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Prolonged mental duress that changes the brain chemistry requires constantly staying with Yoga. A Yogic lifestyle is an important enabler in dealing with depression
Breathing practices or Pranayamas help by energising the brain and nervous system. (PTI)
The malady of depression seems to have assumed pandemic proportions after Covid-19. It appears to be everywhere, affecting the young and the old alike, in varying intensity.
Though a round-the-year phenomenon, winters are the time that the blues hit harder, and sadness, emptiness, and feeling low pervade the being. Depression in the cold and fall months (seasonal affective disorders) has been linked to less energy from the Sun, which lowers life energy overall, and special efforts are needed to keep the body warm and running.
Anti-depressant drugs are usually prescribed to supply the chemicals that can correct the brain-chemistry gone wrong. Yet, they can at best be a short-term measure to be used as crutches. The search is on for better and lasting alternatives. Yoga is one such system with demonstrated capability in handling depression.
After all, Yoga’s very purpose is to control the mind: the definition given by sage Patanjali is ‘Yogah Chitti Vritti Nirodhah’, which means ‘Yoga is that which stops the modifications of the mind’. Yoga gurus assure that the eight-limbed path or Ashtanga Yoga, practised regularly by healthy individuals, normally prevents mental illnesses from arising in the first place. In this, its first two limbs — Yamas and Niyamas, the dos and don’ts — must also be taken and practised seriously, as it is these which serve to build good relationships with others and with our own self.
YOGA PRACTICES FOR DEPRESSION
Among physical Asanas that work for depression, inversions and backward bends help best as the brain gets more blood flow and the spine is activated.
Breathing practices or Pranayamas help, again, by energising the brain and nervous system. Kapalabhati pranayama quickly energises the system, cleanses it of toxins, and induces activity by activating the sympathetic nervous system. Diaphragmatic breathing and Bhramari (Bee breath) activate the parasympathetic nervous system, helping the body to relax after stress.
Yet, the practices may vary. Yoga techniques cannot have uniform applicability; what pose will work as therapy depends on the individual’s constitution and contra-indications. That’s why emphasis is laid on learning Yoga from an experienced teacher, someone who has applied it on themselves and someone who understands people.
Then, simply doing the poses for a few weeks will not help. Prolonged mental duress that changes the brain chemistry requires us to constantly stay with Yoga. This is where yogic lifestyle becomes an important enabler in dealing with depression.
“FIND THE CAUSE. REMOVE THE CAUSE”
Even for a practising Yogi, there are factors that can work up depression. Renowned classical yogi Swami Sivananda Saraswati, who was originally a medical doctor living abroad, took to Yoga especially to be able to treat his patients more completely.
Depression, according to him, has different causes that can include: a bad stomach, cloudy days, bad company, the influence of astral bodies, and surfacing of latent tendencies (samskaras).
The remedies for depression suggested by this Master Yogi are simple and include:
Take a brisk long walk.
Drink a small cup of orange juice or hot tea or coffee.
Run in the open air.
Walk along the seaside or river-side.
Do the cooling pranayama, Sitali.
Play on the harmonium (or another stringed instrument).
Have a good laugh.
Sing hymns and devotional songs.
Chant any mantra loudly for an hour; it could even be the smallest mantra `Om’.
Read good books, especially ancient scriptures.
If necessary, take a purgative.
“Calm the revolting mind, sensuous thoughts, and agitated senses (all are symptoms of depression) with chanting and prayer. Counter procrastination and fickleness by making firm resolves and carrying them out immediately,” he says. He adds that eating a light, saatvik diet will support these. Finally, a change will be brought about in the speech, actions and thoughts.
BEHAVIOUR TO COUNTER DEPRESSION
Reputed Ayurveda and Yoga guru Vamadeva Shastri of American Institute of Vedic Studies lays the blame for depression squarely on “excess stimulation by an externalised mind which rarely looks within.” According to him, we constantly need new things to stimulate us which includes media, social activity, and drugs. Further, we may become dependent on a particular stimulation to energise us and once that is withdrawn, we become depressed.
The way to go, as per Shastri, is to not look outwardly for happiness: “We must learn to withdraw from external stimulation and develop our own internal creativity, motivation and discipline.”
Some techniques that he suggests to counter depression are:
The ‘nasya’ process to clear the sinuses and bring more prana into the head; practice Pranayama to bring deeper energy to the brain. “It is hard to fall into depression if our sinuses and lungs are open and our breath is deep and full,” he says.
Use herbal teas to improve circulation to the brain. Chant mantras to get our energy moving. Get the body moving with Yoga asanas, hikes in Nature, and swimming.
Perform service work for others who are in more difficult situations than yourself.
Meditate regularly to cultivate awareness of your inner self.
Ultimately, we must view depression as a sign that we need to detach and move to a new level of awareness.
The author is a journalist, cancer survivor and certified yoga teacher. She can be reached at swatikamal@gmail.com.