by Amy Weintraub

Sunrise Over Mount Goken by Fujishima Takeji

Along with the pandemic, mood disorders have reached epidemic proportions. Depression is four times more prevalent than it was before the pandemic when 40 million Americans reported suffering from anxiety and depression. This is affecting young adults at even higher levels, and deaths from drug overdose and suicide in that population are skyrocketing.

There are simple practices from the yoga tradition that can be effective in bringing us into balance, and many don’t require a yoga mat or previous yoga experience. When I founded LifeForce Yoga in 2004, it was to make these practices accessible for those without a yoga background who might not find their way to a yoga studio or who might not have access to sufficient mental health services. You don’t have to adhere to any belief system or look a certain way to try them. The practices can complement psychotherapy and other forms of natural healing. They can be brief interventions to self-regulate and self-soothe or they can be integrated into an established or emerging asana practice.

When depression settles in, we might not recognize it. We may feel it in our bodies as a state of lethargy. When the pandemic began, mental health professionals began calling this state “languishing.” A simple practice of two to three minutes can shift your mood and your energy level. The body chemistry changes, those feel-good hormones oxytocin and prolactin increase, and there is more oxygen available for the brain.

In LifeForce Yoga, we practice universal (non-devotional) mantras in postures and as a portal into seated meditation.  Studies have indicated that this protocol is effective for treating mood disorders, especially depression.  When you add a tone to a pose or a meditation practice, you are enhancing your focus and decreasing distracting thoughts. The vibratory quality of the sound, combined with a hand gesture (mudra) or visual image (bhavana) in meditation, may have added benefits in elevating your mood, by activating ventral vagal activity that brings a sense of calm, alert presence.

When a depressed mood is visiting you, consider practicing asanas and breathing exercises that activate the solar plexus. For example, you might wish to practice a dynamic variation of Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana). The actual pose is important and what you do right afterward is equally important. Take a moment to sense the energy you feel with a body scan that includes your arms, your thighs, your face, and, of course, your belly.

Also consider practicing Power Breath, which activates the solar plexus. You will likely feel brighter and lighter after you practice. Again, take a moment to sense the awakening energy in your body, and then ground that energy, so you aren’t overstimulated.

Sounds True asked me to gather some of these practices in a card deck, “Yoga for Your Mood: 52 Ways to Shift Depression and Anxiety,” which has just been released.The cards are grouped and color coded into energizing practices, calming practices, and balancing practices. Here are two other examples of my “Yoga for Your Mood” card deck:

Even if you don’t have time to roll out a mat, please get out of your chair, step away from your computer, and take a yoga break every day. My card deck is the just latest addition to the archive of resources for mental health on amyweintraub.com that includes the Yoga for Depression (Harmony Books), Yoga Skills for Therapists (W.W. Norton), and many book chapters and articles about the therapeutic power of yoga for mental health. For free practice and resources, subscribe here .

Amy Weintraub, MFA, C-IAYT, is the founder of the LifeForce Yoga® Healing Institute, an acclaimed yoga therapist, and a pioneer in the filed of yoga and mental health. Author of the best-selling Yoga for Depression and Yoga Skills for Therapists, she teaches and guides thousand of practitioners and therapists around the world. Her novel Temple Dancer  was released in 2020 to excellent reviews. She thrives in Tucson, Arizona, where she mountain bikes, dancers, writes, and creates. Follow Amy on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE , TWITTER, GOODREADS , AMAZON

 

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