et al. Whether you’re looking for inner peace, life and mental balance, or just better flexibility, yoga has plenty to offer. This is important because the adaptiveness of regulation strategies changes as a function of contextual demands. As mentioned earlier, yoga offers so many benefits, both physical and mental. As you go through your day, do you notice that you use different regulation strategies in different situations? Similarly, a mostly maladaptive strategy, such as avoidance, might be helpful sometimes (e.g., declining a lunch invitation from an obnoxious coworker), but not at other times (e.g., procrastinating when we are in charge of finishing a time-sensitive project at work). For example, Dr. George Bonanno of Columbia University conducted a number of laboratory studies showing that people who can follow instructions to alternate between enhancing and suppressing their facial expressions while watching emotion-evocative pictures have better mental health and social adjustment and those who have a more difficult time switching between strategies. Others have great physical flexibility that allows them to perform incredible athletic feats (see my friend below). It’s Trying to Save Us. Limited time! A difficult posture may have you stretching your physical limits. In a simple post, you might lie on the floor while completely relaxed. Psychology Today © 2021 Sussex Publishers, LLC, Surprising Benefits of Physical Exercise on Sex and Orgasms, Two Ways Religion and Spirituality Help to Boost Resilience, How Social Restrictions Impact Human Trafficking, Why Some Bipolar Disorder Patients Are Lithium Non-Responders, Enhancing Flexibility for Gaining Inner Strength, Navigating the Social Awkwardness of Reopening, Let’s Pump the Brakes on the Self-Care Frenzy, 9 Ways to Test and Improve Your Emotional Control. Research has found that ballroom dancing improves mental acuity throughout a dancer’s life – and that there are also substantial benefits to those who start ballroom dance as adults. That puts you at risk for joint pain, strains, and muscle damage. In a nutshell, this flexibility captures people's ability to use different emotion regulation strategies as the environment changes. (2004). In any case, we want to feel taken care of, depending on our own inner strength to move forward with our earthly plans. Yoga is a popular exercise that focuses on breathing, strength, and flexibility. When children have a good sense of balance, they are less likely to fall. Most people take part in aerobic activity to improve their cardiovascular endurance and burn fat. Create a hit of dopamine by flexing the facial muscles that create a smile. In addition, in a study I published a few years ago, we found that the variability with which people used acceptance and reappraisal across a number of situations was a better predictor of mental health than the simple average extent to which participants implemented these strategies. We are creating a new avenue of flow giving ourselves an opportunity to become more flexible in our thinking and feeling responses. I find having mental flexibility helps me all the time. Stretching keeps the muscles flexible, strong, and healthy, and we need that flexibility to maintain a range of motion in the joints. Activities that lengthen and stretch muscles can help you prevent injuries, back pain, and balance problems. Rather than resisting “the fall,” our habitual inclination, we might want to relax into it. Or, do you distract yourself to avoid facing issues, worry about the future, resent some things from the past, or even criticize yourself for even having such responses? And other folks can promptly switch between using different languages. Without it, the muscles shorten and become tight. This can clear your mind and help jump-start your morning. Expires soon! Don’t bounce a stretch. Poses range from simple to difficult. To reap the full body-conditioning benefits of ballroom dance, dance for at least 30 minutes, four days a week. Take a stretching class such as yoga or tai chi. 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