When it comes to treating addiction, there are many methods these days, all carefully tailored to suit each individual’s needs and what will serve them best when it comes to recovery.
As part of that recovery process, mind-body practices are becoming more and more popular and a key part not just of rehabilitation treatment, but a practice that is instrumental in ensuring people stay clean and don’t relapse when leaving treatment.
The benefits are plain to see when it comes to the likes of yoga, it’s proven to decrease stress and anxiety, as well as improving overall wellbeing. However, there’s more to it than that and the science has shown that yoga can trigger almost an immediate response and help quell any cravings. According to a study from Harvard Medical School just 20 minutes of yoga over an eight-week period will show significant changes in gene expression to improve both mood and anxiety levels.
Comparing that to people who instead walked during that period, the improvements were drastic, improving:
- Focus and awareness: For recovering addicts, yoga is fantastic at ensuring they remain focused and mentally strong. Yoga training really emphasises the importance of thoughts and feelings and the awareness of those to make clear and well thought out decisions.
- Reduces cravings: A large reason as to why many addicts in recovery take up yoga is the fact that it can help reduce cravings. Yoga can help build a calmer state of mind as well as increase levels of dopamine, which can also lead to a drop in cravings for the substance in which a person is addicted to, where that usual pleasure would be found.
- Helps develop self control: Yoga stimulates the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that is responsible for self-control, again aiding in making clearer and better decisions.
By adding yoga to your routine, whether you suffer from addiction or not, just 20 minutes can have a significant effect on your mental state and wellbeing, drawing a calmer and stable you to make clearer decisions and aid in beating any cravings that may start to come your way.
It’s a small time out of someone’s day, but can have a huge impact on everyday life. Something to consider? The scientists certainly think so…
