YOGA FOR DEPRESSION

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"Sadness is like the flow of water.  Our tears can cleanse us, emptying out old, held-in pain.  On the other hand, when sadness continues too long, that watery flow of cleansing emotion can harden like ice into depression," writes Amy Weintraub in her book, "Yoga for Depression" A Compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering Through Yoga.  

For a depressed person, exercise is intolerable.  Doing only three poses a day can breathe new light and life into a depressed person's mood. 

The practice of yoga can help melt that hardened ice. Weintraub urges to start small with gentle stretching in the bed,
doing a section of a DVD or video, then working up to a few poses a day.  When you're ready for a class, start with a restorative class, and look for classes geared toward depression and anxiety.  Shannon Page Schneider, owner of Om Time Yoga Centers and a teacher/trainer/blogger, says that yogic communities can fill a space of loneliness. "Community creates a cultural pattern of connection that helps significantly with depression, "she says.  "There is the lesson that one is not alone when one shows up to yoga."

• Yoga works to alleviate depression by increasing brain chemicals that contribute to the feel – good hormones; endorphins, enkephalins, and serotonins. 

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• Yoga reduces cortisol (the stress hormone that makes you gain weight in your abdomen) levels, increases oxygen, and reduces muscle stiffness and tension.

• When practicing yoga, GABA, the neurotransmitter that protects us from depression and anxiety is raised; resulting in a calmer and quieter mind.

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• Yoga postures incorporates breathing exercises that expands the lungs, decompresses areas of tension, and releases dammed - up emotions; creating a freer space within the body and mind 

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• When you practice yoga, you practice self-love, self-acceptance, and self-awareness. 

SOURCES:

www.yogafordepression.com

www.americanyogaassociation.org

www.life.gaiam.com

DISCLAIMER

The Blog, Black and Blue is not a substitute for direct, personal, professional mental medical care and diagnosis. None of the advice, or natural therapies and supplements mentioned should be used without clearance from your physician or mental health care provider. The information contained within this blog is not intended to provide specific physical or mental health advice, or any other advice whatsoever, for any individual or company and should not be relied upon in that regard. I am not a licensed mental health therapist and nothing on this website should be misconstrued to mean otherwise.

20 Signs That You Might Be Depressed

1. You are always too busy - never have or take the time to give yourself the care you need.
2. You are running from something; something is eating at you.
3. You keep things that bother you locked up inside, festering . You're are afraid to speak about disappointment, hurt, fears; you are afraid to express anger. You hold on to grudges for way too long.
4. You can't ask people for what you need.
5. You lie about everything, even simple things.
6. You can't wait to get home to eat - something, anything- and lots of it. It's the only thing that soothes you.
7. You just don't have energy to do anything  - you have to force yourself to do everything.
8. Everything is so hard that you're sleeping a lot. It's damn near impossible to get up. You are afraid to get up.
9. You can't seem to concentrate - on any one thing.
10. You are steadily gaining weight.
11. You are not doing work that brings you joy; you are just working a gig and holding out for the paycheck.
12. You haven't been touched in months or years; you haven't gotten any (yeah, I said it!)in who knows how long; hell you haven't even had a massage!
13. You have a persistent, gnawing feeling that something is wrong.  And you're right!
14. People are talking - you know this because their lips are moving- but you have no idea what they are saying. You aren't even there.
15. You used to care a lot about what you wore; now you just wear anything that fits.
16. You stay a home a little too often.  You call in sick at least once a month.
17. You think this is the end of your rope-there's no way you can face another day.
18. You wonder if you're having a nervous breakdown.
19. You cry a lot and without warning.
20. Every morning you wake up with crippling anxiety, terrified to get out of bed and face the world.

Excerpt from "Black Pain" It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting by Terrie M. Williams

Poverty and Depression

•We often live from paycheck to paycheck which leads to anxiety, stress, guilt, and feelings of helplessness. Being poor can wear us out. Working two or three jobs can cause exhaustion, irritability, anger, and feelings of hopelessness. Hidden poverty is also living beyond our means. Some of us drive nice cars, wear designer clothes, and pay rent or mortgages on luxurious apartments and homes we can't afford, which can lead to - being harassed by creditors, having our cars repossessed, being evicted from our apartments and or losing our homes. Which can lead to depression.

Prayer for Depression

Dear God,

I feel such pain, anxiety and depression.

I know this is not Your will for me, and yet my mind is held in chains by fear and paranoia.

I surrender my life, right now to You.

Take the entire mess, all of it, now too complicated to explain to anyone but known by You in each detail.

Do what I cannot do.

Lift me up.

Give me a new chance.

Show me a new light.

Make me a new person.

Dear God,

This depression frightens me.

Dear God,

Please bring me peace.

Amen

Marianne Williamson from "Illuminata"

Naturally

I inadvertently went off anti-depressants a couple of years ago. I was in between health insurances – waiting for the new one to kick in– when I started tapering my meds to make them last. Soon I realized that I wasn't having the usual effects I experience when I don’t take the meds as prescribed – the electric zaps one can feel in their head. Even though I had an appointment to see my shrink and get a new prescription, I didn't keep it. I decided that I was going off of the Zoloft and Wellbutrin I was on.

I had been off and on meds since the late 1980’s. First Prozac - which was popular in the late 80’s – then Celexa, Effexor, Zoloft and Wellbutrin - each at different times. Finding the right medication is akin to finding the right therapist. It takes time, patience, and tenacity. It was the beginning of a new year and a new job for me - so it seemed appropriate.

I also decided to clean out the toxins from the meds by drinking Aloe Vera juice; which I believe, also assisted in helping me lose weight. I started eating healthier; stopped drinking soda, ate more veggies and fruits, cut my juices with mineral water, and cut way back on sugar and starches.

I put on my Walkman and walked for an hour every night. The bloat and weight from the years of medication and overeating started to melt away. My cholesterol numbers dropped down to normal and so did my blood pressure. I started looking like the old Carmen again.

But, I also started feeling emotions that had been buried deep underneath the medications that kept me aloft, stable, and emotionless. I experienced joy and sadness. I could cry over any little thing; which was welcome since the meds seemed to dry up my emotions and tears.

But, about six months into my newness, I started feeling anxious. I woke up with my stomach in knots and nausea. Doom and gloom plagued my thoughts of the present and future. What the hell was this? It was anxiety! The depression had dissipated, but now I was dealing with anxiety, I had forgotten that I was also taking medication for. But, I was determined to do it naturally.

I have always been a proponent of using herbal remedies, having read the Bible of herbology “Back to Eden” some forty years ago. Twenty years ago, I wasn't so sure that herbal remedies would have helped me, when I started on Prozac. There are tinctures, teas, tablets, and capsules filled with singular or combinations of herbs to help depression and anxiety. Certain vitamins can lesson stress and anxiety.

Exercise, yoga, meditation also can alleviate the stressors that contribute to depression, and can boost that much needed serotonin –the feel good hormone that contributes to emotional well being. Two years later, I’m still Prozac free. And I’m doing it naturally. I will discuss what I’m doing in the next few blogs.