A mantra goes, “No health without mental health.” Indeed, a person may unveil a robust physique, glowing skin, and lustrous mane but, if the individual is not mentally sound and healthy, it does not count as a comprehensive well-being.

Wellness is essential for living a productive life. And, overall goodness encompasses both physical and mental health. Mental health affects our social, emotional, psychological behavior and patterns. People suffer from diverse mental illnesses: depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, panic attacks, dementia, eating disorders, etc., that negatively influence their relationship with themselves and others around. Holistic health is a perfect balance of physical, mental, and emotional health. Willing to support good mental health means taking note of the feelings, stress, and implementing a mechanism that helps us get rid of the mental issues just like we do for various physical problems.

Embrace health and wellness in the truest sense by improving mental health with the science of yoga and lead a purposeful life. Yoga is a practice of physical and mental development with the goal to expand enlightenment and consciousness. The discipline of yoga is a route to attain a state where there are only peace and health and no disturbances: physical and mental. A practice that helps us work with the nature of the mind, how emotions reside within us, and how they affect our mood and brain. Yoga is the key to psychological and emotional healing as well as gaining self-confidence.

The best four yoga poses for mental health with detailed instructions:

1. Tree Pose (Vriksasana): Stand on the floor with an erect back and arms by your side. Bend the left knee, hold the feet and place it on the inner edge of the right thigh. Maintaining the balance, raise the arms upward and keep them parallel to the floor. Practitioners can fold the hands in prayer position. Look steadily at a point in front. Hold this pose for 30 seconds.

2. Supported Shoulder Stand (Salamba Sarvangasana): Lie comfortably on your back. Bend the knees and rest the feet on a yoga mat. Press the hands to push away the feet from the floor and thighs into the torso. Gently straighten the legs upward and rest the hands on the lower back for support. Bring thighs in line with the torso with thighs hanging down. Stay in this pose for 20 seconds.

3. Child Pose (Balasana): Begin on your hands and knees. Spread the knees wide apart and rest the hips on your heels. Bend forward bringing the torso over the thighs and head on the floor. Stretch your arms behind, palms up. Draw your gaze inward. Rest in this pose for 30-60 seconds.

Discover how these yoga poses can improve mental health. Take a glance at the pointers below:

1. Support the Parasympathetic Nervous System: Yogic practices support parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic system is a state of relaxation and heightened functioning of the body organs. As you practice yoga poses for mental health the fight response is slowed down and you enter a calm state.

2. Unlock the Areas of Emotional Energy: Yoga makes the practitioners sensitive toward areas that become a storehouse of pent-up emotions and psychological feelings. It alters our way of viewing our body where we hold tensions, weakness, knots, etc. Yoga asanas work from their way inwards. The backbends help open the heart and assist in emotional release. It is an internal work of opening yourself to the best with faults.

3. Foster a Peaceful Mind and Relationships: Yoga is the discipline to still a wavering mind. When a person feels centered and peaceful with the Self, it translates in their behavior and relationships. They deal with people around with a lens of unconditional love and compassion that are the sources of a happy and harmonious living.

4. Build a Better Sense of Self: Through yoga, practitioners build a better sense of the Self. Yoga practices help people cultivate a rational relation and trust with the self. When an individual is rooted in the Self;  they develop confidence, a balanced ego, willpower, etc., and lead a more satisfied life.

5. Increase Mindfulness: Mindfulness is the state of being alert and living the present. Yoga plays a vital role in letting go of the past and brings awareness back to the present moment. There is a  growing research that shows mindfulness remodels the physical structure of the brain.

Make your mental health a priority, pay attention to it with the science of yoga, and tread the path of holistic wellbeing.

To know more about how yoga improves mental health, explore our Yoga Teacher Training In India.