How Yoga and Meditation Can Help You Take Control of Negative Emotions

Yoga and meditation are forms of mindfulness that allow you to both focus on and let go of emotions. The benefits of doing yoga and regularly meditating are astounding, and many people turn to these practices to deal with negative emotions. There are several ways this approach can help you to manage your feelings.

Anger

Anger is a normal feeling that shouldn't cause you to feel shame. However, if you feel like you have a problem getting control of your anger once you're triggered, then yoga and meditation can help. They can help you learn to respond to situations instead of just reacting. Both practices focus on being in the now. You'll stop replaying past events or worrying about what might be waiting in the future. By focusing on your breath, you can get your brain more oxygen and settle your body and mind. This helps to alleviate anger and leaves you able to think more clearly about why you're so upset. Controlling your emotions can help prevent road rage, lashing out at someone as well as other outbursts of anger. It's beneficial to learn how to control your anger so that your response doesn't hurt other people. It also helps you to live a healthier, happier life.

Sadness

Yoga and meditation don't require you to repress your emotions. In fact, they can help you to deal with them in a constructive way. You may find yourself crying during a yoga practice because you feel able to release your emotions. This can actually help you to deal with whatever is making you sad. Instead of avoiding them, you're facing your feelings head on and finding a way to work through them. Meditation also allows you to handle grief without being consumed by it. You're encouraged to use your senses to notice the world around you and to ground yourself when you meditate. This helps you to see your sadness without falling so deep into the emotion that you feel incapable of escape.

Anxiety

Anxiety is hard to deal with and can manifest itself differently in people. Fortunately, meditation can help get you out of your stressed thought patterns and relieve the anxious feelings you're having. Meditation pulls you away from overthinking and asks you to focus on the now. Your "now" doesn't have to be perfect for meditation to relieve your anxiety. Simply slowing down your thoughts and letting yourself handle what's right in front of you can alleviate anxiety. The deep breaths you take in both mediation and yoga give you something to focus on besides the thoughts that are racing through your mind. These practices can short circuit your monkey mind and allow you to become aware of your thoughts and how they're affecting your body.

Meditation and yoga offer proven benefits to your mental and physical health. Take control of facing your feelings and working through them constructively by embracing these two practices. Doing this will help you to not only take control of your life but also to feel better in general.