Your mood does not have to ruin your day. You can do some yoga poses to improve your mood. With regular yoga practice, you can rejuvenate your mind and body, making you an overall calmer and happier person. There are actually specific feel good yoga poses you can try and you can watch them below!
Freya writes in the comments:
Thank you for this. I need it a lot🥰🧘🏼♀️🌷💕
The first yoga pose you can do to boost your mood is the mountain pose. The mountain pose increases the awareness between your mind and your body. You do this pose first standing up with your feet close together. Bring your arms over your head and do this for up to two minutes.
Next is the butterfly pose. It is a grounding pose and you do it while sitting. You flap your legs like the wings of a butterfly thus the name. This pose helps create a safe, calm space to clear the mind of negative thoughts. It also nourishes the hips where a lot of our emotional baggage is stored.
The Other Yoga Poses For Better Mood
The third yoga pose is the shoulder stand. This posture improves your circulation, which can enhance brain function to help keep your mind sharp, focused, and boosted.
Another yoga pose you can try for boosting your mood is the child’s pose. This is a calming pose because it helps alleviate stress and anxiety.
Lastly, you can try the downward facing dog. This is the position where you have your palms and feet on the ground and your buttocks are raised towards the skies. This is like an inverted “V” position. This flushes out the lymph nodes, which in turn calms your nervous system and relieves stress.
How Does Yoga Improve Your Mood?
Yoga has been shown to boost mood by increasing levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter responsible for regulating nerve activity. When GABA levels are low, we experience negative emotions. Yoga exercises boost these levels, letting us release negative feelings and replace them with positive ones. This process also helps us sleep better and reduces stress.
Yoga practitioners are known to experience fewer instances of depression and anxiety and higher feelings of gratitude. These feelings improve their self-esteem and foster compassion towards others. Yoga’s effects on mood have been demonstrated by countless scientific studies.
Moreover, daily yoga practice significantly increases serotonin levels and reduces the level of stress-induced cortisol. One study showed that yoga significantly reduced anxiety and depression in participants.
This is because the practice triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, which is known as the “rest and digest” system. When this process is activated, our brains signal that we are safe and happy, which triggers a euphoric feeling.
One of the most common ways yoga improves your mood is through its effect on breathing. Many yoga classes include breathing exercises. By focusing on breath, you engage the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps us feel calm and relaxed.
This practice also increases the level of neurotransmitters in our brains, which act as messengers within the body. Practicing sattva yoga, or yoga in its purest form, can also boost our mood.
