Yoga is an effective treatment for postpartum depression, with none of the side effects associated with anti-depressants, which is particularly important if you are breastfeeding. Find a gentle, slower paced class to ease your body back into shape, while calming your poor, sleep-deprived brain. This article does a great job explaining, medically, why yoga is effective. It’s not magic and it’s not mumbo-jumbo!

[...] Different aspects of yoga such as asana and pranayama have indispensable applications in the treatment of depression. For example, specific postures (or asanas as they are called in yogic parlance) are said to have a regulating effect on the endocrine system. There is evidence (from preliminary studies) to show that the regular practice of yoga reduces the production of stress hormones when exposed to stressful situations. The medulla oblongata in the brain controls respiration and the production of certain stress hormones. During stress, when the breathing becomes rapid, signals are sent to that part of the medulla oblongata to secrete stress hormones. However, with the regular practice of yoga, the breath remains steady even when confronted with stress and consequently, this reduces the brain’s impulse to secrete stress hormones.

Therefore, yoga brings about hormonal balance and stabilizes the endocrine system. The practice of relaxation techniques balances cortical activities and the nervous and endocrine systems, thus reducing the body`s predisposition to react to stress. As a result, the body produces less adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol, all stress hormones, and a state of harmony is achieved.

Read the full article at Natural News.

When we feel depressed, our bodies slump forward, our minds feel foggy and sluggish, and we close ourselves off from other people. For depression relief, it’s all about inversions, back bends, and chest-opening poses! Inversions bring fresh blood and oxygen to a weary brain, while calming the nervous system. Heart-openers release tension, improve posture, and create a feeling of expansiveness. Backbends increase the heart rate and require mental focus and physical strength. These poses can be practiced together in a sequence, or individually throughout the day when your energy starts to fade. If you are going to practice the whole series, it is best to begin with several Sun Salutations to warm up your muscles.

10. Upward-facing dog: Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

9.   Downward-facing dog: Adho Mukha Svanasana

8.   Camel Pose: Ustrasana

7.   Bridge Pose: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

6.   Shoulderstand; Salamba Sarvangasana

5.   Fish Pose: Matsyasana

4.   Reclining bound angle pose: Supta Baddha Konasana

3.   Legs-up-the-wall pose: Viparita Karani

2.   Easy pose: Sukhasana

1.   Headstand: Salamba Sirsasana

Many people suffering from depression are looking for ways to treat it without the use of psychotropic medications, which can have undesirable side-effects for many people. Lasting recovery from depression requires much more than a pill. Major life-style changes may be needed; changes in diet, activity level, and sleep habits. I was surprised to learn that my daily Diet Coke could be suppressing my brain’s ability to produce serotonin. I guess I’ll finally have to wean myself off the juice!

By Valerie Balandra ARNP, a board certified psychiatric nurse practitioner and holistic health practitioner.

Depression is one of the most common and treatable of all mental illnesses. One in four women and one in 10 men can expect to develop it during their lifetime. Studies have shown that people suffering from depression have imbalances of neurotransmitters, natural substances that allow brain cells to communicate with one another. Two neurotransmitters implicated in depression are serotonin and norepinephrine. Neurotransmitters are powerful chemicals that regulate numerous physical and emotional processes such as mental performance, emotional states and pain response. Virtually all functions in life are controlled by neurotransmitters.

Serotonin is a key neurotransmitter with many important functions in the brain and body Serotonin deficiency is a common contributor to mood problems. Some feel it is an epidemic in the United States. Serotonin is key to our feelings of happiness and very important for our emotions because it helps defend against both anxiety and depression. Many of the current biochemical theories of depression focus on the biogenic amines, which are a group of chemical compounds important in neurotransmission—most importantly norepinephrine, serotonin and, to a lesser extent, dopamine, acetylcholine and epinephrine.

What causes or contributes to Serotonin Deficiency?

• Prolonged periods of stress can deplete serotonin levels. Our fast paced, fast food society greatly contributes to these imbalances.

• Poor Diet. Neurotransmitters are made in the body from proteins. Also required are certain vitamins and minerals called “cofactors”. If your nutrition is poor and you do not take in enough protein, vitamins, or minerals to build the neurotransmitters, a neurotransmitter imbalance develops. We really do think and feel what we eat.

• Genetic factors, faulty metabolism, and digestive issues can impair absorption and breakdown of our food which reduces are ability to build serotonin.

• Toxic substances like heavy metals, pesticides, drug use, and some prescription drugs can cause permanent damage to the nerve cells that make serotonin and other neurotransmitters.

• Certain drugs and substances such as caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, NutraSweet, antidepressants, and some cholesterol lowering medications deplete serotonin and other neurotransmitter levels.

• Hormone changes cause low levels of serotonin and neurotransmitter imbalances.

• Lack of sunlight contributes to low serotonin levels

Read More at My Yoga Online.

The essence of my personal yoga practice is described beautifully in the following quote. I don’t do yoga to get skinny or muscular, or to be able to wrap my legs around my head. I do it because it gives me joy. It reminds me of who I am. It helps me feel gratitude for simple things, while letting go of expectations and disappointments

From Thich Nhat Hanh, author of Peace Is Every Step

While we practice conscious breathing, our thinking will slow down, and we can give ourselves a real rest. Most of the time, we think too much, and mindful breathing helps us to be calm, relaxed, and peaceful. It helps us stop thinking so much and stop being possessed by sorrows of the past and worries about the future. It enables us to be in touch with life, which is wonderful in the present moment.

Yoga doesn’t always have to be hard, sweaty work to be a great experience. My favorite home practice consists of holding the following poses for as long as it feels good, in a darkened, quiet room. I can feel my heart rate slowing, my mind relaxing, and my thoughts quieting in these postures.

10. Bridge Pose : Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

9.  Cow Pose: Bitilasana

8.  Cat Pose: Marjaryasana

7.  Easy Pose: Sukhasana

6.  Puppy Pose: Uttana Shishosana

5.  Fish Pose: Matsyasana

4.  Seated Forward Bend: Paschimottanasana

3.  Standing Forward Bend: Uttanasana

2.  Child’s Pose: Balasana

1.  Relaxation Pose: Savasana

How much time do you spend feeling unhappy, stressed, depressed, or disappointed? Depression is rampant in our fast-paced, competitive society, even among people with seemingly perfect lives. So many people exist in a fog of un-earned unhappiness, waiting for a better job, more money, a nicer house, a better marriage, a smaller dress-size. But the truth is, if you don’t choose happiness right now, in whatever circumstances you find yourself, you will never find it. If you are miserable in your little one-room apartment, you’ll be miserable in a nice house. If you are unhappy single, you’ll be unhappy married. If you dislike yourself at a size 14, you won’t like yourself much more at a size 4. Unhappiness breeds unhappiness, and external circumstances do very little to affect our internal world. All we can do is look for the beauty in each moment and feel gratitude for every breath we are given.

By Phillip Moffitt

Sarah (not her real name) began by relating her good news: “Well, I landed that new job I applied for, and my husband and I got through the crisis I told you about.” Her voice, however, was surprisingly rueful, as if she were reporting that life was worse than before. I felt a wave of happiness for her, but before I could say so, she went on to complain about the new job and her relationship.

Sarah is a participant in a weekly vipassana meditation class I conduct. We spend a lot of time in the class trying to understand how we create much of our own suffering by getting caught in an endless cycle of desire and attachment. Sarah was certainly exhibiting how suffering arises. What had recently seemed to be the key to her happiness—if only she could get the job and stop quarreling with her spouse, then life would be great—was now a source of dissatisfaction. Our discussion revealed that she repeatedly experienced being disappointed whenever she actually got what she sought. In response, she would create new expectations, and the cycle would repeat itself.

Without noticing it, you too may be suffering from the myriad ways in which expectations can undermine your life. I call it the tyranny of expectations. They plague your daily life, causing you to be irritable, disappointed, and disillusioned. Many times they lead you to say unkind words, act unskillfully, or make poor decisions. Expectations are so insidious that you can persist in maintaining them even after you have clear evidence that they are unfounded.

What is most amazing is that despite the suffering caused by your expectations, you hardly notice them most of the time. Sure, there may be a few big ones you are somewhat aware of, but even so, you only sort of notice them; you do not act to free yourself from their tyranny. Plus, there are countless smaller ones you never notice at all. It is only when you feel acute disappointment that you have any awareness of having been possessed by expectations. But for each of these moments of acute disappointment, you’ve experienced many hours of dissatisfaction, impatience, and tension that you never realized arose from your expectations.

Read the full article at Yoga Journal.

Practicing yoga is not like practicing the piano. You don’t necessarily need to roll out your mat in a perfectly clean, quiet place and go through a rigorous series of poses with flawless technique. You don’t have to set a timer and work out for 45 uninterrupted minutes. You don’t need anything other than the ability to breathe. You can work poses into your day to fit your needs. For instance, on a day when I am feeling stressed out or fatigued, I drop to the floor into child’s pose, then move into some forward bends and squatting positions. Anything to get me closer to the earth, to feel grounded. Forward bending poses and inverted poses diffuse anxiety and help clear your head, while calming the adrenaline response. Deep breathing signals our brains that we are safe, secure, and that nothing is threatening us. Try getting off the couch and just sitting cross-legged on the floor throughout the day, doing gentle stretches, letting your kids climb on your back as you curl into child’s pose. Try to be present in each moment, let go of expectations, and just enjoy the experience of being alive.