Those of you all who thought yoga is just for improving flexibility and toning will find this article as an eye opener. Before you jump to any conclusions, let me tell you that MAD doesn’t stand for mental madness, it stands for “Mood”, “Anxiety” and “Depression”. So people afflicted with these conditions can find respite in yoga. And guess what? It has been proven by medical research as well.
Leave That “BAD MOOD” Behind You
A bad mood can ruin your whole day. Your boss reprimands you, a scuffle with your beau, feeling home sick – no matter whatever caused it, yoga can uplift your mood like no else.
Yoga Poses For Uplifting Your Mood
Back Bend Pose
- Lie on the back with knees bent above the ground and feet lying flat.
- Now breathe in and take your hands at the back of your ears with fingers pointing towards the feet.
- Pushing fingers and feet on to the ground, lift your body from the ground
How Does It Help?
Sometimes proper oxygenation to the body can make crankiness go. Back bend pose does exactly that. This will pop-up the heart beat and fill you up with energy.
Headstand (Sirsasana)
- Place the elbows on the ground with fingers of both the hands intertwined into each other
- Place your head on the hands
- Bring your knees as close to the face as possible
- Now take one leg up followed by the other
- With the legs folded, hold on to this position for a while
- Now lift the legs straight up the body so that it comes in line with the head
- Hold on to this position for a while
- Come back using the same steps
How Does It Help?
Sometimes by swapping the natural position, one can swap thoughts as well. It stimulates nervous system and soothes the mind.
Don’t Let “ANXIETY” Take Over Your True Self
Anxiety is often ignored but shouldn’t be. It is not a normal emotion. A few yoga poses can help you in having control over your anxiety. Try out the poses below:
Corpse Pose (Shavasana)
- Lie down flat on the floor
- Keep legs apart, with feet facing outward and arms on the sides
- Concentrate on different parts of the body one by one starting from forehead to the toes.
- Breathe in when you concentrate on a specific part
- Breathe out as you move your attention to the other part
- Concentrate on a particular part at least for a minute
- When you finish with the last point, slowly open your eyes.
How Does It Help?
It helps you shift your attention from the thought that gave you anxiety thus making you have a clear perspective of the situation and get relief from it.
Legs Up The Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
All you need is a yoga mat, yoga block or folded blankets and towels. The latter two are used if you feel any discomfort. Steps:
- Sit as close to the wall as possible
- In one single go, swing your legs up the wall with your back and head on the floor.
- Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing
- Beginners can start with 5 minutes pose while others should do it for a minimum of 15 minutes
How Does It Help?
This pose draws blood to the organs that need it the most when you are under some emotional stress. Stress being one of the reasons for premature aging can be dealt with this exercise. Doing it on regular basis can reduce the need for an anti-aging cream?
Drive That “DEPRESSON” Out
Depression is often the beginning point of a number of serious diseases.
Wide-Angle Standing Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana)
- Stand straight
- Place your feet 3-4 feet apart
- Place your hand on your hips
- Inhale and let your chest be longer than your back
- Move forward with your chest and arms stretched out in front of you.
- Touch the floor with your fingers making your back slightly arched out
- Rest your head on the floor
- Hold on to his position for at a minimum of 30 seconds.
How Does It Help?
It increases blood flow to the upper parts of the body and soothes the nervous system.
Fish Pose (Matsayasana)
- Lie down straight on the floor
- Breathe in and lift your middle part of the body from the chest
- Tilt your head to keep the crown on the floor
- Lift your buttocks to bring in your hands below them
- Rest your buttocks on your hands
- Breathe normal
- Do this for 10-15 minutes.
How Does It Help?
It relaxes the nervous system helping you to overcome depressing thoughts. These poses also provide other benefits. These work exactly how lifecell or any other antiaging cream works? They relax facial muscles, increase blood circulation and hence stimulate collagen production for that younger looking skin.
