Activities based on yoga techniques in psychiatric treatment in Poland in a historical context

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the use of methods related to yoga for mental health protection and treatment of psychiatric disorders. The article is dominated by a historical perspective. It covers the achievements of the precursors of the use of yoga techniques in health promotion and treatment. Contemporary biomedical analyses confirm the health-promoting function of yoga but make much less reference to aspects related to spirituality and its importance for mental health. Due to the growing awareness of the impact of lifestyle, stress reduction and the importance of moderate physical effort on health, relaxation-motor techniques can complement therapies used in many psychiatric disorders. Analyzed historical articles confirm the positive influence of exercises based on yoga techniques on mental health. Research on the influence of yoga on the human psyche needs to be deepened, none of the presented analyses showed negative side effects of supplementing standard therapies with exercises based on different forms of yoga. To investigate the aim of the research, a historical-comparative method and discourse analysis were used. A review of the content related to the history of yoga in Poland was carried out in the context of applying exercises based on yoga technique in psychiatry. In subsequent stages of the work, the obtained content was embedded in the medical, cultural and historical context and a critical analysis was made.