When we are depressed it affects our body and our mind. Constant negative thoughts distress our physical systems, just as our biochemistry and somatic experience influence thinking. Although obvious, only recently are mind-body models of health gaining momentum as the debate regarding whether depression is a state of mind or merely chemically based is going out of fashion. Consequently, new methods of working with depression which attend to both the mentality and physicality for a mutual and reciprocal process of healing are the rage.  Ironically, one of the most noted “new” methods of mind-body work, yoga, is actually ancient.  Originally a practise of self development that draws on and combines discipline, postures, breath and mental training yoga is now also used as a therapeutic intervention.  Moreover, modern science has stepped in, infusing this age old practise with biological explanations supported by an arising body of research to qualify yoga’s curative properties.  

Often perceived as mere stretching and exercise, yoga is actually a multi tiered approach for fostering profound well-being. Having used yoga and meditation to combat anxiety and depression myself, I am keenly aware of its transformative capacity.  From 2000-2003 I went to South East Asia and India where I devoted my entire life to yoga and mindfulness meditation.  Through this journey I was able to let go of years of struggle and sadness.  I now use my hard won insights in conjunction with a background in psychotherapy and yoga therapy to teach others how to heal. 

In general yoga practise promotes physical and mental healing.  If you are depressed and attend a yoga class you will often feel better regardless of the type of yoga practise.  Simply by moving, breathing, stretching and focusing in unison, positive hormones are released generating an experience of wellness, tense muscles are opened, and the mind is given a break from its constant rumination.  However, one can also use fine tune yoga practise to regulate the nervous system in a profound way while developing mind-body strategies to cope better with stress and suffering.  

When Nancy arrived at my course suffering from chronic depression and unable to work her life had become very provincial.  Additionally, Nancy had a yoga practise, which she enjoyed but did not deeply help her. In our first session I taught Nancy a yoga sequence to balance the nervous system.  This sequence involves slow movement interspaced with dynamic postures to spike and then calm the autonomic nervous system using a yogic breath known as ujjayi.  Triggering and calming the system through breath helps to rebalance a deregulated nervous system uplifting depression and softening anxiety. Ujjayi is a common yogic breath created when one tightens the back of the throat, thus, rarifying the breath and causing an oceanic-like sound. 

In my yoga classes we use ujjayi as do many yoga classes, but we do it in a very specific way.   Depression and anxiety are characterized and aggravated by rapid chesty breathing, which keep the nervous system in a feedback loop of hyper-alert or fight and flight mode.  When this breathing becomes habitual it’s hard to alter, and anxiety and depression remain rife at a physiological level not to mention a psychological one.  By using the ujjayi breath students gain greater control of breath, easily directing the breath to the belly and elongating the exhale.  Breathing in this way induces relaxation and tones the part of the nervous system responsible for calm, namely the vagus nerve which is attached to the diaphragm, therefore, deeply influenced by breath.  During my courses I request students use ujjayi breath in a mindful way by noticing each time the breath rises up to the chest and consciously bring breath back down.  Although classes are gentle, I often hold students in challenging yoga poses for long periods using ujjayi breath to train the nervous system to relax under physical stress. Learning to relax under physical challenge translates to a capacity to self sooth under emotional stress.   Moreover, long holds in yoga postures help to soften the muscles reducing tension, while also teaching students to be comfortable with discomfort.  By using breath and body to calm the system students learn how to use the body to rein in the agitated mind.  In this scenario the narrative falls away and present moment attention becomes of greatest import.

For Nancy this was a revelation.  For years she had done yoga without really feeling her body as her mind wandered while she practised.  Through practise Nancy began to feel her body in a deep way and started to investigate how to be present with both pleasant and unpleasant feelings in mind and body.  She stopped avoiding her experience and found herself able to process much of the pain from her past.  Moreover Nancy began to understand that through attention to her body she could ground her worrisome thoughts coming back to the present moment rather than losing herself in the past or future. Slowly, I saw her whole perspective on life start to change she returned to University as a part-time student and began working.  More importantly, however, Nancy developed an increased tolerance to meet the vicissitudes of life. 

As a model of mind body healing yoga helps students to anchor themselves in the mind-body connection finding wellness in the internal world rather than seeking it from the outside. Through stretching and breath regulation a capacity to self-regulate emerges so that the mind and body learn to collectively heal.  By marrying self-awareness with self soothing strategies yoga therapy for mental health empowers students offering a way of life that is open to challenge and joy.