Yoga is an amalgam of several different practices, which include physical postures (Asanas), respiratory exercises (Pranayama), and meditation (Dhyana).
Yoga is exclusive amongst traditional Eastern healing arts in that it includes each physical movement and contemplative procedures. It also involves focusing or directing one’s attention. One advantage of this all-encompassing practice is that yoga can aid in emotion regulation.
What’s Emotion Regulation?
The American Psychological Association defines emotion regulation as “the flexibility of a person to modulate an emotion or set of emotions”.
Angela Wilson, LMHC, RYT-500, Kripalu faculty member, explains emotion regulation as “the flexibility to administer one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in such a way as to take care of adherence to 1’s overall life goals and intentions”.
7 Ways Yoga Can Help Regulate Emotions:
1. Release Tension
Yoga is an awesome practice to alleviate stress and tension through movement or stillness. The practice of yoga can bring up intense emotions on the mat and even bring light to your stress points, no matter what your practice entails.
This transformative practice can offer you invaluable knowledge about the way you hold tension in your body when you’re in motion or settled into stillness.
The practice of yoga involves being in the current moment. We experience firsthand where tension may show up physically, mentally, or emotionally on the mat.
When you develop into mindful of what surfaces for you on the mat, you’ll be able to begin to note and have a tendency where chances are you’ll experience tension outside of your yoga practice.
Do that YA Class restorative practice restorative practice to aid you move inward and deeply loosen up. Make note of what surfaces for you!
2. Find Your Breath
Breathwork (Pranayama) teaches us to give attention to something aside from emotions. By specializing in the breath and breath patterns, we not only shift our focus, but develop into more mindful and present within the moment.
The breath is a strong tool that enables going inside self while slowing the nervous system, creating a relaxing effect within the body to help in emotion regulation.
Take a look at this excellent YA Class on Breath Awareness that’s helpful for anyone brand recent to respiratory techniques or seasoned Pranayama practitioners.
3. Practice Acceptance
Noticing emotions that come up in your yoga practice and acknowledging them without judgment can aid you come to just accept them. In her many works, Tara Brach introduces this idea as Radical Acceptance.
In practicing acceptance of what’s, we come to know that we may not necessarily must act out the emotions and thoughts we experience (react); we only need to look at them and let go of attaching any meaning or story to them (respond).
4. Develop Perspective
Yoga teaches us to take the great with the bad and practice acceptance of what’s. Once we develop awareness around how our perspective is formed by emotions, it is feasible to are inclined to the underlying issues and develop a special perspective.
Emotion regulation is “the flexibility of a person to modulate an emotion or set of emotions.”
It’s vital to notice emotions are a part of the human experience. How we are inclined to ourselves while experiencing these emotions is essential to understanding and managing them.
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5. Move Your Body!
Yoga teaches us that by engaging our body through movement (Asana), we regulate emotions by increasing serotonin levels, thus making a sense of peace inside ourselves.
In a single study, physical and mental health advantages of yoga or physical exertion were compared. They found yoga could also be as effective or higher than physical exertion!
Selecting to interact in movement routinely, whether yoga or other types of physical activities, has proven to have a plethora of advantages. This may be especially vital on this digital age where many are in sedentary jobs or in distant work.
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6. Learn Mindful Communication
Emotions can affect how we communicate with others. If we aren’t mindful of emotions we experience, it might probably result in using words or nonverbal communication unconsciously or impulsively.
Mindful communication allows your words and actions to be clear. It requires you to tune in, using the sensible mind, somewhat than sharing only from considering facts and logic (reasonable mind) or from pure emotion (emotion mind).
The late Psychologist, Dr. Marsha Linehan, created Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), considered one of the widely used treatment models for emotion regulation clinicians.
7. Practice Loving-Kindness
Through our yoga practice, we learn to treat ourselves with loving-kindness. The Loving-Kindness meditation encourages sending like to self, others, and the Universe.
One review notes “loving-kindness, also often known as metta (in Pali), is derived from Buddhism and refers to a mental state of unselfish and unconditional kindness to all beings.”
Yoga Helps Us Connect and Regulate Emotions
In conclusion, yoga helps regulate emotions in various ways. Yoga is a synergistic practice of breath, mind and body.
When combined with the moral teachings of the yamas and niyamas as taught by Patanjali’s eight-limbed path, yoga is greater than practicing physical postures, but a whole-body experience.
Yoga brings us back to our center wholly to work through difficult emotions somewhat than allow them to eat us.
Did any of those ways resonate with you? Or higher yet, how does yoga aid you regulate emotions? Please share with us within the comments below – we love hearing from you!
0——0—————January 6, 2023