Saturday, 26 January 2013

Stand Up For Mental Health Campaign


Our staff at Richmond Hill Psychology Center is delighted to support "Stand Up for Mental Health" campaign by HealthyPlace.com American Mental Health Channel. The goal of this campaign is to eliminate the stigma of mental disorder and let people know that open talk about mental health is beneficial for everyone. Having a mental illness is not somebody's choice, and people shouldn't be discriminated for being ill. We hope that eliminating the stigma (incl. self-stigma) will cause patients to seek therapy sooner than later and this will greatly improve their chances of recovery.

Monday, 14 January 2013

Psychological Benefits of Yoga and Meditation

I have been practicing Yoga and meditation for many years, so I decided to write this short article to influence my readers...
 Yoga was born in India over 5000 years ago. The goal of Yoga is to harmonize and bring a sense of union to your spirit , mind , and body. This ancient practice combines postures with breathing techniques and meditation. Yoga is known to restore energy, health, balance, and life attitude. It is considered to be the most powerful  overall health and well-being system ever invented. Unlike other forms of exercises that solely focus on developing and strengthening the body, Yoga comes with valuable benefits for calming and organizing your mind. 

Practicing Yoga on a regular basis helps to boost self-confidence. Yoga energizes your mind, and makes you more confident and determined, so that you are ready to deal with any challenges of life. It helps to attain the sense of worth and confidence to follow your dreams and goals with great conviction.

Doing Yoga asanas on a routine basis enhances brain wave coherence that further helps to improve brain functions, such as memory, cognitive and intellect. It creates new neural pathways and reduces dysfunctional thinking and depressive attitude. Yoga has a great impact on several hormones within the body. It reduces stress by lowering the stress-related hormones (cortisol) in the body. It tunes your body and mind for greater efficiency and performance. It also increases the levels of serotonin in the body, which further helps in increasing happiness and emotional stability. 

Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses. This helps you to quiet your mind, so that you can focus your energy wherever you want. It brings a state of mental calmness and joy where you feel satisfaction with your life. Those who practice yoga and meditation have decreased irritability, moodiness, crankiness and feelings of depression. With less stress and anxiety and more confidence, you feel more energetic and rejuvenated, which in turn enhances your efficiency. 

The ancient practice of meditation is an integral part of Yoga. To meditate is to become acutely aware of what’s going on within your mind. Meditation is all about controlling or taming your mind so that you can focus all your energy wherever you want. Meditating on a regular basis helps you to stay centered or focused no matter what the circumstances or situation is. Hence, it is a great way to learn how to accept the challenges of the life and maintain peace and integrity even during the most difficult times. Yoga and meditation increases the self-awareness and self-realization, where you communicate with your inner feelings and focus on your positive energy and inner-self. It helps you discover the positive aspects with your True Self so that you become well aware of your strengths as well as weaknesses and limitations and are ready to accept them. It helps you to realize what you really want or desire even at sub conscious level.

When practiced regularly, yoga meditation can become a powerful and sophisticated discipline for achieving physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

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