Positive Psychology for Yoga Practice – Self-Knowledge
Embedding the essential components of positive psychology principles into your Yoga practice will greatly enhance the beneficial aspects…
Embedding the essential components of positive psychology principles into your Yoga practice will greatly enhance the beneficial aspects…
Truly eliminating the effects of loss may never be possible. In these cases, it is still possible to greatly improve the outlook and disposition of a person in grief. Whatever the ultimate result, applying yoga training to real life situations is a constructive means of dealing with traumatic events.
Yoga poses that open up the heart area help to cultivate a deep sense of compassion for others and us. Practicing a brief period of meditation focused on compassion after practicing Yoga asanas that stimulate and open the heart region will help to solidify this awareness. In the past few years, researchers have been able to pinpoint the beneficial consequences of nurturing compassionate thoughts through magnetic resonance imaging devices of the brain.
Yoga poses that help us to release this negativity will help to support our ability to forgive ourselves and others. Depending on our individual temperaments, we may hold anger, grief and loss in different areas of our bodies. Often, sadness and grief are evident in a collapsed chest cavity.
To summarize, the Yogic approach to managing depression is to take the energetic view. We can reduce depressive states and gather the strength and willpower to embark on the next phase – that of examining and resolving the underlying causes of the depression
Hold Modified Standing Forward Fold for 3 to 5 complete breaths. When you have completed your final breath in the posture, release the clasp of your hands and bring your fingers back down beside your feet on your Yoga mat. With your next inhale, release the clasp of your hands, stand up and raise your arms overhead with your hands in Prayer Position. With your next exhale, bring your hands back down in front of your Heart Chakra and pause for a moment to enjoy the expansive pulsation of energy throughout your entire heart area.
In 2008, The Washington Post reported that the cost of PTSD and depression caused by combat stress in recent wars could run as high as $6 million in two years. Yoga for post traumatic stress disorder not only has the potential to eliminate many of the symptoms of PTSD; but it, also, shows promise in offering sufferers a future filled with peace and joy.