Do you ever feel like you are losing focus or having trouble thinking clearly? If so, it may be the result of stress and burnout, and these factors can contribute to the condition often referred to as brain fog. This mental fuzziness can be frustrating, especially when your focus needs to be on your life, work, and family.
The good news is that you can remedy this issue by staying active and practicing yoga. Today, we will talk a bit about the reality of brain fog and how you can use yoga to clear your mind and get back to life as you know it.
What Is Brain Fog?
Although brain fog is not really a medical term, it is also typically referred to as mental fatigue. The symptoms associated with this condition can include trouble concentrating, short-term memory loss, difficulty solving problems, and potential behavior and mood changes. Basically, you don’t feel like yourself, and it can be harder to do the things that are easier when life is going well, and you are less stressed.
While we will talk about the benefits of yoga, you first need to look inside and determine why you are filled with anxiety and fix that aspect of your life so you can get back to normal. Sometimes it is work, money, a family issue, or it could be external factors that affect us all, like the economy or disturbing news stories. You can alleviate a lot of that stress by talking to friends and family or journaling your frustrations at night, so you can get restful sleep and wake up feeling refreshed.
You can also feel better by improving your overall view of life. Think about the good things that you have and take every chance you get to stop and smile. In fact, smiling can help your mental and physical well-being. Health professionals have found that when you grin and laugh, your mood can improve almost immediately. Smiling can even ease your pain when you get an injection, and doing so can even lower your blood pressure. So, when you are doing your favorite yoga pose, put a big smile on your face.
How Yoga Can Help
There are many reasons why medication and yoga can help to alleviate brain fog. For starters, yoga is a form of exercise, and regular activity can improve your cognitive abilities and help you to fight off illnesses as you get older. Exercise can help to keep your blood pressure in check, which helps reduce the loss of brain matter. Elevated blood pressure can also increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Needless to say, it is important to take care of your body and mind now or that brain fog could evolve into something more drastic down the line.
Yoga, in particular, is instrumental in fighting brain fog because it helps us to focus on our individual awareness, and it gives us a peaceful environment where we can think about our problems and find a solution. Some experts believe that the act of going upside down in a downward dog or headstand can help to clear the fog in our minds. You’ll also improve your balance at the same time.
When you attend a yoga class, you may also get a chance to work on your mindful breath work, which is sometimes referred to as Pranayama. The point of these breathing exercises is to connect your body and mind, and by focusing on your breathing, you could feel a decrease in your stress levels, your mindfulness, and even the quality of your sleep, which is essential for a clear head in the morning.
The point is that you are spending time focusing on yourself, and when you make yourself the priority, then you can get through anything.
Poses To Try For Brain Fog
You may not realize it but there are actually several specific yoga poses that can aid in eliminating brain fog. For instance, many experts recommend the sphinx pose, where you lengthen your legs to strengthen your core and keep your head raised as you focus on a certain point on the wall. This exercise can be helpful because it helps to sharpen your mind and release the tension in your body. Best of all, it is an easier exercise for experts and beginners alike.
Another pose is shoulder stand, where you lie on your back and then inhale as you raise both legs together using your core and rest your weight on your shoulders and upper back. This particular exercise harkens back to the advice from earlier about being upside down to achieve better focus. Plus, this move is great for enhancing your concentration, and it improves the blood flow to your head and brain, so you may be able to think through some of your problems.
Other poses to consider include the thunderbolt, reclining hero, and big toe pose, which are also all known for their stress-relieving benefits.
As you can see, yoga can be incredibly helpful for fighting brain fog and clearing your mind so you can focus on the things that matter. Consider this advice and the poses mentioned above, and you could start feeling better sooner than you think.
By Katie Brenneman