How Yoga Transformed My Physical and Mental Health

I once read that women store pain in their hips. There actually have been studies that have proved that when your body goes into fight or flight response, the psoas muscle responds by tightening. The psoas muscle is located in the lower region of the spine and extends toward the pelvis towards the femur. People who suffer from trauma can store these emotions in their hips which leads to pain and tension.

Your emotions are connected to your body. Your body reacts to the emotions you feel. If you truly listen to your body, you can feel differences when you are sad, happy, stressed, etc. I have always felt very connected to my gut and hips. This is where I feel most of my pain.

After going to a yoga class years ago with my mom, I found that it was helping me control this pain. After a while I realized this pain was actually linked to my mental health. I was starting to realize that my stress and anxiety were becoming more manageable the more I did yoga.

The different poses and the meaning behind each pose meant a lot to me. Hearing teachers talk about what each pose was meant to do and engaging in daily affirmations helped put me in a better head space.

Yoga tuned me into my body’s needs. I learned how to sit in silence and truly listen to it. Your body can communicate with you in many ways. This room was a way for me to connect with my body and ignore the outside world. All that mattered was what was inside that room in the present. These classes helped me to live more in the present and stop worrying about things outside of my control. In turn, my anxiety decreased. And my pain. 

This daily hour of yoga allows me to be grounded, in both mind and body. While I love journaling to get my emotions out, being able to sit and not think about anything for a little bit has helped me immensely.

Your mind and your body are connected. It’s important to take care of both so they can take care of you. While yoga is not an end-all-be-all cure for my physical and emotional pain, it has been an outlet for me to take care of my body and mind while healing past emotions.

By: Sydney Karlos