April 22nd, 2019
Yoga is not just a workout, it’s about working on yourself.
- Mary Glover
You’ve heard of it, right? You see signs at the gym, studios popping up on every street corner, and coupons for classes online. Your friends, your mom, and your colleagues are all doing it. It’s all the rage. But what exactly is yoga? Yoga is the personal practice of combining breathing techniques, meditation, and movement into a system or series of poses or flows to help guide both the mind and body into a state of harmony and peace. There are at least eleven different styles of yoga; making it both appealing and accessible to a variety of people’s interests, needs, and goals.
There are at least 7 components involved in a yoga practice. Depending on what style yoga you practice, it may involve one, some, or all of these components. It is at the discretion of the instructor, the type of class, and your willingness to incorporate these elements.
For the average person, yoga serves as an outlet both physically and mentally. The stressfulness of our everyday culture is filled with deadlines, too little time, modern day technology, and strained relationships. Balancing these complexities of life are only bound to build up and create larger long-term issues. People may choose or be advised to try out a yoga practice if they are suffering from any of the following:
To pause and breath, while moving through a series of movements and yoga poses, eases the mind and body. With the calmness obtained from a yoga practice people find that their lives benefit in numerous ways, including:
It is obvious that the effects obtained by practicing yoga can help to answer many of the symptoms and issues a person may be suffering from any personal issues. For most people, it will take the commitment and consistency of an on-going practice to begin to achieve the benefits of yoga in a lasting manner. However, for some people, the benefits can be acquired even after just one class.
Yoga is all about building self-awareness. This self-awareness helps us to build strength in a few ways:
It is estimated that in the United States, roughly 43 million people, or about every 1 in 5 Americans are suffering from some type of mental illness. Many of these people do not have the access to medical insurance which would provide them with the appropriate and adequate therapies and medications to help cope with their illnesses. Enter, yoga…the perfect blend of both mind and body reflections as well as a readily accessible and available form of healing.
There are at least 5 types of mental health issues that can benefit from yoga…
The benefits of therapeutic yoga can reach a broader spectrum than just for the everyday fitness individual. These benefits can reach out to a population of people suffering from much more serious mental issues and complexities. Yoga provides a time for self-reflection coupled with either the movement or stillness of the body. It is important to be open to alternative types of healing, especially if you or someone you know does not have the access to other means of therapy.
Resources:
At Clarity Clinic, we have highly trained staff who specialize in therapy and psychiatry services. To learn more about how we can support your mental health, call Clarity Clinic at (312) 815-9660 or schedule an appointment today.
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