Managing Mental Health Through Exercise

HOW TO MANAGE MENTAL HEALTH THROUGH EXERCISE

Modern-day mental health conditions are constantly on a rise and most people live in a stressed state more than ever before. However, stress is an essential part of human system organization and physiologically it induces a series of events in the body that provide us energy to go out and complete tasks, take risks, get out of our comfort zone, convert idea into action and achieve bigger things in life. Stress becomes a threat to our life when we live in a state of constant stress exerting unnecessary pressure on our nervous system and hormonal system, especially adrenal glands, to deal with the effects of constant stress. The repercussions of stress manifest in the form of surface-level emotions including anxiety, fear, depression, and mood swings, all of which have become a societal norm.

Stress in the body is induced with an interplay of different systems coming together primarily including the hormonal system and sympathetic nervous system. Other systems that directly get impacted in a state of high stress include circulatory system, digestive system, and nervous system. As our senses perceive a stressful situation, the sympathetic nervous system is activated. The body gets into a state of fight-or-flight response, activating the adrenals to release stress hormone cortisol that works towards enabling the cells to produce more energy to be able to deal with the perceived stress situation. In this process the digestive system shuts off, circulatory system and respiratory system work harder to supply nutrition and oxygen to all body cells to be able to produce more energy for dealing with stress situation. Chemically-speaking, a high state of stress is excess of cortisol circulating in our bloodstream, over-stimulation of nervous system and hormonal system, tensing of muscles, overuse of cellular capacity to produce energy and imbalance of respiratory patterns. This disturbs the internal balance, and when this pattern becomes a constant state of the body, the manifestations begin to show up in aggravated mental conditions like fears, worry, anxiety, low moods, and depression. Thus, a mindful approach to keeping body relaxed, free-flowing, and keeping breathing patterns normal with conscious efforts, help neutralize the physical and mental effects of stress.

The ancient Indian practice of yoga has a huge positive effect on the mind and its tendencies of feeling low and negative. Regular yoga exercises aligned with proper breath practices help keep mind in a joyous and happy state, impacting how we perceive things, calm the nervous system, promote better sleep, improve blood and oxygen circulation, reduce cortisol levels from the bloodstream, strengthen adrenals for better stress management, and work on body systems to reduce stress and induce feelings of deep relaxation. It beings about chemical and physiological shifts in the body that shows-up in positive effects on mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.

Yoga Exercises that Help Manage Mental Health

• Yoga asanas such as Sun salutations breath alignment help improve blood circulation and clam the nervous system. It helps induce the parasympathetic response that creates feelings of relaxation and feel-good factor, thus, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. The Sun Salutation flow acts like a Yogic cardio exercise that helps release endorphins, the feel-good hormones that reduce feelings of pain and enhance the feelings of pleasure. Endorphins also act as natural painkiller and help in uplifting low moods, reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety.
• Intense Vinyasa flows comprising of weight-bearing components and combined with relaxation techniques work on cardiorespiratory system and boost dopamine levels. Breaking that sweat after hard work into asanas induces feelings of achievement which is an attribute of dopamine release. Also, these practices help balance hormones and lower the cortisol levels, thereby lowering the stress levels.
• Yoga exercises involving abdominal twists such revolved triangle pose, revolved cross-legged pose, revolved side-angle pose stimulate the abdominal organs. It’s a known fact that a healthy, strong gut feeds great moods and positive emotions. Twisting Yoga exercises support serotonin (the happy hormone) production which help stabilize mood. About 95% of serotonin is produced in the gut and activating and strengthening the abdominal organs helps balance serotonin production.
• Yoga inversion exercises such as a headstand, forward-folding pose, downward-dog pose are known to slow-down the mental activity. In such postures the flow of blood is directed towards the head nourishing, strengthening, and rejuvenating the brain cells and helping silence the mind.
• Breathing yoga exercises work with the breath to induce parasympathetic nervous system that activates the rest and digest state in the body. This state is responsible for deeper inner healings and balancing the hormonal activity. This reflects in balanced moods, lower episodes of anxiety and depressive symptoms and a sense of feel-good factor.