Therapeutic yoga is an evidence-based practice that reduces anxiety, lowers stress hormones, and rebuilds the mind-body connection that mental health and addiction challenges can erode. That is why it is a core part of our wellness curriculum here at Sylvia Brafman. Continue reading to learn about yoga and its application in mental health and addiction treatment, or reach out to our patient advocates to learn about how we integrate yoga in our programs.
Yoga is an ancient practice rooted in Indian philosophy at least 3,000 years old. From the root word “yuj” in Sanskrit, Yoga means unity or “to unite.” Ancient Hindu texts mention yoga as a practice to control the body and, thereby, the mind, and this is part of the union which is being referred to. The unity between mind and body and man’s harmony with his fellows, nature, and all of creation. For our purposes, yoga is a handy tool for healing.
The benefits of yoga have been thoroughly researched and well documented. As an evidence-based therapeutic activity, it is part of The Sylvia Brafman Mental Health Center’s wellness-centered curriculum. At its core, yoga consists of exercises and positions for stretching and strengthening the body, improving circulation and muscle tone, and even stimulating the production of hormones and endorphins. There is much more to yoga than simply the exercises, but we will focus on the physical aspects of our program.
Yoga has long been recognized as beneficial to physical health, but it has also been shown to improve mental health and contribute to a sense of balance and well-being. It delivers a combination of benefits that perhaps no other single exercise can. It fits wonderfully into a mental health treatment environment because it provides gentle but effective exercise accessible to almost anyone of any age or level of physical ability. More than that, it is calming and centering, which is especially helpful to people receiving treatment for mental health or substance use disorders.
Therapeutic yoga has been shown to reduce anxiety, one of the most common symptoms faced by people with either mental health or substance use disorders. The breathing exercises in therapeutic yoga, such as pranayama, have clear benefits for relaxation. Yoga philosophy teaches that the body’s physical age is tied to the spine’s flexibility, and scientific evidence supports this notion. Yoga is as safe and low-impact as it gets, but it can also be strenuous enough to be all the exercise a person needs. A look at the physique of any serious, long-time yoga practitioner will tell you that before you even have had a chance to review the stacks of empirical data on the subject.
Yoga has been shown to lower blood pressure and stress hormones like cortisol and even increase GABA levels naturally, contributing to calm and well-being. The American Psychological Association has recognized it as a sound, evidence-based practice. Practicing yoga outside of a treatment setting is often a communal classroom activity that offers opportunities to meet other wellness-minded individuals to help build a healthy social circle. As a hobby or devotion, yoga seems uniquely suited to people focused on healing the body or the mind (or both). There’s no wonder why it is so heartily recommended by doctors and therapists across the country and around the world.
Another benefit of therapeutic yoga is that it is helpful in pain management. A 2020 report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality evaluated ten studies of therapeutic yoga for back pain (involving 1,520 total participants) and found that yoga reduced pain and function in both the short-term (1 to 6 months) and intermediate-term (6 to 12 months).
The effects of therapeutic yoga were similar to those of exercise. Therapeutic yoga has also reduced chronic or episodic headaches, neck pain, and even osteoarthritis. Not only do the health benefits help reduce inflammation and chronic pain, but reducing chronic pain provides obvious benefits to mental health.
