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“Yoga cultivates your witness consciousness. It allows you to observe yourself on the mat. You aren’t numbing out or going into default mode by watching overworking, watching TV or reaching for the alcohol or carbs.” —Amy Weintraub, instructor and author
“Yoga has helped me turn the corner. I haven’t been on meds for three years.” —Teresa Luttrell, yoga enthusiast
It never fails. When yoga instructor Shana Meyerson mentions certain breathing exercises and postures as effective for lifting depression, heads pop up all over the room. she believes there are “many people suffering on one level or another.”
Who’s to argue? The statistics on depression are staggering; just how many millions of Americans are affected depends on who is estimating (watch out for pharmaceutical company perspectives) and what you define as depression.
Here’s one thing certain about depression: It is both the most overmedicated and least diagnosed illness in this country.
“I used to be a bit shy about mentioning depression in yoga class,” recalls Meyerson. “But not any more. It is just too powerful for helping people.”
Meyerson changed her mindset last fall when attending an 8 Limbs workshop conducted by Amy Weintraub, author of the 2004 book, “Yoga for Depression: A Compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering Through Yoga” (Broadway Books, $14.95). Weintraub’s book and a CD of breathing exercises (called “Breathe to Beat the Blues”) have provided both personal and professional inspiration for Meyerson.
“I really liked three to four of the breathing exercises,” says Meyerson. “I do them every day at home and include them in my classes.
Wakeup call
Meyerson performs the breathing workout when she awakes each day at her yoga center for children. The whole thing takes maybe five minutes and makes a “big difference” in my day.
One example: Meyerson performs what Weintraub labels “breath to fortify the nerves” (Right, I thought the same thing, sure could use that). You start in a standing position with your feet parallel and one fist’s width apart for stability. Draw your tailbone down. Lift your shoulders up to your ears, take in a breath, make fists of your hands, tighten the muscles of your face, hold the breath.
Squeeze all of the tension into a little ball at the back of your neck. Hold for as long as you can.
“I have actually worked my way up to 70 seconds,” says Meyerson. “I’ve been doing the exercise for a year.”
Next, release the breath through your mouth, sighing out the tension, the “to do’s” on your list, the obsessive little thoughts, the expectations for how you’re supposed to act. Let them go.
Pause and notice where you are feeling open and relaxed. Notice there may still be tension and discomfort in some parts of your body.
Then stretch your arms out in front of your waist, palms face up. Inhale and make fists of your hands. While holding the breath, pump your fists back toward your waist. Exhale and relax. Close your eyes and feel the effects of the breathing exercise. Repeat a second time.
“These breathing exercises clear my head,” explains Meyerson, who started teaching yoga to kids six years ago. “I can wake up sort of numb and I am more clouded and detached when I don’t do the exercises.”
