Which Yoga Poses are Beneficial for your Mental Health?

In today’s mechanical world, almost everybody is suffering from stress and anxiety. Mental health complications are affecting everybody irrespective of their age and gender. Even teenagers are becoming victims of stress and depression. Such mental health troubles can lead to severe illness and can raise suicidal thoughts in a person. Neglected mental health can become destructive. 

You can treat mental health complications without medications just by practising yoga. The various exercises and techniques of yoga for mental health will calm your mind and the nervous system. It controls the secretion of the stress causing hormone called cortisol. This improves the quality of our mental health. 

Here are a few yoga poses that are beneficial for your mental health.

Balasana or the child’s pose

Balasana or the child’s pose stimulates the nervous system and re-energizes your body. It also promotes digestion and prevents constipation. This yoga pose is also used to reduce bloating. It also helps overcome stress and weakness. It improves blood circulation and reduces back pain.

How to do it?

• Get down on your knees and keep your back straight.
• Now slowly start bending forward till your thighs touch your chest and your head touches the ground.
• Straighten your arms and lay them down on the floor next to your hip. You can also bring your arms in front of your body as far as they can reach.
• Hold this pose for 20 to 30 seconds.
• While releasing the pose, slowly inhale and bring your head and torso upwards. 
• Exhale and release this pose.

Shavasana or the corpse pose

This pose boosts your mental health. It is a great pose to relax your body. It gives rest to both body and mind. It also soothes your brain cells. It helps in gaining control over your thoughts and prevents over thinking and stress.

How to do it?

• Lie down on your back keeping your legs apart.
• Keep your hands free and away from your body.
• Keep your spine and head straight. Make sure that you don’t tilt your head sideways
• Close your eyes and relax your body consciously.
• Hold on to this pose till you feel refreshed.

Tadasana or the palm tree pose

This is also known as mountain pose. This is a standing pose done to gain stability and firmness. It reduces anxiety and boosts energy. It is also useful to relieve pains and strains throughout the body.

How to do it?

• Stand straight with your arms by each side.
• Make sure that your heels and big toes are touching each other.
• Raise your heels and balance your body on the toes.
• Hold on this position for about 10 to 15 seconds.

Uttanasana or the standing forward bend pose

Uttanasana relieves depression and improves mental health. It also reduces anxiety and prevents panic attacks. It also strengthens hip, calves, knees and thighs. It stimulates digestion and reduces the menopause symptoms. It relieves menstrual cramps and is also beneficial for spine health. 

How to do it?

• Stand straight by putting your hands on your hip. 
• Put your hands above your body and slowly bend your body forward.
• Continue bending until your hands touch the ground.
• Make sure that your knees are straight 
• Hold this pose for 10 to 15 seconds.

Vrksasana or the tree pose

This asana boosts your mood instantly. It reduces anxiety and stress. This asana also improves your concentration. It calms your central nervous system and relaxes your mind. Vrksasana stimulates balance and alertness. It also strengthens the leg muscles.

How to do it?

• Stand straight with feet 2 inches away from each other.
• Slowly raise your right leg, bend your knee and place the foot on the inner thigh of your left leg.
• Extend your arms over your head and put the palms of the both hands together. 
• Stretch your body in this position without losing your balance.
• Hold onto this pose for about 30 seconds.
• Slowly release this asana and relax.
• Repeat the same asana on the other side.

These are some of the yoga postures that help in reducing anxiety and improve mental health. Yoga is an amazing way to improve mental health and fight day-to-day stress. These asanas will keep you both emotionally and physically fit. Yoga therapy is an efficient way to get great results without the use of medicines. For beginners, is it better to get trained under a professional in a yoga retreat center. Since doing the asanas in a wrong way might show some side effects. There are many yoga retreat centers in India that are dedicated only to treat mental health complications. They will help you treat your problem without any side effects.