There are many connections between your mental well-being and your physical health. One of the most easily recognizable connections is exercise. When we exercise, we get a boost of neurotransmitters that improve our mood and help boost physical function.
However, there are several other mind-body practices that can be incorporated into your daily routine to help you with your mental health.
What are Mind-Body Practices for Mental Health?
There are several types of mind-body practices for mental health, which range from practices that can be done a few days per week to activities that you can do for just a few minutes every day. These include:
- Meditation
- Relaxation techniques
- Qigong
- Mindfulness
- Yoga
- Guided imagery
- Tai chi
- Breathwork
- Hypnosis
- Acupuncture
Benefits of Mind-Body Practices for Mental Health
The benefits of mind-body approaches toward mental health are truly incredible.
Relaxation Techniques
Scientific literature has reviewed mind-body approaches toward stress management, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. Studies have found that relaxation techniques can help manage many stress-related conditions, including anxiety and PTSD.
Evidence suggests that using relaxation techniques can reduce symptoms of PTSD, provide a non-pharmaceutical form of management for anxiety disorders, and reduce occupational stress, particularly in healthcare professionals.
Mindfulness
A great deal of research has focused on the use of meditation to reduce anxiety, depression, insomnia, and blood pressure.
Studies have found that mindfulness-based meditation has lasting and positive effects on depression. Similar studies have found that mindfulness meditation programs can improve anxiety disorders and workplace stress.
Meditation
Meditation has been shown to help people with insomnia improve their sleep quality and, by extension, improve their mood. It also helps reduce blood pressure and resting cortisol levels.
Tai Chi
Tai Chi and Qigong are both considered forms of moving meditation whereby you benefit from the same elements of meditation while also practicing fluid movements. Studies have found that tai chi can improve balance.
Yoga
Yoga helps boost mental and emotional health, reduce depressive symptoms, control cortisol levels, improve sleep quality, boost physical balance, and help with pain management.
In fact, several studies have explored the use of yoga among people with no background or history in any type of yoga practice and found that yoga can improve mental health as well as sleep quality and depressive symptoms.
There exists a great deal of research examining the relationship between yoga, Tai chi, qigong, depression, anxiety, and stress. Biofeedback studies have found that these types of relaxation techniques, as well as physical exercise, can reduce heart rate, improve muscle relaxation, and reduce symptoms of anxiety or depression, all of which provide lasting change.
Professional Help with Mind-Body Practices
If you are looking for ways to incorporate new mind-body practices into your routine, Sequoia Recovery Centers can help. At our drug and alcohol detox center in Spokane, WA, we employ several trained professionals and qualified instructors to teach different mind-body practices like yoga or Tai chi.
Working with our professionals prioritizes your safety by ensuring everything you do is done in a safe manner with concern given to any circumstances or medical conditions that might affect your overall well-being.
Our clients benefit from several forms of holistic care that fall under the umbrella of mind-body practices. At our inpatient and outpatient rehab in Spokane, we provide personalized addiction treatment in Washington that incorporates the techniques that might prove most useful given your circumstances.
Mind-body practices can be a highly effective way to manage your mental health, especially when dealing with symptoms of depression or anxiety. Mindfulness, Tai chi, qigong, yoga, meditation, and relaxation techniques are just some of the many options out there that provide complementary and integrative health options.
Call Sequoia Recovery Centers today to learn more about the mind-body practices we provide.
