Though you may not be able to go on a yoga retreat or spiritual vacation as often as you'd like, it is important that you try to maintain physical fitness while mentally decompressing as often as possible. In that regard, Dahn Yoga exercises may be without peer.
Consider that at least 16 million Americans practice some form of yoga, according to data recently released by the Yoga Journal. The fact that so many people turn to a holistic mind-body practice for exercise and anxiety relief indicates that there may really be something to it.
Alternative therapist and spiritual guru Deepak Chopra argued as much in a column recently published by the Huffington Post.
Chopra noted that yoga helps people on several planes, the most basic of which is the physical level of being. He said that studies have connected the practices of meditation, stretching, deep breathing, tai chi and qigong to benefits ranging from lower blood pressure and improved circulation, to reductions in cholesterol levels.
Likewise, yoga may improve health and wellness on the mental plane as well. Numerous scientific investigations have suggested that regularly engaging in yoga and meditation can reduce stress, depression or anxiety, especially when combined with traditional therapeutic practices.
Such relief is much needed in today's fast-paced, stressful existence. Anxiety alone affects a large portion of the U.S. population. Nearly 29 percent of American adults will suffer from an anxiety disorder during their lifetimes, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Likewise, 16.5 percent of adults will have a major depressive disorder over the course of their lives, the agency adds.
Such figures indicate that Americans must take effective measures to reduce the stress and anxiety that weigh on their minds. Taking a few moments each day to calmly and deeply breathe and to practice low-impact yoga may help melt the tension away.
