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The Benefits of Yoga for Mental Wellness

Yoga is known to be a wellness technique for mind, body, and spirit. Psychotherapist & Kundalini Yoga Instructor, Sara Pitcher outlines some of the physical and emotional benefits of yoga to help inspire your commitment to your self-care.
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photo 1512291313931 d4291048e7b6Yoga is known to be a wellness technique for mind, body, and spirit.

For beginners and veterans of a yoga practice alike the full range of benefits can often go unknown until one is able to experience it and recognize it. Some of the benefits are also subtle and shift over time and can go unnoticed. There are many types of yoga practices including Hatha, Vinyasa, Restorative, Kundalini, Meditation, and Yin. Some practices may be a stronger benefit in one area and another practice more beneficial in another. This article serves the purpose of providing benefits that can be found in all yoga practices and can help to develop an overall increased feeling of health and wellness.

Let’s discuss the physical body first.

In the beginning it is often a goal of yoga participation to become more flexible and perhaps gain muscle tone/lose fat. This is a great start but there are many more physical health benefits gained from yoga than just flexibility and muscle tone. Here are some:

  • Increased flexibility: by holding yoga poses, which are known as asanas, the body is able to gently stretch muscles
  • Increased muscle strength: sometimes yoga requires us to get physical! This can be from a specific pose or a series of movements which activate the use of muscle tissue
  • Protects your spine: whether you sit in an office for work or are physically straining your back, yoga helps to keep the spine aligned and spinal fluid moving. When the spine is flexible and aligned the rest of the skeletal system has a better chance of fully functioning.
  • Drains your lymphs and strengthens immune system: by moving your muscles and organs the drainage of lymph increases. Lymph is a fluid dense in immune cells that helps to fight infection, cancerous cells, and rids the body of toxic waste products. This also helps to detoxify the liver, lungs, and kidneys.
  • Adrenal Gland Regulation: yoga helps to lower cortisol levels which are released in response to acute crisis. If cortisol levels remain elevated they can begin to compromise the immune system, affect memory; increases likelihood of depression, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar levels. Lowering cortisol levels also helps with stress eating and weight gain.
  • Increased health habits: yoga tunes you into self-awareness allowing you to recognize what sort of habits are overall healthier for your body.
  • Release tension in stress spots and decreased pain: when you take time to scan your body for tension/tightness common areas are the shoulders, neck, lower back. Others may hold tension in their lower arms from clenching their fists, others in their thighs. Regardless of the location, yoga helps to release the physical tension you may hold onto in your body.
  • Deeper and more consistent sleep: this could be considered an emotional benefit as well as the better we sleep the better we also feel. However, yoga promotes consistent sleep patterns by becoming more present without all of the extra thoughts we tend to have at night. With the body in an increasingly more relaxed state the mind is also able to follow.
Yoga also has powerful benefits on the soothing emotions and improving overall mental wellness.

These benefits are directly connected with the physical benefits which supports the notion that a healthier body houses a healthier mind, and vice-versa. Here are some of the benefits that yoga has on mental wellness:

  • Balances the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. This is not to decrease sympathetic stimulation but to increase parasympathetic response resulting in an improvement of the body’s ability to rest & digest.
  • Increases mood, reduces stress, and decreases anxiety: mood-altering hormones are able to be released during your practice. Yoga is an opportunity to sit with yourself in the present moment without judgement or labeling. By being able to commit time for yourself, with the healing techniques of practice, the stressors of life become less trivial. The entire physical and nervous systems are invited to relax and release stressors in the mind and body.
  • Increased self-awareness: yoga allows you to check in with your body and your emotions without a label. By being more in-tune with mind and body you are able to become more aware of things that serve you, increase habits of wellness, and increase self-esteem through self-commitment.
  • Increased focus: yoga has a commitment of remaining present as best as one can which often requires focus to stay present with the breathe and movement within the moment. Distractions will happen naturally but the focus is to come back to the moment and remain focused on what is happening in class. This begins to noticeably trickle to life outside of the studio.
  • Encourages self-care: THIS. Discovering the importance of self-care might be one of the overall most powerful benefits of yoga. Through practice your physical and emotional systems naturally understand what is needed for you to continue your journey of wellness. By practicing acts of self-care it is encouraging and noting self-love.

These are simply summaries of some of the highlights of the benefits of yoga. There are many more and the specific benefits to the body, mind, and spirit are astounding. Finding the right practice for you may take trial and error with a few different styles and practices. Once you have found the right space for you it will be your time to begin to enjoy the sense of commitment to yourself and the wonderful benefits that yoga may provide.

At Nourish Your Mind, we offer individual yoga therapy sessions, group classes with therapeutic benefits, and holistic integration into individual sessions. Interested in learning more? Call or text us at (845) 547-0479 or visit NourishYourMind.com/Appointment

Sara Pitcher, MS, MHC

Clinical Psychotherapist & Kundalini Yoga Instructor

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BIO

Cameryn (Cam) received her Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marist College. Prior to joining Nourish Your Mind, she worked in private practice, primarily serving children, teens, and their families. During this time, she developed a passion for helping clients navigate their unique challenges through the transformative power of play and expressive arts therapy. Cam believes that every individual deserves a safe, nurturing space where they can authentically express themselves. She is dedicated to empowering her clients by identifying and utilizing their inherent strengths to help them achieve their personal goals.

In her therapeutic approach, Cam integrates a holistic wellness model with strengths- and mindfulness-based methods. She employs a variety of evidence-based techniques, including DBT and Nondirective Play Therapy, and she recognizes the importance of tailoring interventions to meet the specific needs of each individual and family.

When she’s not in the office, Cam enjoys reading, traveling, weight-lifting, and immersing herself in music and films. She also values spending quality time with friends, family, and her cats.

  • Licensed Mental Health Counselor
  • Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling, Marist College
  • Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, SUNY Geneseo
  • Member of the American Counseling Association (ACA)
  • Middletown Office
BIO

Brianna earned her Bachelor of Social Work degree from Siena College and her Master of Social Work degree from Adelphi University. Throughout her education and early career, she worked with at-risk adolescents experiencing trauma and maladaptive coping as both a clinician and crisis interventionist. She later spent several years in emergency services, specializing in trauma-informed care for adolescents and adults. Brianna has extensive experience working with individuals struggling with trauma, anxiety, depression, mood dysregulation, self-esteem, and relationship challenges.

Brianna takes a strength-based, integrative approach to therapy, empowering clients to discover their own path toward healing and self-acceptance. She believes that while we cannot change the past, we can change our relationship with it. She is passionate about helping clients develop effective coping skills, reconnect with their inner resilience, and build lives that extend beyond surviving trauma.

Brianna believes healing is not only a journey of the mind, but a whole-body experience. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200) and thoughtfully incorporates mind-body practices into therapy to support nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and emotional awareness. She is also certified in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), an evidence-based trauma treatment that helps clients process distressing experiences, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), offering a holistic approach for individuals seeking deeper healing from trauma, depression, anxiety, and other emotional challenges. By integrating traditional psychotherapy with somatic approaches and specialized trauma treatments, Brianna helps clients create lasting, meaningful change.

Above all, Brianna is dedicated to creating a safe, compassionate, and authentic therapeutic environment where clients feel seen, supported, and empowered to reconnect with their truest selves.

Brianna resides in Orange County with her two rescue huskies. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, spending time in nature, painting, practicing yoga, and cooking while surrounded by music, friends, and family.

  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker, State of New York
  • Master’s of Social Work, Adelphi University
  • Master’s of Social Work, Adelphi University RYT-200
  • Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) Certified, Journey Clinical
  • Accelerated Resolution Therapy Trained, Rosenzweig Center for Rapid Recovery
  • Middletown Office
BIO

Ashley received her Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling from SUNY New Paltz. While attending her graduate program, Ashley worked as a supervisor at a Crisis Intervention Program and interned at an Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program, gaining valuable skills in crisis management and group therapy. Before joining Nourish Counseling, she spent several years working in a long-term outpatient care clinic specializing in children, adolescents and their families. Ashley has expertise in partnering with those suffering from depression, anxiety, trauma, family conflict, and personality disorders.

Ashley believes that each client is their own expert. She provides an integrative approach that focuses on both the thoughts and behaviors her clients may be struggling with in order to help them find balance and build resiliency. She works with clients in a person-centered and skill building approach to help determine and reach their own individual goals. Following a Dialectical Behavioral and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approach, she encourages and supports clients to reach their full potential.

Ashley lives in Middletown, NY with her husband and a very loved dog. She enjoys family time, cooking, and trying new things whenever possible.

  • American Counseling Association
  • Middletown Office
BIO

Amanda is a Certified Clinicial Trauma Professional with a deep commitment to guiding clients through their healing and discovery. She believes that you are the expert of your own life, and she is dedicated to building a safe, collaborative space where you feel both validated and motivated for change. 

Amanda specializes in treating those with Complex Trauma, Grief and Loss, Anxiety and Depression, Chronic Illness, Infertility, Infant/Pregnancy Loss, Women’s Health and Neurodivergent Disorders. She works with individuals aged 5 and up. 

Amanda’s unique, holistic approach to psychothreapy is rooted in evidence-based practices and tailored to fit your specific clinical needs. She seamlessly integrates practices like mindfulness and meditation with powerful theraputic modalities, including Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing, and Internal Family Systems Therapy. 

After gaining experience in Baltimore – including intensive work in Residential Foster Care and as a Medical Social Worker – Amanda has been settled back in her home, the Hudson Valley. She enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her husband and two young daughters. She has journeyed with cleints for nearly 5 years at Nourish and is now ready to partner with you!

  • Cornwall Office
  • Middletown Office