Helen Bishop, local yoga teacher, tells us about the benefits of yoga for mental health

We know how much our body and mind are linked. Ever had butterflies in your tummy when you are nervous or felt tight chested and found it hard to breathe when you feel anxious? Yoga allows us to create union with our mind and body. When you move, breathe and stretch in a simple, gentle yoga practice you can release and let go of not only tightness but also some of the tension we can hold in our bodies when we become chronically stressed. It’s not a quick fix or a life hack but overtime with a simple practice, being with yourself on your yoga mat (without judgement) can become a refuge. I have been a yoga practitioner for 25 years and been teaching for 15 years, my practice has helped me through when life has knocked me to my knees.

Here are some simple practices that I do and have supported me in tough times:

Belly breathing – Lie on your back, knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, relax your belly and gently place your hands on it. Observe the flow of your breath, in and out. Once your breath has found its rhythm see if you can allow your belly to expand as you breath in and gently contract as you breath out. Stay doing this for 5 or 10 minutes.

Childs pose to Cat/Cow – Come into Childs pose, sitting back on your heels with your chest towards your legs and arms reaching forwards with your hands on the floor. Rise to an all-fours position and then slowly move between rounding your spine (like a Halloween cat) to gently dipping it and encouraging chest forward. Repeat this slowly, rounding and dipping of the spine (it doesn’t have to be a big movement ) and notice as you practice if your breath falls into rhythm with the movement. The practice of the body and breath moving together is soothing for our nervous system, which can help us move from the Fight and Flight response to the Rest and Digest phase, this enables the body and mind to relax.

Welcoming in the light – This is great to do outside, weather permitting or facing a window. Stand facing the sun/light, bring your hands palm to palm at the centre of your chest. As you begin to take your next inhale release your hands down and circle them around until they meet palm to palm above your head. When you exhale, slowly bring them down towards the centre of your chest where they began. As you repeat this imagine you are breathing in the light from the sun into your body and filling it with energy. As you breathe out visualise anything you need to release or let go. Repeat as many times as you wish.

Going to a new yoga class can be daunting, especially if you are feeling low but a good yoga teacher will welcome all their new students and encourage you to go at your own pace and listen to your body. Alternatively, there are many free resources online to guide you through a simple and gentle practice. Please remember if something doesn’t feel good don’t do it. Yoga can become a joy and a release, there’s no such thing as “bad at yoga”. Yoga for everyone.

With thanks to Helen Bishop, Yoga teacher based in Tunbridge Wells