Exercise and Mental Health.

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Participating in regular exercise has many beneficial effects for our general well-being. Partaking in exercise not only makes us healthier and fitter individuals, it also has positive effects on our mental health and our general state of positivity. Much has been said of the physical benefits of exercise, and it seems that it is on this that the focus of most information on exercise rests. Exercise plays an extremely vital role on a person’s general state of mental well-being also. Exercise can help to stimulate the areas of our brain that aren’t as responsive when we are feeling depressed.  It also promotes the release of feel-good chemicals into our brains, which can take the focus away from our worries and also has the ability to improve our confidence.

Regular exercise-goers have long known of the ‘high’ associated with exercise - that feeling of satisfaction of having completed a session at the gym and the riding of the wave of  contentedness that follows. This particular feeling is called a ‘runner’s high’, which can be a bit misleading because running is just one form of exercise where this feeling is prevalent. Weight-training, aerobic activity or any form of prolonged physical activity is where these mental health benefits can be found. The point is not the type of exercise that you are doing, but whether you are doing it! Research findings on exercise have found that 20-40 minutes of aerobic activity are all it takes to see improvements in our state of anxiety and our mood levels. Furthermore, it has been found that the psychological benefits of prolonged exercise programmes are comparable to gains found in forms of psychotherapy.

This ‘high’ is actually the culmination of a complex chemical process occurring in your brain. What is actually occurring is the release of a chemical messenger called Endorphins. Endorphins are a type of neurotransmitter which help relieve pain and stress. Endorphins are only one type of neurotransmitter that is released when we exercise. Exercise also stimulates the release of the chemical messengers such as dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. All of these chemical messengers play a part in regulating our moods, and are commonly known as 'feel-good' chemicals.

The roles of these chemical messengers are all fairly similar, with the main role of them being to mediate pleasure in the brain. They are released during pleasurable situations and cause us to actively seek out these type of situations. This could be why exercise-goers make it a regular part of their day or week, because on a sub-conscious level they are actually wanting to find this ‘high’ again. One of the major mood-enhancing chemical messengers in the brain is Serotonin. Regular exercise positively impacts the serotonin levels in our brain, raising serotonin levels boosts our mood and our sense of well-being. If these weren’t enough to get you exercising, serotonin also plays a part in improving our appetite and our sleep-cycles. This means no over-eating or insomnia!

Depression is a big problem in our country and it affects many people. This mood disorder can cause persistent feelings of apathy, lethargy and sadness. It can be attributed to our brain chemistry as to why we feel this way, so it stands to reason that if we positively and naturally alter our brain chemistry, we can lessen or even eradicate our state of depression.  Exercise can help relieve these symptoms of depression by the release of these particular neurotransmitters. If you think you have depression or any mental health problems, speak to you doctor first, but you can take proactive steps to reclaiming your own physical and mental well-being through regular exercise.

Yours in health,                                               ,

Ben.

References:

http://www.healthline.com/health/depression/exercise#2

http://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00007256-199009060-00001

The many forms of Yoga.

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The word Yoga can conjure up many different images in a persons mind. Yoga, as the majority of people know it in the West is a series of postures that lead to enhanced flexibility and peace of mind. Yoga is much more than this. Yoga is an all encompassing science which trains the mind, the body and the spirit. The word Yoga itself literally translates as 'union'. It comes from the root word 'yug', which means 'to unite'. With these definitions in mind, it gives us an idea of what the purpose of yoga is, and that is to join with something. What is that something though, and more importantly, how is that achieved? Well, yoga is a personal journey and many people begin the practice for myriad reasons.

Some begin a yoga practice to simply increase their flexibility so they can make their bodies a little more supple for the demands of everyday life and increase their health. Whilst others have a more lofty reason for practicing yoga, and that is to attain a certain peace of mind which leads to union with a higher consciousness. Yes, I said a higher consciousness, Some might call this higher consciousness God, some might call it Source, or for others Yoga is a journey of self-discovery where the ultimate aim is to understand ourselves and our human frailty. Regardless of any terms which are used, or methods which are employed, yoga is a journey of self-discovery, which in itself leads to a form of enlightenment.

Within the science of yoga, there are eight limbs, and these 'limbs' are the different branches of yoga. Each limb on the tree of yoga is a different practice that ultimately leads to knowledge of self and an increased awareness of our place in the universe. The first limb is that of Yama, and this refers to the ethical standards by which we lead our life, our integrity, and our everyday behaviours. The second limb is Niyama which is our self-discipline and spiritual observances. There are also practices for Asanas or the physical postures, Dharana or concentration practices, Pranayama, which are certain breathing practices, Dhyana which is the meditation practices, Pratyahara, which is the withdrawal of our senses which can lead to a kind of transcendence, and finally Samadhi, which is the state of ecstasy that is reached when enlightenment is attained.

One, some, or all of these practices can be adhered to, as they are all beneficial in their own way, although when all of these are practiced, they follow on from the previous practice to lend to the next and therefore increase the practitioners overall self-awareness.
The importance and beauty of yoga is that it is an overall science, and it is considered to be such as it benefits the practitioners life in myriad ways. It was Patanjali (circa 400 BCE -200AD) who compiled the yoga sutras (the sutras were books containing these ancient practices), and he did so systematically, so when the yoga system is followed as a whole system, it will eventually lead to a form of enlightenment- whether that be an enlightenment of self, or a merging with the universal consciousness,

Yoga leads to overall health which is inclusive of the mind, body and the spirit. There is nothing which the science of yoga cannot give you.

Yours in health,

Ben.









References:

http://www.yogajournal.com/article/beginners/the-roots-of-yoga/
http://www.swamij.com/yoga-sutras-patanjali.htm
http://www.yogajournal.com/article/beginners/the-eight-limbs/