Yoga for Happiness: An Overview

by Sandy

A few years ago, I began writing about how my dual passions for yoga and positive psychology (also known variously as the science of happiness and the science of well-being) connect with one another. In my first piece on this topic Yoga & Positive Psychology Part 1 , I talked about why yoga has always been a happiness practice for me. In the years since I wrote that, there has been even more research on the benefits for emotional well-being of both movement and mindfulness.

Yoga, when practiced skillfully, combines both of these. I’ve even heard it said that yoga is the art of paying attention. Certainly practicing yoga can at least help you cultivate the ability to be present with your moment-to-moment experience. When practiced with attention, Hatha Yoga can be as much a mindfulness practice as a physical one, and cultivating mindfulness has been shown to boost our emotional well-being. Studies show that it can help us develop a sense of equanimity by reducing mental rumination, anxiety, stress and reactivity. (See What are the benefits of mindfulness for more information.)

Beyond that, yoga practitioners often discover that different asanas tend to have particular effects, both physiological and emotional, which can elevate our well-being in various ways. (As I’ve written before, I don’t believe that physical and mental health are separate. Rather, our bodies and minds are fully integrated and running on a continuous feedback loop, so our physiology and emotions work together.) Different types of practices might help us feel calmer, creating a sense of ease and acceptance, or increase our energy and even help us tap into our own inner joy, a joy that is not dependent on external circumstances. While there is already a lot written about the effects of certain types of poses on our energy and state of mind, in the end, how specific poses affect us is pretty individual—it’s about exploring and discovering what works for you. That’s one of the reasons that developing a personal yoga practice, rather than only going to classes, can be such a rich and beneficial experience: you can gradually learn to tailor it to your own needs on any given day.

In my new series of Yoga for Happiness, I’ll be sharing some of the practices I’ve found have worked well for me in addressing a variety of needs and circumstances, such as practicing for energy or to unwind at the end of the workday. In positive psychology, we would call these positive interventions—intentional practices to help increase well-being. Having these sequences in my personal toolkit has given me the ability to feel some control over my own emotional state and my responses to what comes up in life that I can’t control. I hope they’ll be helpful for you too. And while the specific practice sequences I offer may not be an exact fit for you, they might spark your own experimentation and sense of discovery on the mat, and even help you come up your own Yoga for Happiness practices.

 

 

For information about Sandy’s classes, writing, and positive psychology journey see www.sandyblaine.com.

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