A gentle set of asanas to calm the nervous system
We can already rely on scientific research and say that regular yoga practice calms and has a positive effect on the human nervous system.
This gentle sequence of asanas will help relieve tension, improve blood circulation and establish proper functioning of the sympathetic nervous system. Incorporate these poses into your practice or repeat the sequence separately every day:
Supta Padangusthasana
The pose balances the work of the right and left hemispheres of the brain, strengthens the legs and stretches their back surface. Deepen your breathing in the asana and press your back tightly to the floor.
Lie down on the mat. Stretch your legs, lift your right leg up, grab your shin with your hands. As you exhale, pull your leg towards you. Breathe, allow your muscles to relax and pull your leg even closer. Hold for 5-10 breaths. Perform the asana on the other leg.
Bitilasana-Marjariasana
The simplest asanas are often the most effective. This set of asanas tones the back and abdominal muscles and activates the nerve connections of the spine. Gives strength and increases energy.
Get on your knees with your palms under your shoulders. As you inhale, arch your back, opening your chest and shoulders. Point your head up. As you exhale, round your back as much as possible, pull in your stomach and pull your head towards the floor. Perform 5-8 repetitions of the asana.
Bhujangasana
The asana tones the nervous system, activates the adrenal glands, strengthens the muscles of the back, buttocks and abdomen.
Lie on your stomach. Place your palms in front of you. Lift up, pull your ribs and upper abdomen out from under you. Straighten your arms, lift your body up, opening your chest. Tighten your buttock muscles, tighten your stomach. Hold for 5 breaths and perform the pose several times.
Anjaneyasana
The pose calms strong emotions, increases vital energy, and harmonizes the right and left sides of the body.
From Adho Mukha Svanasana, place your right foot forward between your palms. Lower your left knee to the floor. Behind your hands, lift your body up, join your palms, stretch your back. The gaze is directed forward.
Open your chest, try to lower your pelvis even lower. Hold for 5 breaths and perform the asana on the other side.
Padahastasana
The asana relieves negative thoughts and emotions, calms and relaxes. Improves cerebral circulation and has a rejuvenating effect.
Stand up straight. Straighten your back, as you exhale, bend towards your legs, place your palms under your feet. Pull your forehead towards your knees, straighten your legs, but do not round your back. Hold for 5-8 breaths.
Finish the practice with Savasana for 5 minutes. Observe how your emotional state has changed after the lesson.
How does yoga affect your mental state?
In fact, only negative stress (distress) is harmful. It can seriously affect a person's physical and mental state. Studies conducted to study how yoga helps with stress and depression have shown an increase in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels. A high concentration of this indicator causes a decrease in the excitability of neurons, thereby having a calming effect on the nervous system. This fact serves as proof that yoga helps relieve stress.
Half moon pose
Forward bends
Eagle pose
Achieving results is possible only if yoga classes bring joy and pleasure. The technique of performing yoga asanas for depression is not enough. If a person treats this practice as a regular set of physical exercises, then yoga against depression as a treatment method will be ineffective.
Yoga for relieving stress and tension includes asanas and active meditation techniques. People who practice these techniques are less susceptible to attacks of anger and anxiety. Anyone who does not want depression to darken their lives needs to learn to relax and control their emotions. Yoga will help with this to relieve fatigue and stress.
Kundalini yoga helps you get out of stress. Nature has established that the human body can fight diseases on its own. But stress creates interference: it does not give a person the opportunity to heal without the use of additional means. Yoga classes for relaxation and stress relief can “free” the brain from an endless stream of thoughts, relieve physical tension and fatigue. Even as a result of one workout, a person feels relaxed and improves his mental state. And regular exercise will help not only relieve fatigue and stress at the end of the working day, but also get out of depression.
In addition to doing exercises, yoga classes also include meditation. This practice is designed for a person to turn to his inner world. Harmony with oneself helps to organize chaotic thoughts and discard all unnecessary ones, thereby relieving stress and fatigue. The practice of concentration techniques helps relieve tension and anxious feelings. If you meditate regularly for 15 to 30 minutes, there is a decrease in glucocorticoids, which are responsible for the response to stress, and arousal of the central nervous system.
To relieve stress and relaxation, it is necessary that meditation take place in a secluded and quiet environment: no one and nothing should interfere. You can also meditate in a group with other meditating people. When performing this technique, you need to sit comfortably and relax; you can turn on a soothing melody.
You can meditate in the lotus position, sitting on a chair or lying on a mat with your arms and legs slightly apart to the sides, as you wish. You need to breathe calmly and slowly, inhaling and exhaling deeply. To “stop the racing of thoughts in your head,” it is recommended to count your breaths from 1 to 10 for a couple of minutes. Thanks to daily meditation, a person’s emotional state is normalized, and immunity to stress is also “developed.”
Benefits of yoga before bed
The evening set of exercises and static poses differs from the daytime ones and is aimed at achieving the following goals:
- Relaxation of muscles after a working day. The classes do not require physical effort, which makes them different from standard gymnastics. Most yoga is a static exercise that requires only a mat and a little free space.
- Relaxation of the nervous system. The classes are slightly related to meditation. While performing asanas, you need to fully concentrate on your feelings, throw negative thoughts out of your head and generally stop thinking about pressing problems.
- Warm up joints and ligaments. Some positions may feel uncomfortable and tense at first, but if you completely relax, you will feel your body resting from the constant stress.
Yoga at night will relieve you from unnecessary worries and give you the opportunity to get a good night's sleep. With constant practice, you will learn to think positively, let go of events that you cannot influence, and become more productive and cheerful.
