After the physical and mental benefits, let’s focus on the Emotional Benefits:
Yoga is the gift that keeps giving and our emotional bodies don’t fall short to soaking up the rewards this practice offers. Due to the way the postures balance hormone levels and put nerves at ease, the emotional benefits that are received are truly life changing. Similar to how the physical body and brain communicate and connect, it’s no surprise here that our emotional bodies are also linked.
Think of it like a gateway. Accessing our physical sensations and our mental activity is a gateway to our emotional bodies and ultimately to getting to know ourselves better. It shows us where we we feel pain or grief and where our joy and ecstasy is hanging out.
The physical body is truly incredible!
We may not have memory of all that has happened through out our lives, but our bodies remember everything and I mean, EVERYTHING. Giving yourself the gift of being with physical sensations and watching the mind will bring with it, access into the emotional body.
The emotional body is a way into trauma that we may have experienced in our lives as well as emotions like pain, anger, sadness, joy, happiness and bliss. Being with the emotion, especially if it is uncomfortable, is enough to let it move through the physiology, freeing the body up. A healthy emotional body is mature, which requires spending time with yourself in these emotions and developing a relationship with the emotions.
More often than not, we are carrying a lot of unprocessed emotions from childhood…taking the time to parent your inner child and allow space to feel the emotions will lead to a more developed you. Emotions that are stagnate or get stuck in the body manifest as toxins in the physical body.
The more you allow yourself to BE with the sensations in every posture and allow yourself to go deeper into the emotion, you’ll find you feel lighter…happier! Some postures may bring up fear, anger, frustration and pride while others may bring up contentment, ecstasy, courage and bliss.
Regardless of the emotion and whether you deem it as bad or good, the emotion doesn’t care it just wants to be acknowledged, felt and experienced. The more this is practiced, the emotions begin to stable themselves leading to a more balanced way of being.
Some of the rewards the emotional body experiences through Yoga, Include, but are not limited to
- Counteracts depression
- Stabilizes moods
- A healthier and more mature stand point
- Improves relationship to self and others
- Alleviates stress and anxiety
It also depends on the types of yoga you choose, some may be more suited to your personality.