It’s National Yoga Month: The Benefits of Yoga and Mental Hygiene

September is National Yoga Month.

In 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services created this national holiday to raise awareness about the positive physical, mental and spiritual effects of yoga. Chances are you’re one of the billions of people who have tried yoga and have experienced its transformative benefits.

Maybe you practice at home with online classes, or maybe you go to your neighborhood studio a couple of times a week. Or maybe you’re one of the rare individuals who has never experienced yoga, and that’s ok! Here’s your chance to learn all about its positive effects.  If you’re unfamiliar with yoga, it is an ancient Indian practice that entails the body, mind and spirit. Yoga is thought to be at least 5,000 years old, and there are a slew of styles including Kundalini (invigorating & inspiring), Bikram (hot & sweaty) and restorative (relaxing & calm), to name a few.

Though yoga originated in India, it is enjoyed all over the world—and for good reason.  Yoga offers a plethora of mental and physical benefits, from making you stronger and more flexible, to helping ease stress and anxiety. Let’s dive into all the ways yoga is good for you, and the rest of humanity too. 

Yoga fights stress and anxiety:

Yoga is a mind-body practice, which means it not only strengthens or eases the body, it helps soothe the brain too. Two common components of yoga are breathing and meditating, and both of these practices can have incredible results.

Take for example a 2016 study published in the Journal of International Society of Preventive & Community Dentistry. Researchers found that subjects who practiced yoga regularly showed low levels of cortisol—the body’s stress hormone. Another study published in the International Journal of Yoga discovered that students who practice yoga regularly perform better in school.

To help ease stress, Do You Yoga recommends the child’s pose—kneeling on the floor and stretching your arms out—to help elongate your back and open up your stress-holding hips. Another good stress-reducing pose is the happy baby, which, according to Yoga Journal, helps stretch the groin and spine, and calm the brain.

Yoga improves sleep:

It may sound like yoga is a cure-all for just about everything, but trust us: the studies back it up. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine found that elderly people who practice yoga daily had improvement in sleep and overall quality of life.

According to The National Sleep Foundation, yoga helps people with insomnia sleep better and longer, and they fall asleep faster. The Foundation recommends practicing legs up the wall, the lying butterfly and the corpse poses to help get a sound night of sleep. 

Yoga improves memory:

Yoga’s mental benefits go beyond the immediate. A 2016 study from UCLA found short-term AND long-term memory improvements for people over the age of 55 who participated in a 12-week kundalini yoga program. According to UCLA: “The team found that a three-month course of yoga and meditation practice helped minimize the cognitive and emotional problems that often precede Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia—and that is was even more effective than the memory enhancement exercises that have been considered the gold standard for managing mild cognitive impairment.”

In other words: yoga might be really, really good for your cognitive abilities.  

Yoga helps with eating:

Believe it or not, yoga can even help with eating disorders too. One study showed that yoga “significantly reduced food preoccupation immediately following yoga sessions” for participants. How? Because yoga forces you to be in the present, and to be mindful of what you put in your mouth.

And weight loss too: Another oftentimes happy by-product of yoga is losing or maintaining weight. Bikram yoga, which usually involves a heated room and challenging poses, can often help with burning calories. While not all yoga will get your heart rate up, it certainly is a great exercise to tone your muscles and help you be more mindful of your eating habits.  

Yoga builds muscle:

You don’t need to lift weights to build muscle. Because you’re using your own body weight in yoga, you are helping to stretch, tone and work your muscles with less risk of injury. Unlike weight training, yoga works several muscles all over your body—not just one. Yoga Journal recommends trying a forearm plank to help build muscles in your abdomen and back, the dolphin pose for stretching everything from your shoulders to your feet arches, and the horse pose for legs and inner thighs. Yoga is good for your heart:

According to Harvard Health Publishing, several small studies have pointed to positive health effects of practicing yoga. Because yoga forces you to relax, breathe and work your body, it can help lower blood pressure, improve lipid profiles and lower blood sugar levels. If heart disease or diabetes runs in your family, talk to your doctor about yoga and see if it’s a good addition to your heart health routine. 

Yoga is good for just about everything—seriously:

We could go on forever about the benefits of yoga, but here is just a brief rundown of additional positive effects: improving posture and balance, increasing concentration, reducing inflammation, helping you develop body awareness and helping you deal with back pain. Yoga is also a great way to build a community and to develop friendships with like-minded people.

As you can see, yoga’s benefits are far and wide. For this National Yoga Month, consider trying yoga for the first time (if you’re not already a follower). Now is a great time to add it to your self-care and mental hygiene routine. If you need a place to start, check out yoga tutorials on Youtube or your app store, or search for a yoga studio near you. With the growing popularity of yoga, chances are there a studio right in your neighborhood, just waiting for you to join.