3 Awesome Benefits Of Yoga: Volume 6

Resilience

Yoga can have an amazing effect on resilience. There have been several studies that link yoga with continued improvements in emotional well being, stress reduction, and resilience to negative situations.

In the study found here, the effectiveness of yoga in a workplace setting was examined. With many employees feeling substantial amounts of stress at work, examiners were looking to see if yoga would have a positive effect on their relationship to stressful situations.

After six weeks, the participants that had been selected to practice yoga every week showed improvements in numerous areas compared to the group that had not participated. In fact, testing scores backed this up, with improvements in well being and self-reported mood being recorded throughout.

It’s not only adults that can benefit. Yoga could be an important tool in helping children develop resilience in their day to day lives, too. Research shows that yoga can promote positive changes in a child’s mental health and improve their ability to recognize and deal with difficult feelings, such as anxiety.

Self-Acceptance

Simply put, self-acceptance is defined as the awareness and acceptance of one’s weaknesses and strengths and can involve a variety of thoughts and feelings. It can affect how you feel about your weight, habits, goals, financial situations, and more.

Yoga can help us to detach from negative beliefs and feelings about ourselves by promoting a mindful sense of focus on the body, which in turn, moves the focus away from our minds. It can also provide a physical challenge, and when completed successfully, prove very rewarding for those who may struggle with feelings of low self-esteem.

For example, in this study, employees were given the chance to take part in a yoga class once a week over an 8-week long period (with 1 or 2 additional sessions in between). After the program had been completed, the participants showed substantial improvements in their overall self-acceptance, perceived stress, and quality of life.

Self-Regulation

Self-regulation can be defined as the ability to control one’s behavior and manage disruptive reactions. It can be the difference between lashing out or staying calm in difficult situations. Although self-regulation can often be challenging for both adults and children alike, the practice of yoga can prove extremely beneficial in helping us to learn this skill.

According to this study, yoga can help preschoolers to improve their ability to self regulate. In the study, preschoolers participated in a year-long program in which yoga sessions were steadily introduced into the classroom. Adult participants and parents evaluated different aspects of the children’s self-regulation; such as their attention, inhibitory control, and delay of gratification. Once testing was completed, results showed significant improvements in all aspects of the preschooler’s self-regulation abilities.

There is evidence indicating that yoga has a positive effect on students, too. With this study showing that the practice of mindful yoga can have long-lasting effects on students’ ability to self manage their emotions and feelings. Of course, this can prove useful for adults too. With the ability to self regulate being associated with improved chances of positive relationships and successful life choices.

References

The effectiveness of yoga for the improvement of well-being and resilience to stress in the workplace

Ned Hartfiel, Jon Havenhand, Sat Bir Khalsa, Graham Clarke and Anne Krayer

Yoga for children and young people’s mental health and well-being: research review and reflections on the mental health potentials of yoga

Ingunn Hagen, Usha S. Nayer

Yoga for self-acceptance

Kylie Terraluna

Improved Self-acceptance, Quality of Life, and Stress Level From Participation in a Worksite Yoga Foundations Program: A Pilot Study

Lori J. Casey, BS, RYT, Kimberly M. Van Rooy, MA, Stephanie J. Sutherland E-RYT, Sarah M. Jenkins, MS, Jordan K. Rosedahl, Nadia J. Wood, Jon O. Ebbert, MD, Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, MD., Jason S. Egginton, MPH, Leslie A. Sim, Ph.D., LP,

Matthew M. Clark, Ph.D

Enhancing Preschoolers Self-regulation via Mindful Yoga

Rachel A. Razza, Dessa Bergan-Cico, Kimberly Raymond

Fostering Self-Regulation Through Curriculum Infusion of Mindful Yoga: A Pilot Study of Efficacy and Feasibility

Dessa Bergan-Cico, Rachael Razza, Amy Timmins