Effectiveness of Yoga Interventions on Psychological Well- being: Exploration of Yoga Studies on Mental Health

Abstract

Psychological well-being generally refers to the healthy functioning of mind in relation to emotions or feelings. Emotion is considered as any mental experience with high intensity and depth. Happiness, as an important marker of emotional well-being, is described as an emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from inner contentment to intense joy. Similarly, the satisfaction with life, as another strong indicator of psychological well-being, is one's own evaluation of life as a whole, rather than the feelings and emotions that are experienced in some specific moments. Psychological well-being was found to be associated with many spiritual factors. In ancient times, yoga was spiritually practiced for self-investigation, however people are giving more attention to mental and physical aspects of yoga in recent years. Yoga practices generally include physical postures, breathing practices, relaxation techniques, meditation techniques, chanting etc. Yoga improves physiological function, emotional state, sleep quality, and quality of life. Yoga practices were found to be effective techniques for improving overall health and psychological well-being. Yoga may improve psychological well-being via down-regulation of the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal axis. The objective of this review is to understand the impact of various yoga-based interventions on psychological well being in human subjects.