IMPORTANT NOTE: Depression is a serious illness that can be treated. This article in no way means to serve as a panacea, only to offer some natural tips that may aid in recovery. For more information on depression, contact your doctor. You may also want to check out John McManamy's excellent series of articles on depression here on Suite 101 by clicking here.
Although practicing yoga is by no means meant to replace treatment advised by your medical doctor or therapist, it can be used in conjunction with just about any prescribed treatment to aid in your recovery. That's the beauty of yoga - 100% natural and drug free, so there's no worry of drug interactions or harmful side effects. The only side effects at all are positive ones, and the benefits are both physical and mental. This article focuses on how yoga can aid in alleviating depression through physical means, while the next article focuses on the mental and spiritual benefits that can be achieved with just a little bit of yoga practice. Although this article is in two parts, the effects of practicing yoga are achieved concomitantly. Thus yoga serves as a holistic form of depression treatment.
The physical practice of yoga can help alleviate depression by helping to eliminate the physiological manifestations of stress and by raising the levels of certain chemicals in our bodies that serve an important role in uplifting our mood. One of the contributing factors in many cases of depression is an overwhelming sense of stress, which gets internalized, resulting in a pervasive sense of emptiness or futility. Too much stress can also result in very real physical symptoms as well as exhausting us mentally. Aching necks, backs, headaches, and stomach upsets are just some of the physical manifestations of stress; and when you are feeling down so as it is, it certainly doesn't help to feel sick on top of it! One of the ways yoga is useful, therefore, in the treatment of depression, is by offering a physical outlet for our stress, and by easing the pain of stress related illnesses. The fluid movements and gentle stretches utilized in yoga offer a natural remedy for aching muscles. The practice of certain postures also ease head and stomach ailments by stimulating the body's chi or energy, by increasing blood flow to that area of the body. The rhythm of the movements in practicing the postures increases regulates the heart rate and breathing, leading to an overall calming and strengthening of the circulatory and respiratory systems. Since increased heart rate and shallow breathing are often among the first reactions of physical stress that can lead to other body ailments, this calming and moderating of the heart rate is an important beginning in healing.
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