Essay Example on Yoga: An All-Inclusive Approach to Health & Well-Being

Introduction

Yoga is currently regarded in Western society as an all-inclusive approach to health and is classified as complementary medicine by the National Institute of Health. Yoga means to join, union, or York, and to concentrate and direct the attention of an individual, and when practiced regularly, the mindfulness practices in it promote flexibility, strength, endurance. It facilitates compassion, greater self-control, friendliness, and it cultivates a sense of well-being and calmness (Saeed et at., 2010). Yoga combines muscular activity and a mindful focus that is internally directed on awareness of the self, energy, and breath. Through my current expertise as a yoga and meditation instructor, there are various yoga benefits for depression, stress relief, anxiety, and overall health.

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The practice and teachings of the healing system of yoga are explained by four principles. The first one is that the body of a human being is a holistic entity made of several interrelated dimensions that are not separable from one another, and illness or health one dimension affects the other. The second principle is that people and their needs are unique, and they must be approached in a manner that enables them to acknowledge such individuality and the practice given to them tailored accordingly. Then, the third is that yoga empowers individuals, and students are their healers as it engages them in the healing process. The last principle is that in yoga, the state and mind of individuals are essential in the healing process. This paper discusses how yoga and mindfulness mitigate crises and anxiety among young adults between ages 19 and 40 years old. The study is based on my personal experience as well as published research studies.

Impacts of Mindfulness Practices During Yoga on Anxiety

Mindfulness practices in yoga activities are mind-body medicine that integrates the mental, physical, and spiritual components of an individual to improve health, specifically the stress illnesses. The common health benefits denominator of yoga activities is its relation to the concept of stress. Yoga is viewed as an essential technique to stress management (Li & Goldsmith, 2012). It is a form of complementary and alternative medicine that produces various psychological sequences of events in an individual body, which reduces the stress response. The mindfulness during yoga practices reduces perceived stress through its beneficial health effects. Regardless of its disorienting or uncomfortable postures, yoga instructor assists the practitioners in mindfully focusing on the breath through discomfort and breathing instead of trying to avoid or fight it; hence, via persistent and deliberate practice, individuals get to learn how to direct their attention to some changes that occur in their breath, thoughts, sensation, and emotions. In the process of performing such mindfulness practices, the yogic breathing acts as a link that exists in between the body and mind, and it then teaches individuals to cope with stressors; thus, it reduces stress and other stress-related illness.

Yoga works by utilizing learning and breathing by individuals to stay in the present situation and not allowing them to be pulled away by some thoughts. Mindful breathing acts as a tool for individuals in learning how to recognize several triggers of unwanted situations and feelings and help to act more in line with personal goals and values. Although, currently, there are fewer empirical studies that have tested the ability of mindful yogic breathing to enable stress coping mediates the benefits of yoga on health. But there is enough evidence that links mindfulness and breathing to the reduction of stress. The sessions of mindfulness mediation in yoga activities decrease negative mood and anxiety (Li & Goldsmith, 2012). Deep and slow breathing has psychological benefits that assist in regulating autonomic nervous system imbalances and rouses parasympathetic activity, which results in the production of relaxation sensation. Importantly, the increases in mindfulness practices in yoga activities, essentially mediate reductions in depression and sleep problems. The health effect presented here is significant because depression is a highly harmful illness as it serves as a risk factor in physical illness like coronary heart disease. On the other hand, sleep problems contribute to various mental and psychological illnesses like insomnia. Hence, the idea that mindfulness practices in yoga activities assist individuals in coping with stress and improves their overall health has significant implications for the improvement of public health.

As individuals grow and encounter various life crises that contribute to their psychosocial development, I will relate the benefits of mindfulness practices during yoga activities to stage five and stage six of Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development. In stage five, the transition from childhood to adulthood is marked as the turning point where an individual between ages 13 and 21 begins to become who he or she is anticipated to become (Erikson, 2019). In this stage, the experience of change is extremely significant on an emotional, physical, and mental aspect, as the individual is exposed to problems and challenges while trying to explore a wide variety of possibilities. Then in stage six of Erikson's development stages, young adults between 21 and 39 years old are referred. The stage is essential for adults who are ready to settle down, compromise, and sacrifice for the sake of their relationship (Erikson, 2019). As people encounter moments like this in different ways, anxiety, fear, and stress play a vital role in the process; such individuals are learning how to deal with negative forces. Hence, yoga is associated with a variety of powerful tools to teach the soul, body, and mind how to navigate over such crises, as well as discipline focus (Just Mind, 2017). As both anxiety and stress are a natural experience for all individuals, the key is to learn and understand how to train yourself through mindfulness practice during yoga by comforting the nervous system, which then creates a path for a significant way to live a peaceful life.

As a current yoga instructor and mediation teacher, the definition attached to yoga itself will assist me together with health practitioners and other individuals in seeking to utilize yoga for healing purposes through its ability in reducing stress, depression, and anxiety via mindfulness practices included in the yoga activities (Gard et al., 2012). The mindfulness practices during yoga are not only meant to treat mental illness such as anxiety and depression but also alleviates symptoms and play a role in connecting with the whole being. In other words, the mindfulness practices during yoga can be seen as an alternative and complementary therapy that targets certain areas of healing, which are overlooked by traditional treatments.

Yoga activities are continuing to become more accessible, and its popularity is on rising. Several organized efforts have been identified to make yoga more available through the establishment of studios based on donation, which provides free classes in several communities. Yoga can be learned, and various clients can utilize on personal setting outside of therapy to assist them in coping with anxiety and stress (Falsafi, 2016). Then mental health clinicians have, to a large extend, accepted and acknowledged the health benefits of yoga. It has to be included in conjunction with other mental illness treatment techniques as an intervention and efficacy of integration.

Conclusion

In conclusion, due to the general diverse nature of yoga observed and researched, it is inferred that the mindfulness practices during yoga reduce anxiety, stress, and depression for individuals age 19 to 40 years. Yoga activities act as an intervention and complementary treatment to mental illness as it alleviates symptoms and, at the same time, increases self-worth, self-confidence, addresses spirituality, and reaches the whole being of those who practice. Mindfulness practice has shown to be effective for diverse persons of age 19 to 40 years of varying physical and mental capabilities, and it can be suited to individual needs as the whole activities in yoga are promising in mind-body-spirit intervention, both healing and comforting for persons with anxiety, stress, and depression.

References

Erikson, E. (2019). Theory of Psychosocial Development. Retrieved from https://www.psychologynoteshq.com/erikerikson/

Falsafi, N. (2016). A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness versus yoga: effects on depression and anxiety in college students. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 22(6), 483-497. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1078390316663307

Gard, T., Brach, N., Holzel, B. K., Noggle, J. J., Conboy, L. A., & Lazar, S. W. (2012). Effects of a yoga-based intervention for young adults on quality of life and perceived stress: the potential mediating roles of mindfulness and self-compassion. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(3), 165-175. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2012.667144

Li, A. W., & Goldsmith, C. A. W. (2012). The effects of yoga on anxiety and stress. Alternative Medicine Review, 17(1). http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=10895159&AN=75210880&h=jqQyw2tyU%2Bv84VmWe8WSv9jK8jyPz%2BEg1oyf3GCc2f7e5BpFDRrkVSJ02NR80M6WrBNIO5KRDRWCV3smZDSPUg%3D%3D&crl=c

Saeed, S. A., Antonacci, D. J., & Bloch, R. M. (2010). Exercise, yoga, and meditation for depressive and anxiety disorders. American family physician, 81(8), 981-986. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2010/0415/p981.html?source=post_page

Just mind (2017) How yoga reduces stress. Retrieved from https://justmind.org/yoga-reduces-stress/