The concept of yoga as a fabulous form of exercise to get those much-desired curves and toned bodies have gained much ground in recent times. Yoga for a fab body is a fad being sold by many shops. But do you know, yoga is the ancient science and art that shapes the body and the mind. Yoga impacts our body both physically and mentally. It is much more than just the twists!
Yoga is the Secret Pill that Impacts Our Mind & Happiness
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Yoga is a holistic practice combining physical postures, rhythmic breathing, and meditative exercises. Many celebrities, such as Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston, swear by yoga. The age-defying effects of yoga transcending the marks of time on physical and mental health have made it extremely popular across the world. Regular practice ensures mental and emotional well-being. It tones the external body parts, as well as internal organs!
However, the benefits on the mind might not be as visible as the effects on the body. Nevertheless, yoga can prove to be life-altering. The impact of yoga on the mind can surpass as the greater benefit of the two.
Our senses feed our brain with perceptions through touch, hearing, smell, and taste. In yoga, these come under Pancha Jnanendriya. In Sanskrit, Pancha stands for ‘five’, jnana means ‘awareness’, and indriya stands for ‘sense’. Pratyahara, the fifth limb of Sage Patanjali’s eight-limb yoga path or ashtanga yoga, empowers the practitioner to withdraw senses at will. In other words, it lets you control the mind and the sense organs. This includes both jnanendriya and the karmendriya (five organs of action, including the feet, hands, rectum, genitals, and mouth).
So How Does Yoga Impact Our Brain?
Modern science has proven what the ancient Indian yogis have known all along about the impact of yoga — it makes the brain sharper and fully aware. The three core practices of yoga — postures, meditations, and breathing exercises — as taught in the unique live classes at Shvasa, can change the structure and functioning of the brain for the better.
Gray matter matters: team of Harvard researchers ascertained in a 2011 study that mindful mediation can alter the brain. Our brain has two kinds of tissues — white and gray matter. Our mental processes and cognitive functions are all dependent on these tissues. The gray matter is responsible for our learning skills and memory as well as interpreting the senses. The white matter connects different brain cells, creating a kind of network. The 2011 study concluded that a mere eight weeks of practice increased the gray matter concentration within the left hippocampus (the seat of learning and memory) and various brain regions.
This has a direct effect on our general intelligence and performance. An increase in gray matter leads to better focus, concentration, memory, greater ability to control our emotions and impulse. This also attunes us with our senses leading to greater self-awareness.
Yoga the Tool That Shapes the Brain
Our brains are capable of creating new neural pathways. This ability of the brain is called neuroplasticity. In simple words, we can rewire the brain to do what we want — perform better, think more clearly, be more positive, and everything else. But how do we do that? Yoga is one of the most effective tools to harness the power of neuroplasticity or structure the brain according to our needs.
In 2019, a study published in the journal Brain Plasticity, University of Illinois researchers confirmed that yoga contributes to the growth of neurons. Science Daily quoted Neha Gothe, who led the research, saying, “Yoga changes the cortisol stress response.” Gothe stated that, “those who had done yoga for eight weeks had an attenuated cortisol response to stress”, resulting in better decision-making, task-switching, and attention.
Yoga, a Path to Happiness
Yoga impacts brain functioning and emotional regulation to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, informed Gothe.
“The breathing exercises or pranayama, which is the fourth limb of ashtanga yoga path, have innumerable science-backed positive effects on the brain,” said Arunima Singhdeo, the founder of Shvasa and yogi for more than half a decade. The basic benefit is that it ensures oxygenated blood reaches our brain resulting in the brain performing at its peak. Quality sleep, calmness, and a positive outlook are guaranteed. Reduced symptoms of hypertension, stress, and brain fog are the side effects of pranayama. You can read more science-backed benefits here.
Neurotransmitters —A Chemical Fest of Happiness Hormones
Regular practice of Yoga impacts the level of happiness hormones — neurotransmitters such as dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. Dopamine is a feel-good hormone associated with the reward center. Serotonin is a mood stabilizer. It triggers a feeling of well-being and happiness, reduces stress, anxiety, and fear. It also plays an important role in sleeping and digestion. Endorphins reduce pain and discomfort and increase pleasure sensations. Oxytocin is also called the love drug. It is associated with empathy, trust, sexual activity, and relationship-building, reports Medical News Today.
Evidently, a boost to the happiness hormones cocktail translates to that fuzzy feeling of warmth, love, happiness, and serenity. The same hormones alleviate stress, fear, and depression.
The Nervous System
Yoga stimulates various parts of the nervous system. Take the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for our body’s rest and digestion response. Yogic practices stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, sending the body the message to relax and rest.
According to a 2018 study, contemplative practices or meditation (a core component of yogic kriyas) improves the vagal tone. The Vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve that runs from the brain to the abdomen, tells our bodies to de-stress and relax it and soaks us in a feeling of well-being.
Yoga and the Energy Centers-Kundalini
Yogic literature has drawn significant attention to the seven chakras or energy centers of our body. The activation of these chakras leads to a free flow of energy leading to an expanded state of consciousness, making us free from all diseases and ailments.
The chakras start below the pelvic region and move up along the spine to the crown. The energy flows from the root chakra out the crown connecting to the universal intelligence or the our yogic practices can stimulate these kundalini centers, opening the door to unimaginable possibilities. However, only upon observing proper techniques can the perfect flow of energy. Inherently, it is a sort of spiritual awakening which provides a lasting feeling of contentment and bliss. Awakened chakras make you one with the universe; the practitioner has limitless possibilities at their disposal. Nature works to materialize the wishes of the person whose chakras are attuned. Imagine staying in a constant blissful state where an empowered mind manifests your desires. Read more about the incredible ways in which kundalini stimulation affects the brain here.
Qualities of Energy — How do They Affect Us?
According to the ancient Hindu philosophy, all matter in the universe comes from three main qualities of energy or gunas — sattva (goodness, calmness, harmonious), rajas (passion, activity, movement), and tamas (ignorance, inertia, laziness). The three gunas bestow specific qualities to our personalities and affect our lifestyle choices. For instance, a dominant tamas will make the individual a procrastinator and lethargic. Yet, it is needed for sound sleep. Therefore, the body needs the three to be in balance.
Controlling these gunas is the key to ultimate stress management and inner peace. By managing these gunas, we can shape our lives. Yoga is a powerful system that balances the three gunas.
Taming the Ever-Changing Fluctuations of the Mind
Many of us are constantly caught in the battle of the mind that fluctuates faster than the speed of light. In the Bhagavad Gita, vikara or these tendencies of the mind, much like the seven sins, are treated as diseases. The vikars are: Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (deep emotional attachment, stupidity), Mātsarya (envy), and Madā (pride, wantonness).
These can be controlled through, you guessed it, yoga!
General Life Quality
In layman’s terms, yoga brings back our attention from the outside world to the self. The yoga system — compromising asanas (postures), breathing exercises, and meditation — aligns our body, mind, and breath in one rhythm. All the chatter of the mind finally settles, leaving behind the much-desired state of bliss.
The celebrated Indian sage Patanjali, considered the father of modern yoga, talks about the main goal of yoga as controlling the tendencies of the mind to fluctuate. He stated, “Yoga is the cessation of fluctuations of the mind.” It is this state that we hope to achieve by managing our emotion, desire, ambition, and passion. A state of detachment from the materialistic.
We all know that feeling of a muddled mind, don’t we? Yoga elevates from the ‘scatterbrain’ state by providing clarity and enabling better decision-making. A need for instant gratification mars today’s rat race. Yoga can correct this aspect of mind management too. Yoga impacts An increase in gray matter improves our ability to evaluate rewards, encouraging us to delay gratification. In other words, it strengthens our will-power.
Better sleep quality, reduced hypertension, stress-free, better cognitive abilities, improved motor skills are some of the fruits of yoga.
Final thoughts
The eight-limbed yoga path is a holistic practice that improves the quality of life. Our Shvasa gurus follow this path. Many of our students have benefitted from our yoga practices deeply established in science and ancient Indian wisdom.
Today, the effects of yoga on the mind are heavily relied on by prestigious institutes like the Harvard Medical School’s Mind-Body Medical Institute teaching a technique known as Relaxation Response based on Yoga’s Transcendental Meditation.
So, stretch away and explore the inward, a place that is the most approachable yet remains the most unapproachable.
Shape your mind and life with Shvasa yoga, now!
