International Yoga Day 2024: Here's how Yoga transforms your mental health

International Yoga Day 2024: Yoga, an ancient practice to improve physical and mental well-being, is practised around the world. Here's how yoga improves mental well-being

The world celebrates International Yoga Day every year on June 21. Yoga is an ancient practice to improve not just physical but mental and spiritual well-being as well. The practice has evolved over thousands of years and is embraced in many different forms across the globe. In the last few years, its popularity has immensely grown across the world as people made Yoga a part of their lives. 

The United Nations officially designated June 21 as International Yoga Day in 2014, which aims to spread awareness about the benefits of Yoga, on physical and mental health.

Although many people worldwide have embraced Yoga in their daily lives, there are still people who are not aware of the benefits of Yoga.

Benefits of yoga for mental health

Yoga’s impact on the brain

According to the studies of Harvard Medical School, the regular practitioners of Yoga are better at learning, memorising and processing information. Generally, the parts of the brain responsible for these functions shrink with age, however, this reduction is less in people who regularly practise yoga. 

Enhancing cognitive functions

Yoga helps improve functions like reasoning, decision-making, memory, learning test performance, and reaction time. Yoga is an excellent exercise for the brain.

Mood improvement

Exercise or physical activities reduce stress hormones, but yoga goes one step ahead and offers some additional advantages. One of the most important components of yoga is meditation which lowers activity in the brain's emotional centre and, consequently, helps people to react calmly in stressful situations.

‌‌Relieve depression

Studies found that yoga is one of the ways to ease depression. Many researchers found that yoga can be compared with other treatments such as psychotherapy and medications. It is economical with no side-effects. It also provides benefits for major depressive disorders. However, the use of yoga to cure depression still needs more research due to a lack of controlled trials. 

Complementary approach to treatment

Medication and talk therapy are a primary treatment for depression and anxiety, but Yoga offers a valuable complementary approach. According to researchers, Yoga and music are the most effective ways to reduce depression and anxiety. As per Harvard Health Publishing, it provides more lasting effects. 

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Yoga also plays a crucial role in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It can be used alongside other treatments to lower intrusive memories and emotional distress. The deep and slow breathing is associated with calmness. 

Improve sleep

Lack of sleep is a pervasive problem nowadays, due to increasing screen time. Research suggests that Yoga can improve sleep, especially for older adults. Recently a study was conducted among people over the age of 60, where participants reported an increase in the quality and quantity of sleep.