Clinical depression, anxiety, panic attacks - they can affect anyone at any time. And when they do, it can be a frightening and often crushing experience.
And many people who are prescribed anti-depressants and other medical treatments for depression may be looking for something else. Something that teaches them self-love, helps them relax and re-centre. Sometimes to bring a whirring mind back to a focal point. Connecting them to calm. To balance. To the universe.
Yoga has helped me – and many others – to find peace in a sometimes overbearing world, and a suffocating mind. And iyengar yoga in particular has been shown to take the edge off anxiety, and lift the yogi out of a dark state.
How Yoga Helps Depression
Here's how yoga can be a complementary treatment for depression and anxiety.
In Iyengar yoga, depression can be looked at in terms of the three energy types (the gunas). These are rajas, tamas, and sattva.
- Rajas is an anxious state, marked by feelings of restlessness, agitation, and a stiff body with a racing mind.
- Tamas is more lethargic, marked by a struggle to get out of bed, with a slumped stance and sense of confusion.
- Sattva is simply "being", and is the state of equilibrium. One is neither anxious or depressed. One simply "is".
Yoga for your energy type
The asanas you practice will depend on your energy type. According to an excellent article in Yoga Journal, if you have more of a tamasic disposition, you'll want to focus on practices that “bring breath to the body, particularly deep inhalations” such as sun salutations. Backbends are equally stimulating, awaking the mind-body connection and preventing a depressed state.
If you are more anxious, with a rajasic depression, you may also find sun salutations helpful, and other high-paced practices that focus the mind and let off steam. And while it might seem counter-productive, you may want to avoid calming poses because they allow a chance for negative thoughts and anxieties to flourish – and also may not give you the release of nervous energy that is needed.
Originally published on Aug 30, 2016
