 |
Yoga in the heart of the city |
|
Yoga for Depression
By Marie Ishida (YA 500 Teacher Training Course Case Study 2008)
WHAT IS DEPRESSION?
When you are having trouble sleeping,
eating, concentrating, making decisions, feel down, have
a lack of motivation, crying spells or fast heartbeats,
you may suffer from depression or anxiety.
These symptoms are very common and almost all people have
experienced them at least once. This means depression and
anxiety are common diseases that you can overcome simply.
If, however, you miss an awareness of these signals (the
above symptoms) from your body or mind, it could lead to
a more serious condition.
Depression and anxiety is increasing worldwide, and unfortunately
depression appears to be getting younger too. By WHO (World
Health Organization) statistics "Depression is affecting
about 121million people worldwide. It is becoming more prevalent
with the background of our society - terrorism, wars, rising
prices etc…"
The current global financial crisis is thought to be a cause
of an increase in the suicide rate in the United State,
as more people succumb to depression from economic worries.
Depression and Anxiety disorders are not the same, although they seem very similar. Depression generates emotions such as hopelessness, despair and very low energy levels. Anxiety disorders are from experiences of fear, panic or anxiety in situations that most people wouldn't feel anxious or threatened. The person suffering may experience sudden panic or anxiety attacks without any recognized trigger, therefore they live with a constant worry or anxiousness about the attacks themselves. Without treatment, such disorders can restrict ability to work, maintain relationships or even leave the house.
CAUSES OF DEPRESSION:
Biological factors
Chemicals in the brain (*Serotonin,
Noradrenalin and Dopamine), are essential messengers which
are called neurotransmitters and help to regulate mood,
concentration, memory, sleep and appetite.
*Serotonin;
Boost your sense of well-being,
self-esteem, calm and security.
Noradrenalin and Dopamine;
Gives you strength, vitality and
a sense of power.
Internal and external factors
Internal:
Genetic predisposition
* Traumatic events (e.g. Losing loved one, past bad experiences)
* Personality * Medical conditions including hormonal disorders
* Medications/Drugs.
External:
* Lifestyle factors (E.g. stress,
lost job, illness, lack of nutrition, sleep and exercise)
Personality characteristics factors
An individual tends to get depressed
who…
experiences high levels of anxiety,
is a "worrier" or is irritable * is shy or reserved * is
self-critical or has low self-worth * is hypersensitive
* is a perfectionist * has a self focused style.
YOGIC APPROACH FOR DEPRESSION:
Asana practice
Aim:
* Get muscle strength and keep your body and posture alignment.
* Get a stable mind and mood elevator.
* Get awareness of your body.
Inversion poses
Benefits:
*Gaining strength of postural muscles to help keeping alignment.
*Stimulating blood flow into the brain which leads to increased
serotoninproduction.
* Rejuvenating the body and mind.
* Shoulderstand(Salamva Sarvangasana)/ Headstand(Sirsasana)/
Legs up the wall Pose (Viparita Karanni).
Extension poses
Back Bendings
Benefits:
* Improving circulation and stimulating the nervous system.
* Lifts your spirits and helps clam, agitated or nervous
energy.
* Generating an overall feeling of elation and well-being.
Easy asana practice for Depression
 |
 |
|
Mountain Pose with Arms overhead (Tadasana)
Downward Facing Dog Pose |
Standing forward bend |
Easy cross legs |
 |
Bridge Pose ( Setu
Bandhasana) Modification: This modification helps relieve anxiety and high blood pressure and can benefit suffering from depression or nervous exhaustion. If you feel tired it is still back a bending pose. |
 |
Reclining Bound Angle
Pose (Supta Badha Konasana) This pose can help relieve stress, clear your mind and calm nerves. Improves respiration and circulation, helps ease repression and quiets an anxious mind. |
 |
Shavasana (Corpse
Pose) This is a wonderful pose to develop and keep your internal focus. It helps you relax completely. Key point; Close your eyes and let everything relax. You have nowhere to go, nothing to strive for and nothing to worry about |
Meditation
practice
Aim:
* Calm your mind.
* Observe your mind and accept your reactions.
* Face to yourself, truth and recognize an oncoming bout
of depression.
For depressed people, meditation helps them to recognize
an oncoming bout of depression and they can then organize
their life and accommodate it. Many people are still unclear
why they feel down and stuck in the dark hall. Meditation
tells you what distracts you, and you realize that you can
manage your life. This is one of the ways to reduce symptoms
of depression.
Breathing
technique
Aim:
* Allows you to control your breath.
* Brings an awareness of your breath.
* Develops a calm mind.
Scientists have studied the effects of relaxation and deep
breathing on the body and have found that a person can consciously
alter functions once thought to be autonomic (unconscious),
including heart rate, digestion and even cellular function.
Patricia Walden in the book "The Woman's Book of Yoga &
Health" says that deep and healing inhalations lift your
sprits and long slow exhalations soothe your nerves. The
book also said that conscious breath links the body, mind
and spirit together. Obviously, relaxed and conscious breathing
gives us a feeling of safety and a positive outlook on life.
Yoga
philosophy
Aim:
* Learn from Ptanajali Sutra and use for self-understanding.
* Find the ways that toward better life
Patanjali describes four pathological states that accompany
these obstacles:
* Suffering
* Depression
* Anxiety
* Unsteady breath
It can be managed and even ameliorated with the following
Eight Limbed Path (Ashta-anga):
* Yama (Restraint)
* Niyama (Observance)
* Asana (Posture)
* Pranayama (Breath control)
* Pratyahara (Withdraw of the senses)
* Dharana (Concentration)
* Dhyana (Meditation)
* Samadhi (Cosmic consciousness)
If you keep doing regular yoga practice, you would gradually lean Eight Limbs through own practice even we don't know much Sanskrit words. Just being on the mat and doing practice regularly then you will realize one day practice is fantastic, strong body, steady breathing and good concentration but one day the practice is not good and can't concentrate because of busy mind or tired and so on. This awareness and process is yoga. Yoga practice teaches us these philosophy naturally and keeps our body and mind health and strong. Yoga practice also leads us toward a better person and helps cool judgments and calm attitude.
Food/Lifestyle
Aim:
* Pay attention to your body.
* Eat the right meal and get a good mood and healthy mind.
The food that you eat could be affecting you mood and mind.
Vitamin Bs, Omega 3 fats, Tryptophan and Protein can help
to increase serotonin, which means they can work the same
as antidepressants and thankfully we can take these from
our diet.
Tryptophan is one of the amino acids and serotonin is made
from tryptophan. It can find from protein rich foods. (Rich
protein foods increase levels of dopamine and noradrenalin.)
Taking enough tryptophan in your body may promote a calm
mind and helps to get a good sleep. If you are not getting
enough tryptophan, you will show symptoms of depression.
Omega 3 fat - Salmon, mackerel, herring, Tuna, Flaxseed
oil, Perilla (Shiso) oil etc.
Vitamin B6 - Sunflower seed, Soy bean, Soy products, Banana,
Avocado, Dried Prune, Tuna, Bonito etc.
Tryptophan (Protein) - Soy bean, Sesame seed, peanut, cashew
nut, Almond, Sunflower seed, Pumpkin seed, Cheese etc.
SUMMARY:
In recent years, doctors have
increasingly focused on treating depression by changing
the biochemistry of the brain, specifically using drugs
to raise the levels of chemicals in brain system such as
serotonin. This is the mechanism of action of most commonly
prescribed antidepressants.
But there are many other ways to treat depression such as
psychological therapies or exercise and yoga practice. There
are many different type of depression so it is important
to discuss with someone who is a specialist or family and
friends and somehow begin action for the treatment of symptoms.
Many people still have a negative view of antidepressant
medication. I believe that if you can face and see your
inner being using yoga, you will become more sensitive,
therefore you can control yourself and you can manage between
your body, mind and medication. If so, you would be no longer
dependant on medication to treat depression.
Apparently some side effects of antidepressants and symptoms
of depression tend to overlap and create a negative cycle.
Do you think that antidepressants really work? Antidepressant
can help to boost your feel good neurotransmitters but they
never get to the root of the problem. In other words, they
never fix what made you depressed in the first place
and to treat the symptoms we need to address the root of
suffering.
With my experience of depression this year, I realized through this case study that I'm still a person who gets depressed easily BUT I can overcome depression easily as well. I can manage my depression by using yoga practices. I can feel that I'm becoming a more sensitive, emotional person, but then when I begin feeling down I can also feel that subtle awareness of my body and mind on an emotional level. It came through from asana practice with my body condition or from meditation with the state of my mind and from moments in my daily life. Through this case study I can see how your individual attitude is most important as it depends on how much you are willing to make an effort, a resolution towards overcoming your weakness and how much you love yourself. Yoga helps to build up a strong mind and body with self reorganization. It brings balance to the mind and body.
Yoga can't solve your
issues directly. It means only YOU can solve it by yourself.
Yoga is just a tool that helps you face the root of cause
depression. Yoga gives you strength physically and mentally
through the practices to cope with such issues.
This process is called Yoga and it is the journey to improve
and develop personal awareness and confidence.
