YOGA FOMO: YOGA Alleviates Depression. Let’s not miss out!

 Yoga alleviates Depression

Let’s not miss out! You cannot always control what goes on outside, but you can always control the inside.

Lost interest, increased fatigue, sleep problems, anxiety, irritability- if you are to link all these things to one word, you would say- ‘Depression.’ There can be plenty of reasons for the trigger but what controls your thoughts is your mind.

The mind never gets a day off; it is always busy mulling over something. But with yoga, you can control your inside and train your mind to be calm and happy. Think of it as a natural medicine for your mental health.

Some of you might tag yoga as a monotonous activity, but only when you haven’t been acquainted with the real one. Yoga is not about a yoga mat, long sitting sessions, or copying complicated positions while watching tv (which might leave you sore for days). Yoga is mindfulness; it is a state of mind that you can accomplish through your daily activities.

So, I went to my grandma, Shalini Tiwari, to find the answer to the question, ‘how to achieve mindfulness and improve mental health?’. She, by profession, is a yoga enthusiast, Table Tennis champion, and CEO of Soulmate. With her years devoted to the field, she answered- One of the best ways is Pranayama, the practice of breath regulation.

PRANAYAMA

Diving deep into the topic, I learned Pranayama dates back to ancient India, and the origins of Yoga are said to be around the fifth and sixth centuries BCE. Also that Pranayama is the fourth limb of the 8-limbed path of yoga and means life/energy retention or expansion.

 The goal of the fourth limb is to gain control of the breath; it is an effective way to become more aware of your bodily reactions, sometimes which leads you into stress, anxiety, despair, or depression.

The researchers speculated that pranayama calms the nervous system, which further improves the stress response.

It is fascinating to know how much pranayama has on ‘mood.’ It can improve your sleep, energy levels, and digestion.

YOGA TO GO

Yoga is an emotional and mental workout that you can practice anywhere. All you need is some time out of your schedule to sit and relax. Only 15 minutes daily to focus on breathing can prove to be a beneficial mood booster.

As my grandma says, “Yoga was the best solution as I got older. Yoga helps me be calm and has helped many of my previous medical issues”.

Master your breath and let the self be in bliss.

Throwback to when GMA and I doing some Yoga.