The Top 5 Ways Yoga Can Help Your Mindset -

The Top 5 Ways Yoga Can Help Your Mindset:

Your soul is your best friend. Treat it with care, nurture it with growth, feed it with love.

– Ashourina Yalda

Most of us know the many incredible benefits of yoga for the body. Better sleep, more energy, increased flexibility and muscle tone – but have you ever noticed how your mindset changes? How much better you feel mentally when you are consistently practicing?

Yoga is so much more than a workout or movement of the body, it affects our mental and emotional well-being. With mindset being such a key factor in the decisions you make daily, the relationships you have and the way you feel about each moment, placing a focus on your mindset is crucial.

Here are just a few ways yoga can help your mindset:

*1. It moves you from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system, or from flight-or-flight to rest-and-digest.***

By human nature, in many situations (especially in today’s society) we live consistently in the flight or fight state. Continuous worry, stress and living in this state can tire you, drain your body and create serious troubles with sleep, digestion and energy levels.

2. It improves your relationships.

You don’t need a partner yoga session to improve your relationship with yoga… yoga can still improve your relationships (romantic or not) because yoga helps you to create peace of mind as well as helping you to relax. …

Yoga releases endorphins and gives us the proper tools to deal with the daily frustrations and stress in life, so that we can focus on getting through them in a way that benefits, rather than hinders, our relationships.

How much better is your mindset when your relationships are thriving versus struggling?

“Only when we deepen our appreciation of ourselves, and what we have to offer, can we begin to truly appreciate and truly support and love another. When you begin a relationship with someone it is the relationship with yourself that continues to deepen as you learn to share your space with a partner.” –Ravi Singh, world-renowned yoga instructor

3. It creates discipline

In your journey with yoga, discipline will be undeniably present.

Not only is yoga a practice you must stay committed to in order to grow, you must also be disciplined and patient as you improve your craft and learn the numerous poses, styles and sequences. In addition, you will be challenged as you work towards your personal goals – your muscles might shake, your body will feel nudged outside it’s comfort zone, and you will gently and lovingly push yourself to improve your practice as you grow.

4. It improves focus

Yoga is great for so many things, but one of the most underappreciated but overwhelmingly helpful benefits of yoga is the way it helps to improve your focus. Yoga is one of the best teachers of focus. In order to be truly present and get the most out of your practice, you must close out all distractions and outside thoughts to focus on allowing your body to work the poses and feel the depth of them to get the most out of each practice.

5. It is a relaxing break – for your mind and body!

While perfecting the perfect pigeon post may feel more stressful than relaxing, in order to truly excel in your practice you have to learn to relax your mind and body.

When you relax, you release the daily stressors and any negativity and anxiety that has built up over the day… and of course it helps to quite your mind.

Next time you attend a class or practice yoga, observe how you feel at the beginning versus how you feel at the end of the practice: paying special attention to your mind and the way your mindset changes. Did you know that yoga can change your mindset?