Yoga is a fantastic way to destress and allow positivity to enter your life. Its benefits are not just limited to your physical health but extend to your emotional and mental wellbeing as well. This ancient practice unites the mind and body to make way for wholesome, happier living.

With quiet meditation sessions, deep breathing exercises, and glorious poses, yoga opens the door for mental peace and clarity. If your negative thoughts are bogging you down or you’ve been facing growing anxiety, it’s time to declutter your head with some energetic yoga poses.

With plenty to offer, here are a few science-backed mental health benefits of yoga that shall impel you to invest your time in it.

1.    Drastically Reduces Stress

Stress is awful for your body in many ways. Each time you experience a stressful emotion or thought, your body produces high levels of cortisol as a response. Chronic stress has been linked to impaired cognitive function, inflammation, and imbalances in blood sugar.

Thankfully, spending 20-30 minutes doing yoga every day can significantly reduce cortisol levels in the body. According to a renowned study, women who performed a 3-month yoga program reported less stress, fatigue, and anxiety.

You, too, can relish the same benefits if you commit to at least 10 minutes of yoga every morning!

2.    A Way to Relieve Anxiety

Anxiety can greatly sabotage your mental health. It stops you from acting reasonably and constantly keeps you under the notion that something awful is likely to happen. Well, you can beat this false perception with a little bit of yoga every day.

This is because, with deep, conscious breathing and yoga poses that target tight muscles, you can relax and calm your body down. No matter how crippling your fears may seem, yogic meditation can help you recognize your power.

In this study, for example, women who participated in yoga practice at least twice a week reported lower levels of anxiety and negative thoughts. Yoga moves your mind from a state of fight-or-flight to a relaxing mode of rest-and-digest.

And, don’t worry – you don’t have to be a pro at yoga at all. Even if you’re looking into yoga for beginners, you can still benefit from it.

3.    It Improves Your Sense of Self

Knowing who you are is so important. It is a conscious discovery of your life’s purpose and recognizing your self-worth. And yoga helps you do just that. By practicing slower, deeper breaths, and challenging your body with special yoga poses, you get to know yourself in a very special way.

You get to build self-trust and over time, cultivate a loving relationship with yourself. Each time you master a yoga pose, your confidence grows. In the end, yoga reveals your strengths that dramatically improve your sense of self.

4.    Cultivates a Positive Mindset

Having a positive mindset is incredibly important. It is the only way to make your dreams come true. Keep in mind that even if you want to lose weight or become a healthy person, you need to be fit mentally. It is this crucial mindset that keeps you hopeful in the most tumultuous of times.

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to leave all your worries at the door and step into the wonderful and happy world of yoga.