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How Yoga Changes Your Brain
Ever wondered how yoga changes your brain? It turns out that the happiness that you feel after the session does not arise only in your head. Using brain scanners, scientists can now prove that yoga really changes the chemistry of your brain. And this is good. Like practicing tai chi movements, using yoga as a form of exercise and meditation can help naturally treat several health problems, especially those rooted in the brain and related to memory. techgeeksblogger
How yoga changes your brain
While natural therapies, including yoga, do not have much
funding for significant research in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, we are
beginning to see the emergence of compelling science. Some of the best
scientific studies to date showing how yoga changes your brain include the
effects of yoga on anxiety, depression, and pain tolerance.
Yoga releases GABA
Did you know that yoga is a natural remedy for anxiety? This
is because yoga affects the levels of GABA in our brain. GABA is an
abbreviation for gamma-aminobutyric acid, sometimes referred to as
your body's "relaxing" neurotransmitter. GABA is critical to
suppressing neuronal activity. Your neurotransmitters GABA have a calming
effect similar to drinking alcohol (no harmful side effects). And, of course,
alcohol's calming effects are temporary, and anxiety often increases as the
high dies down.
Yoga increases your brain's natural production of GABA
without using traditional anti-anxiety medications designed to help your
body release GABA. (Stopping these benzodiazepine drugs can lead to severe
withdrawal symptoms.) Yoga sounds much healthier than insomnia, seizures, and,
ironically, more anxiety about drug withdrawal.
Bring asanas! While weight loss walking does work, it may
not be the best defense against anxiety. Yoga practice releases more calming
GABA into the brain thalamus than walking, according to a 2010 study published
in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Compared to an hour
of pleasant reading, 60 minutes of yoga increases GABA levels by 27%. Through breathing, meditation, and movement, yoga may be one of the best
exercises for dealing with anxiety.
How Yoga Changes Your Brain -
Yoga strengthens the gray matter in the brain.
According to the National Institutes of Health, yoga can prevent or reverse the effect of chronic pain on
the brain. In fact, in people
who are depressed, the gray matter in the brain can decrease due to chronic
pain.
Gray matter is found in the cerebral cortex and subcortical
regions of intelligence. Decreased gray matter can lead to memory
impairments, emotional problems, poor pain tolerance, and decreased cognitive
function.
But yogas and meditation have the opposite effect on intelligence,
like chronic pain. And you get this: People who practice yoga regularly have
higher levels of gray matter in the brain in areas involved in pain modulation.
This means that yoga can be an effective remedy for certain types of depression
and one of the best natural pain relievers you can count on.
Related: Could Reducing Brain Activity Increase Life Span?
Final thoughts on how yoga is changing your brain
Yoga may be the most basic form of exercise for dealing
with anxiety, with its unique breathing, meditation, and stretching exercises in
one practice. While there are many different forms of yoga, I recommend that
you start with gentle yoga and experiment to find the type that works best for
you.
Medical research tells us that yoga miraculously changes
your brain. These include filling the brain with calming GABA and swelling of
gray matter in areas of the brain that allow us to tolerate pain. This is very
important for those living with chronic pain. Too many doctors prescribe pain
relievers too quickly. Try yoga instead. Your brain will be grateful to you.
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