Yoga for Relieving Depression

Practicing yoga can alter your brain chemistry. Some yoga positions in particular are effective in stimulating the pituitary gland to release endorphins and to reduce the level of cortisol (the stress hormone).

Inverted yoga positions are the most important positions in terms of yoga's health effects on the mind and body. This would include the shoulder stand, plow and headstand. Unfortunately, if you go to a yoga class these positions are not usually part of the sequence, as they are not usually considered appropriate for beginners. The shoulderstand asana is considered an intermediate-level position and the headstand is usually only recommended for people who have been practicing yoga for a while.

This is unfortunate as the shoulderstand and headstand have been long recognized as the 'queen' and 'king' of all yoga asanas. If you are going to be spending twenty minutes a few times a week practicing yoga, and your primary goal is an improvement in your mental health, your time would be better maximized if you focused on the inverted positions.

These inverted positions increase the level of blood, oxygen and glucose going to the brain. This helps the brain to create more dopamine and serotonin. Depressed people are deficient in these neurotransmitters and this is one way to help the body produce more of them naturally.

Furthermore, the practice of these inverted asanas can help cure some other ailments which are often an underlying cause of depression in some people. For example, practicing the shoulderstand ("Sarvangansana") on a regular basis will help to regulate your thyroid and this correction of any thyroid over or under-activity will make you a calmer person and will help you to bring your weight to an ideal level naturally. The shoulderstand has also been shown to be effective in helping to remedy ptosis or prolapsus, by helping to eliminate congestion in the lower abdomen. Moreover, this inverted position is an excellent remedy for varicose veins and hemorrhoids.

If you suffer from constipation (which can induce depression if it is a chronic condition) you would likely see improvement soon if you practiced the shoulderstand and the plow on a regular basis.

The other side-benefit that I really like about the inverted positions, is that by sending more blood to your head, the skin on your face gets a real boost. The complexion takes on a very healthy glow if you practise these positions (and it's also supposed to be an effective way to slow the appearance of wrinkles on your face). You will notice this healthy glow even after only a few minutes in the inverted position.

To see a step-by-step instruction on how to practise the shoulderstand, see this page.

Not enough studies have yet been conducted on the effectiveness of yoga practice in helping to relieve depression. Usually, you will read that yoga is definitely effective in relieving 'mild levels of depression' but I haven't seen any studies done regarding severe levels of depression.

There are some books out there that deal specifically with yoga practice for the purpose of beating depression. These include Yoga for Depression : A Compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering Through Yoga. I haven't read this book but it has very high reader ratings on Amazon.

I've read over twenty books on yoga over the years. Although it doesn't deal specifically with depression, my favorite yoga book is "Yoga Self-Taught" by Andre Van Lysebeth. What I appreciate about it is the detailed explanations of the health benefits of each particular yoga position discussed in the book. There is also a very long section on the importance of breathing and the benefits of good breathing.

The book recommends a regular routine of about eight yoga asanas which can be completed in less than twenty minutes or for much longer duration if one prefers. It places a heavy emphasis on the inverted positions of the shoulderstand, plow and headstand. I've customized the routine a bit for myself. I skip the headstand, but spend more time on the shoulderstand and plow.

(By the way, if you wanted to avoid doing a yoga sequence as recommended in this book, you could just do the shoulderstand, once or several times day and still see great benefit. The only thing you need to remember if you decide to do this, is to follow it up at least briefly with the yoga position called "Fish" which stretches the body in the opposite way compared to the shoulderstand. It's important to counterbalance the shoulderstand with the fish or "Matsyasana" posture.)


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The above image is "A woman does yoga facing the sea at sunrise" by Jimmy Chin