Are you breathing?

March 26, 2014 · 0 Comments

As winter unwraps her icy grip on our minds and bodies we heave a collective sigh of relief and welcome spring with open arms. We move through time-honoured rituals like putting away heavy winter sweaters, turning down the heat, and opening windows to allow the scent of budding tulips, fresh green grass and fecund soil to waft in and tease our noses and our senses.

But sometimes even the arrival of spring isn’t enough to banish depression, anxiety and mood disorders like Seasonal Affective Disorder. Rather than relying on pharmaceuticals to relieve your depression or anxiety a more holistic direction to follow is by adopting a routine and regime of yoga, breath control and meditation.

By reducing perceived stress and anxiety, yoga appears to modulate stress response systems. This, in turn, decreases physiological arousal – for example, reducing the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and easing respiration. There is also evidence that yoga practices help increase heart rate variability, an indicator of the body’s ability to respond to stress more flexibly.

In a case study published in Germany in 2005, 24 women who described themselves as “emotionally distressed” took two 90-minute yoga classes a week for three months. Women in the control group maintained their normal activities and were asked not to begin an exercise or stress-reduction program during the study period. At the end of three months, women in the yoga group reported improvements in perceived stress, depression, anxiety, energy, fatigue, and well-being. Depression scores improved by 50 per cent, anxiety scores by 30 per cent, and overall well-being scores by 65 per cent. Initial complaints of headaches, back pain, and poor sleep quality also resolved much more often in the yoga group than in the control group.

Yoga works in much the same way as other relaxation techniques, such as meditation, pranayama (breathing) and Tai chi. Controlled breathing exercises with roots in traditional yoga shows promise in providing relief for depression and anxiety. A combined daily practice of yoga, breathing and meditation offers much hope for the alleviation of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms.

For many patients dealing with depression, anxiety, or stress, yoga, breathing and meditation may be a very appealing and holistic way to better manage symptoms. The scientific study of yoga has demonstrated that mental and physical health are not just closely allied, but are essentially equivalent.

So find a special place where you can unroll your mat on the floor. Lay down and close your eyes. Relax the muscles in your neck and your shoulders. Take a deep breath, filling your diaphragm. Focus on your inhalation and exhalation and allow yourself to be immersed in the sound and feeling of your breath. As you exhale, release the stress and worry that you carry in your body and let your mind soar free … and quietly. Begin your Sun Salutation and acknowledge your gratitude to the Universe for giving you a strong body that can fold and unfold in yogic asanas. Spend time in that moment and just be.

Louise Marcoux Phillips is a Certified Tai Chi and Yoga instructor who teaches classes daily at the One Energy Center located at 155 Main St west in Shelburne.

For more information please visit www.oneenergycenter.com or call 519 925-1999.

• April special! Yoga 30 day unlimited pass only $50. Regular price $75, save $25. Drop in $10, regular price $15, save $5.