Shyness, anxiety, depression & recovery

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

hi everyone,

i’m new to this site, so just wanted to say hello.

i was wondering if anyone has used yoga to get over / cope with depression and related problems.

i’m a very shy person and very isolated, as a result. :frowning:

i know that regular yoga practice would help me to feel better about myself and make me more hopeful, positive and optimistic, in general, because i’ve disciplined myself to practice regularly in the past and it really helped. (unfortunately, though, i let my practice slip, and once my pattern is broken it takes me a long time to get back into a regular rhythm.)

i’m now going to start practicing regularly and frequently because i really want to sort my life out, once-and-for-all.

any words of encouragement would be very greatly appreciated. or, if anybody else is in, or has been in a similar situation, i’d love to hear from you!

#2

Hello,

I can definately relate to your feelings of depression. My yoga practice morphs and shifts with the seasons and with my moods. In fact - just yesterday I was overcome with that dark and heavy feeling. I knew that I was perpetuating my sadness by dwelling on my insecurities. I turned to my mat - thinking that a solid and heating practice would lift me out of my self-imposed fog. Instead, I surrendered to the floor and wept. I had a good discussion that night about . Are you familiar with dukha? I wrote a blog about it - here’s the link.

A few words of encouragement…
Don’t beat yourself up when your practice slips. You don’t need to get in your mat at the crack of dawn to practice yoga - it’s always there for you. Live your yoga. Also, make your practice something that feels so good. Put on some grooving music and dance all over your mat. Celebrate your whole life - the sadness and the sweetness.

blessings,
Trinity

#3

Yes a yoga practice can help stabilize depression. It has to be crafted. that is to say the most effective work is not done at random but rather carefully sequenced and administered.

Yoga is not an aspirin that one pops and gets better. I’m not suggesting that is your take but merely adding it in for clarity.

Commonly teachers would suggest backbends and chest opening poses. and while this isn’t “wrong” it’s not complete information. Again there are some thing to do and some things not to do that a qualified teacher would hopefully know.

I’m not sure we ever sort out our life “once and for all”. It’s a lofty goal. Rather we can hope to come to some middle ground where we are not swayed too far one direction or another.

Yoga classes, in the right place, can add a sense of community and belonging.

#4


i completely understand your feelings of depression. I too have struggled with this for 4 yrs now. It has been a long road for me, and finding yoga and meditation has been the one solid thing i have been able to count on to help me find clarity.
I have found that learning yoga has helped me look deeper into myself to help me deal with some underlying issues i have had from my past. Especially helping me let go of my neg emotions from an abusive ex boyfriend. I too have slipped from my practise but i know i will always find my way back. It’s in my soul to live spiritually and i know that i am truly grateful for finding yoga.

#5

I too have been into depression now that it has been 4 long years i have been taking medication to keep me going. But then two years back i started yoga and it was one of the best experience that i had all my life. I practised for about a year and because of hectic schedule at my work i stopped practising , immediately i put on lots of weight and my depression struck back since then i am on medication but i want to start practising again probably i have fixed a date for the same and i want to start of again to keep my mind calm and slim my body .

Hoping to be more confident with a positive approach towards life yoga is the only answer to all your troubles.

Cheers

Sinu

#6

The best book on the market regarding “yoga for depression” is by Amy Weintraub. And find a counselor. A good one.
As a yoga teacher, counselor and one who has experienced depression I know that yoga helps me tremendously, but there have been times when I just needed someone to help me through whatever it was that was pulling me down. With yoga, especially mindfulness based yogas, the student becomes more aware of everything and can usually bring up the cause of the depression, but this is best done with someone who can help. Seek a counselor. Maybe a yoga teacher/counselor.
Hope this helps.
Cathy

#7

Hi Him, just to let you know I read your post and wish you well. I believe that yoga can really help you and want to encourage you to start your regualr practice again. If you managed to do it once, you can succeed again. My daughter suffers from depression and I keep encouraging her to practice her yoga, So, just get on your mat and the rest will be easy. Om shanti

#8

Yoga is basically about energy, and creating positive energy in the body. Breathing good helps create positive energy, same as drinking pure water. Food also is about energy, it gives us the calories/energy we need to live. According to many yoga sources some things we eat are negative energy, meat, alchohol, vinegar, etc… focusing on what you eat, has that been overlooked

#9

thank you all for taking the time to read my post and reply.

i’m starting my practice again tomorrow morning and hopefully it won’t be long 'til i’m feeling the benefit.

thanks, again, for your responses; i really appreciate it.

i may keep posting about my progress, if anybody’s interested.

#10

Viparita Karani and shoulder stand help you a lot. The reason is both these poses supply enough blood to our brain …

Give it a shot…slowly and patiently…after shoulder stand don’t forget to do fish pose.

#11

I too can say that yoga definitely helps to pull and keep you out of depression. But it isn’t the cure. And it can’t do it all by itself. You need to take other actions to make changes in your life. I’ve been there, done that. It takes a determination to make those changes, and you begin with small steps, like beginning a regular practice. Start journaling in the morning when you wake. One technique of journaling that really helped me when I was in a really confusing place in my life was what was called “morning pages”. Keep the journal (notebook) and pen by your bed. When you wake up, start writing. Stream of conciousness. No going back and correcting spelling, no crossing off something you said, just keep going. Do one full page. Or if you feel like it you can go longer, up to you. I found this to be very liberating, and helped me to have clearer thoughts through the day. And you aren’t allowed to go back and read it later. It’s not about analyzing what you’re thinking, it’s about just letting things out. I found it helped me a lot to keep my thought process more focused.

I did get off track here though. Start doing your yoga, then look around for some yoga classes that you can attend once in a while. Isolation can cause anyone to become depressed. Getting yourself “out there” among other people, even for a yoga class, will help you to open up and begin to interact.

I would like to suggest to you an older book that the journaling idea came from to begin with - it’s called “The Artists Way”. It helped me very very much. I never completed the whole book, it’s like self therapy, and I got to where it wasn’t needed, and my path diverged from it. But the ideas and techniques in the book are invaluable for one who tends to be afraid to get out there.

I too grew up a very shy young woman. It wasn’t until I was in my late 20’s till I realized I didn’t have to be afraid, I could be who I was, and people would accept me. I even learned that I didn’t need their acceptance as much as I thought I did. That book helped me.

Whether you get the book or not, doesn’t matter. Keep seeking, you’ll find answers.

#12

Hi HIM. The recovery process for depression and anxiety is broad and holistic, and I would try to avoid looking for a single, definitive solution. Just like depression and anxiety are only ‘parts’ of your whole life, Yoga should be utilized as a ‘part’ of the recovery process. There are many contributing factors to any health issues, physical or emotional, and if your problems do become too problematic, than I would suggest professional help such as therapy or counseling.
I would also encourage you to become proactive in you own recovery, by making sure you look after your health. Eat as healthy as you can, get regualar exercise, look for a hobby or activity that you can enjoy, and practice relaxation techniques such as yoga.
As for the shyness, that comes with practice, and is like building a muscle. Just go out and socialize bit by bit and practice talking to people more and more, use social networking such as facebook, and maybe even join some sort of group activity like sports or anything that you enjoy that involves other people.
Hope this helps.

#13

Yoga can be a sure for people suffering from depression. You have to consult a yoga teacher as a guide to learn the particular exercises for curing depression.

#14

[QUOTE=Davidhop;46441]You have to consult a yoga teacher as a guide to learn the particular exercises for curing depression.[/QUOTE]

Although I am all for everyone offering advice, I would just like to add note, that you don’t definitively “cure” depression, and even if you could, yoga exercises in and of themselves are not going to accomplish that goal. I don’t make this point for the sake of argument, but rather for the benefit answering the thread. I work and study Psychology, and take mental illness seriously, and I wouldn’t want anyone to be mislead in thinking you can use yoga alone in an attempt to “cure” depression.

#15

This is very true. Although I am by no means trained in the mental illness arena, over the past 12 months I have had to get very much ‘up to speed’. Any exercise will ease anxiety and depression. The advantage of yoga asanas is that it offers a formal discipline of postures, accompanied by deep breathing, focus, and meditation - all known to have calming effects on the body and the mind. Anyone who has experienced even mild anxiety or depression, and has done even simple savasana, will attest to that.

This is easement during which other treatments are administered. Although, I wouldn’t put it past strong-willed individuals to ‘cure’ themselves of anxiety and depression by embracing yoga and meditation fully and completely, and with singe-mined determination.

#16

Hello! This post is close to my heart, as one of the reasons I started yoga regularly is I was amazed at how GOOD it made me feel – how much it helped with my own struggles with anxiety and depression.

You can do this! I love what the one poster said about “live your yoga.” That is SO true. Go on long walks, doing your best to be present in that moment, step by step. Find a place you like to sit and meditate (meditation is beautiful, beautiful for helping with depression and depressive thoughts - or so I think). When you begin your practice, set an intention for yourself (like - I will love myself through this! I will send love to others!), and when you close, in corpse pose, repeat mantras to yourself.

Of course, it’s a long journey. So be it! It’s a worthwhile one, and one that gets easier with every step you take. After a while, you’ll be amazed - sure, there’s still a long path ahead of you, but suddenly, you look back and there’s a very long one behind you, too. You realize you’ve come a long, long way. : )

If ever you need someone to listen, someone to bounce ideas off of, contact me. I’ve been in a similar boat, and I’m still there very often. So perhaps we can help one another.

Namaste!

#17

Wow, I post on old posts because I don’t realize how old they are until after I post. Win.

#18

Oh my I didn’t realize the OP was almost 5 years out! lol.
Well, it is a relevant topic, no matter when it is. :slight_smile:
And avocado, at least you weren’t the one that revived an old dead post!

Again, though, the topic is relevant, and maybe some of the responses help others who are dealing with the same thing, or can relate to it. Like me. :stuck_out_tongue:

#19

You’d also be surprised how much of a change just making the effort to do anything about it can make. The shyness part I can certainly relate to but I think yoga is a great way to meet like minded people.

#20

Really should have noticed the thread was bumped up here but still - its good for anyone else with the same question and I’m sure there’s some.