Top 7 Yoga Poses for Bipolar Disorder

Since decades yoga has been a non-medical remedy for a number of ailments. The spiritual healing one achieves from yoga cannot be achieved through medicines. It connects the mind, body, and soul helping you to develop harmony between them.

Bipolar disorder also known as the manic-depression is a condition that will result in changes in your mood and the overall ability of a body to perform. A person suffering from bipolar disorder has mood swings; period of happiness and at other times, hopelessness.

Yoga is the right healing therapy for this disorder as it reduces stress which itself triggers the irrational behavior in bipolar disorder. It helps you maintain the shifts in the mood by keeping in control your mental and physical state of mind.

There are particular yoga poses that help you think positively and centralizes your energy reducing stress.

Eagle Pose

This pose is named after the bird Garuda, which is well-known for its ability to fight off demons. Most importantly, for bipolar patients, it helps to improve the concentration and sense of balance improving their overall well-being.

For this pose you have to stand straight and start off by interlacing one leg over the other in a way that you are standing on a single limb, squeezing them together. Your ribs should be pulled in with a long flat belly. Now do the same with your arms in front of your head. This pose helps you to balance yourself and channelizes your energy.

Wide Angle Seat

Sit down with your legs stretched out in front of you. Spread them wide, both at 45-degree angle from the ground. Now bend your back and extend your arms towards your toes and hold your big toes with your arm so that you feel a slight pull in your back. This helps you practice sitting and standing poses. Hold this pose for a minute or two as it helps to bring peace to your mind.

Extended Child Pose

This pose relieves you of the tension, stress, and anger. It supports your abdomen by helping your knees embrace your chest with you facing down. This pose intensely stretches your body and keeps your blood pressure in control preventing mood swings and sudden outburst of emotions.

Lotus Position

This is the pose Gautam Buddha is said to have achieved his peace of mind and light from. It relaxes the mind, calms it down and surrounds you with positive energy all day. This lotus position in yoga applies pressure to the spine and slows down muscular tension which in turn relaxes your body helping you maintain physical and mental balance.

Bridge Pose

This pose tones your muscles and induces a calming effect for the brain by reducing stress, anxiety, and irritability. This will help people with bipolar disorder to maintain a stable state of mood.

Lie down flat on your back and bend your knees. Raise all of your body by keeping your feet hands and head grounded to the floor. Rise till you don’t feel a pull or stretch in your abdomen or chest. Hold the pose for 30 seconds and repeat several times.

Hand Headstand

If you notice, this yoga poses just the opposite of your natural standing position. It allows blood flow to your head, your spine, and neck. This flow of blood everywhere gives you clarity of mind and helps you function by curing depression. Use your hands and place them on your floor and with the support of your hands stand to lift your entire body and place your head down while you slowly straighten your legs up in the air.

Dolphin Pose

This poses if seen from the side looks like an inverted V. it not only stretches shoulder and spine but also reduces stress and depression. This pose is most helpful for insomnia and fatigue.

To practice this pose, get into plank position but push your hip up and into the air with the hands and feet staying on the ground for your support. 10 seconds into the pose, pull your navel towards your spine. You can let your hand above your head and clasp them together over your head.

Yoga is meditation and helps you control your thoughts, emotions through coordinated body movements. It helps you gather yourself together and centralizes your energies so you are in total control of your emotions and feeling, which is very much needed for people suffering from the bipolar disorder.