For Tamasic Depression: Moving with Your Breath

Light in the Mist by Michele McCartney-Filgate

by Nina

Last week in my post Tamasic and Rajasic Depression, I mentioned how moving with your breath can be very helpful for people with tamasic depression (or for all of us on those days when we're just feeling blue). We don’t have scientific evidence to prove this, however, many long-time yogis have experienced the enlivening and uplifting sensations of vinyasas and mini vinyasas. And I'm here to testify to that! Some possible reasons why this works are:

• Moving with you breath engages your mind, providing you with temporary respite from depressing thoughts. Coordinating movements with your breath doesn’t give you time to brood or let your mind wander.
• Consciously breathing as you move improves your breathing in general, which can reduce lethargy and fatigue.
• Exercising in general can actually change your mood, possibly by changing your body chemistry.

You can use a vinyasa or mini vinyasa as a way to start a longer practice or as a mini practice on its own. If you’re too depressed to contemplate a challenging practice, try some simple movements. Just starting to move, however modestly, can sometimes get your energy flowing and may even motivate you to move onto a longer practice.

Practicing a vinyasa with a backbending movement may be the most helpful for depression. For most people, backbends are energizing and uplifting. Patricia Walden, who teaches yoga for depression, says that backbends “let in the light.” In Gary Kraftsow’s sequence for chronic depression in Yoga for Wellness, he includes a mini vinyasa with Bridge pose, a sequence that includes Warrior 1, and second mini vinyasa with Upward-Facing Dog pose, probably for the same reasons.

Today I’m just going to offer up a few ideas for poses you can use to start a practice or to do on their own as mini practices (and, hmmm, now that I look at the list, I realize you could actually do them all, in the order below, as a short sequence). Some of these ideas come from Patricia Walden, some from Gary Kraftsow, and some are my own.

Cat pose: If you can’t even bring yourself to stand up on your yoga mat, whether because you’re depressed, discouraged, or just tired, try starting on hands and knees. Move into your backbend on an inhalation (what some people call Cow pose and what I like to call Purring Cat) and arching your back into Cat pose on an exhalation. Repeat any number of times. Who knows, maybe you’ll feel like going into Doward-Facing Dog pose next or perhaps even standing in Mountain pose on your mat. By the way, you can even do this pose in a chair, as we described in our post Chair Cat Pose, anywhere and in any attire.

Mountain Pose: The easiest standing mini vinyasa is to move in Mountain Pose. Start in Mountain pose, with your arms by your sides. On an inhalation, bring your arms overhead as you bend slightly into a backbend in your upper back. On an exhalation, release back to your starting position, bringing your arms back by your sides. Repeat six times.

Warrior 1: Moving from Warrior 1 stance to full Warrior 1 pose as we illustrated in our post Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 Mini Vinyasas is a more challenging vinyasa. But the fact that it takes more concentration and effort may bring you more powerful results. Repeat six times.

Bridge pose: This is the deepest backbend of the group, which provides the benefits of a good chest opening along with the benefits of moving with your breath. Start by lying on your back with your knees bend, your feet about hips-width apart and your arms by your sides. On an inhalation, press down with your feet as you lift your pelvis off the ground, open your chest, and raise your arms overhead and down toward the floor behind your head. On an exhalation, return to the starting position, dropping your pelvis straight down to the floor as you bring your arms back by your sides. Repeat six times.

I hope that some of you out there will give these a try and let me know how it goes!