Is yoga the boost your mental health needs?

Are Luke Zocchi’s weekend stretching sessions in Centr Unleashed the first time you’ve ever tried yoga?

Yoga can come in many forms, from the genuine heart-pumping workout of Tahl Rinsky’s dynamic style to the muscle-relaxing stretches Mama Zocchi passed onto Luke. And it can deliver physical benefits including improved flexibility, mobility, balance, and strength.

But some are attracted for different reasons – to combat a range of mental health conditions. There is a growing field of studies highlighting this aspect of yoga – linking it to improved mental health and the ability to fight off depression and anxiety. Which means there are more reasons than ever to hit the mat and strike a yoga pose.

Let’s take a look into some of the most recent findings on the non-physical benefits of regular yoga practice.

Letting go of anxiety

The clever folk at Harvard Medical School looked into studies of yoga and found that it can relieve anxiety and depression much in the way meditation or time spent with friends can. They found that “yoga appears to modulate stress response systems” – which in turn decreases your physiological response to these stresses (e.g. reducing heart rate and slowing breathing). There was also evidence that “yoga practices help increase heart rate variability” – which governs your body’s ability to adapt to and cope with stress.

Mama Zocchi's yoga moves help Luke recover and find calm.

More ‘om’, less ‘ouch’

Among the studies Harvard looked into was one from the University of Utah which found that those with poor strategies for coping with stress were also more sensitive to pain. Regular yoga practitioners in the study had the highest pain tolerance – thereby showing that by regulating their stress responses through yoga, they could also better manage their pain response.

Through her yoga teaching, Tahl aims to help students better understand their mind-body connection. “Through investigating your body – whether it's strength, whether it's flexibility – you will come to an understanding of your breath, which in turn allows you to better control your movements and your body’s reactions,” she says.

Change up your mood

Whether it’s your workplace attitude or your child’s focus on their school work, yoga can help.

Studies of yoga in school settings have found that it can improve mood, lower stress, and may prevent teenagers from developing mental health problems by giving them coping strategies and building resilience. Studies of yoga in the workplace have also shown it can have benefits for stress reduction while improving overall well-being and resilience.

While we expect to see physical benefits and changes in our body as a result of any exercise, it can be easy to gloss over the good that staying active can do for our mental well-being. So roll out that mat and enter Warrior I – yoga might be the mental release that you’ve been looking for.

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