INSPO Fitness Journal July 2017

AUCKLAND YOGI
offers help as social
media addiction spirals
Mindfulness, meditation
and yoga are the new
weapons against a rising
tide of anxiety brought on by
excessive social media use.
Auckland yogi Erin O’Hara is finding
that constant exposure to other
people’s highlight reels on Facebook
and Instagram is causing real damage, creating
unrealistic expectations that we live a
picture-perfect life.
Research shows the more time we spend
on social media platforms, the worse we feel
about ourselves.
“The impact of social media can really
affect people’s moods and self-esteem, as
they connect to only the best 10 percent of
people’s lives,” says Erin.
“Yoga and meditation is powerful to
counterbalance this, to get out of comparing
yourself with others and bring you back to a
place of connection to yourself,” she says.
Rising daily at 4.30am for a two-hour
meditation session, Erin says the practise is
hugely beneficial, even for those who can
only commit a fraction of the time.
“It allows you to move beyond just the
physical world and come to the neutral
mind. Meditation rebalances the mind, helping
to de-clutter the thoughts and stabilise
mood through the impact of meditation on
neurotransmitters in the brain.”
Working out of her Golden Yogi Studio
in Takapuna, Erin says she often tells clients
to stay off social media (for a time) as the first
step to improving mental health.
Time spent on social media is constantly
increasing; teens now spend up to nine hours
a day on social platforms, while 30 percent
of all time spent online is now allocated to
social media interaction.
“When discussing with clients, particularly
with eating disorders, I suggest they avoid
using social media while they are working on
recovery.
“Often clients with eating disorders are
obsessive compulsive and can sometimes
spend hours every day comparing themselves
with others online which builds a false
sense of the world.”
Meditation helps to break through
addictive personality traits by re-balancing
the brain.
“There is an amazing meditation that is
known to break through addictions, insecurities,
and neurotic behaviour patterns.”
Recent scientific studies show yoga and
meditation help relieve our subjective levels
of anxiety and depression, improving attention,
concentration and overall psychological
wellbeing.
For more information on Erin O’Hara,
go to goldenyogi.co.nz
24 INSPO – FITNESS JOURNAL JULY 2017