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Yoga is known for making you stronger and more flexible, but it also has a lot of benefits for mental health. It can improve your mood, make you more focused, relieve stress and anxiety, and help with depression and insomnia.
The brain is like a muscle that needs to be exercised for optimum performance. Yoga is the best way to improve the way the brain works. It can keep the brain from breaking down because of stress and anxiety, and help improve mental health in the long term.
Yoga controls the vagus nerve, which is in charge of the body's mood and level of mental stress. It's different from other brain-boosting exercises, as it helps you breathe properly, which helps a lot to calm the body and wake up the mind.
Yoga Exercises to Boost Mental Strength
Here's a look at six yoga poses and exercises that can help you improve your mental strength and focus:
1) Standing Forward Fold (Uttanasana)
This vigorous forward stretch strengthens and stretches the back muscles while increasing flexibility. The Uttanasana, which places the head below the heart, enhances the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain, helping improve mental faculties. Regular practice of this pose helps quieten the mind and eliminate stress and anxiety.
To do this pose, keep your back straight, with hands on your hips, and take a deep breath. As you exhale, extend your hands upward, and bend your torso forward. As you continue to bend, place your hands near to your feet on the ground. To make it easier, grab the ankles. Use your abs to break the stance after 10-15 seconds of holding it. Make sure the knees stay straight.
2) Siddhasana
Also known as yoga's accomplished pose or Siddhi's pose, it's a great way to meditate and make the hips and groin/inner thigh muscles more flexible. If you're wondering how this pose can help improve mental strength, read on.
It not only opens the hips, chest, and shoulders of the practitioner, but it also lengthens the spine, improves posture, and stretches the front of the ankles. It also strengthens the calf muscles, activates the chakras, keeps the mind alert, reduces stress and anxiety, and helps balance the functions of the reproductive organs.
Sit cross-legged with your eyes closed and hands on your knees. To master the asana, sit with your toes tucked into your thighs and feet side by side. Keep your knees wide and eyes closed in a meditative pose.
3) Anjaneyasana
This asana helps make the shoulders and neck more flexible. It gives the hips, thighs, and groins a deep stretch.
The anjaneyasana helps stretch and open the chest and shoulders, helps the body recover after a workout, gives more energy, and works to improve body posture. This asana also makes the body more stable.
Perform a downward dog pose to start this exercise. As you let out your breath, step your right foot forward, and put it between your hands. Your right knee and heel should be in a straight line. Put your left knee down on the floor. If you need to, slide it back till you feel a good stretch in your left thigh.
Take a deep breath in, and lift your chest up, bringing your arms up with your palms together or parallel to each other. Every time you let out a breath, bend further into the pose, and press your tailbone towards the floor. Whenever you can, tilt your head back, and look up. To get out of the pose, do the downward dog again, and repeat it on the other side.
4) Setu Bandhasana
This variation, which is also called bridge pose, stretches the chest, neck, and back. Not only does it strengthen the back, buttocks, and hamstrings, but it also improves blood flow, reduces stress, and calms the brain. In the long term, it improves mental strength.
To do this pose, lie on your back with your legs flat on the floor and hands next to your thighs. Bend both knees, and bring the heels closer to the hips. Keep your legs and hips apart.
Take a deep breath in, and lift your stomach and chest off the floor by lifting your hips. Put your hands behind your lower back to help it out. Stand up straight, with your feet facing forward. Hold the position for 10-15 seconds, and let go.
5) Viparita Karani
This is a simple but effective yoga move that helps calm the mind and relax the body. It also stimulates the nervous system. This pose also controls the flow of blood and helps people who are depressed or can't sleep.
To do this exercise, lie flat on your back with your butt as close to the wall as possible. You can support your back with a cushion. Slowly and deeply breathe in. Step up the wall, and put your feet flat against it.
Turn your toes in towards your body, and feel the pressure on your hamstrings. Hold your hands out to the sides of your body. Hold this pose for at least five minutes while focusing on slow, deep breathing.
6) Savasana
This pose is usually done at the end of a yoga routine. It's a great way to meditate, improve mental health, and relax the body.
To do this exercise, lie flat on your back with your hands by your sides and palms facing up. Close your eyes, and stay there for at least five minutes. As you meditate, you might want to count your breaths.
Takeaway
Performing the aforementioned yoga poses regularly will rejuvenate the brain and improve mental strength.
