Using Yoga & Meditation to Beat the Holiday Blues

"Depression is not a disease, the end point of a pathological process. It is a sign that our lives are out of balance, that we're stuck. It's a wake-up call and the start of a journey that can help us become whole and happy, a journey that can change and transform our lives." --James Gordon

As I write this I am sitting in a cozy (and delightfully toasty) loft space with a panoramic mountain view. My South Carolina hide-away-in-the-woods is a place of peace and joy for me. My time here is one in which I put away all of the mind chatter about to-dos and enjoy a haven from the holiday hustle and bustle. This year I'm book-ending the holiday season with some South Carolina time. I'll head back to NY in a few days and return to SC in a few weeks' time to celebrate Christmas.

This required a little planning on my part -- scheduling clients and deadline-oriented tasks in between my trips. Somehow, it's all getting done. And the time constraints have forced me to have  a more conscious holiday season. Rather than get sucked into the holiday trance of overwhelm, I'm taking more time to focus on what's important for me in the moment. That and frequent yoga and meditation breaks have kept holiday stress to a minimum for me. Ahhhhhhhh -- it feels good to focus on the fun of the holidays rather than on the to-dos and obligations of the holidays.

This isn't an easy feat. I work with a lot of clients who are struggling quite a bit this holiday season. Stress, depression, and anxiety seem to be quite prevalent right now, perhaps exacerbated by the holidays and all of the unrealistic expectations that come along the season. Regardless of whether you're feeling a little run down and overwhelmed or hopeless about life in general or blue this holiday season, yoga and meditation can help. Here are some resources to help ease suffering this holiday season and get your New Year off to a happier start:

• James Gordon, author of Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression, is taking his teachings to PBS with a 2-hour special based on the content of the book. Click here to learn more about James' work and the special. If you'd like a more extensive list of airings of Unstuck, click here for a schedule in PDF format. Gordon draws upon mind-body techniques such as free-form movement, yoga, meditation, pranayama, and Traditional Chinese Medicine to offer a variety of practical ways to move beyond depression. I like Gordon's approach, his belief that those who are depressed can help themselves rather than rely solely on pharmaceuticals for relief, and his easy-to-apply techniques and lifestyle changes.
• Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way: Creating Happiness with Meditation, Yoga and Ayurveda is a book that delivers exactly what the title implies -- yogic tools to boost your mood and enhance well-being. The book offers a taste of yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda -- just the right dose to inform without overwhelming. The book guides you through recognizing the imbalances in your life and offers nutritional advice as well as yoga and meditation practices and regimes. The book is easy to digest and the solutions offered are easy to incorporate into your life.
• Amy Weintraub is somewhat of a pioneer in the world of yoga for depression. Amy offers a variety of yogic techniques, including asana, pranayama, bhavana, and chanting, to calm down, enhance well-being, and increase energy and lifeforce. One of my favorite resources from Amy is her CD, Breathe to Beat the Blues (which you can download on iTunes). Each track is only a few minutes, so you can easily incorporate the practices into a busy schedule. Her Lifeforce Yoga DVDs (click here to learn more about the first DVD and click here to learn more about the second) offer wonderful Kripalu-inspired asana sequences along with sound and visualization techniques, topped off with Yoga Nidra. They are perfect for any level of yoga practitioner and leave one with a lingering sense of well-being upon completing the practice.

The holidays aren't filled with comfort and joy for everyone. Luckily, yoga can offer some relief as well as a promise for a happier new year with regular practice. Here's to a happier holiday for all!

Namaste!

Comments

[Sanjay]

I completely agree with James Gordan's Saying. Due to work load or challenges in our LIFE. I may forget where i am going. In order to get rid from the depression, i must sit for doing Yoga and meditation. When i practice yoga consistently, i will be able to analyze the cause of my stress and depression.

[Pat]

a lovely post about an issue that often gets overlooked and effects so many people.

[yoga planet]

well, i never tried yoga to overcome holidays blues, but i certainly will, it help me get over other kinds of "blues"

[Mark]

I don't know how much yoga could help me because I never got to try it, but I sure could use a hide-away with a panoramic mountain view to relax.:)

[Alex]

great post thanks for posting
always nice to learn more about yoga

[jen]

I'm not sure I want to practice yoga after reading this article: http://www.orderonlinedrugs.com/drug-news/2009/08/06/to-yoga-or-not-to-yoga/

[Leah]

I didn't find your post misleading, Diane!

While I'm not in love with that particular quote by Gordon, I have read Unstuck and found it helpful. I'm also a big fan of Amy Weintraub. These are great resources for someone dealing with depression.

Thank you for the great reminders about ways to help with the increased stress and anxiety during the holiday season, something that can aggravate anyone with a tendency towards depression.

[Claudia]

I am a witness to the power of a book like Yoga for Depression from Amy. It is an excellent complement to other venues, which might need to be explored too (I also did teraphy, and for a while took some medication) it helped me enormously.

These are great suggestions!

[Diane Cesa]

I appreciate your comment Kdn. I was expecting to see a comment such as yours. I simply presented a point of view in this post (this is why it's a blog, not a medical journal)-- it was not my intention to make some sort of sweeping statement about depression. I've worked with folks who don't view depression as a disease and feel that medication is a last resort (obviously the quote from James Gordon is reflective of this line of thinking). I've also worked with folks who have a more traditional view about the subject. I've also seen folks with clinical depression find relief from methods similar to the ones mentioned in this post. It was not my intention to say classify depression as something trivial. I am neither a psychotherapist nor a psychiatrist. I have worked with people who are depressed (and I've studied some of the studies about yoga's affect on those with depression which were done at medical institutions in India). Some of these people have used mind-body techniques in addition to traditional treatments while others have given up on medication altogether to rely solely on mind-body methods coupled with dietary changes (and nutritional supplementation). I'm not saying that the resources in the above post should be used as an alternative to traditional treatment. However, they could be beneficial for someone who is looking for a compliment to their current treatment or another method of dealing with depression (I know a lot of folks who don't want to be on medication and are willing to try anything to get off of it). Again, what I presented here is a piece of the pie. It was not intended to mislead my readers. I'm sorry that you feel that way.

[Kdn]

Do some more research with medical professionals, clinical depression is a disease! The holiday blues and depression are NOT the same thing. This is appalling and misleading

[Emma]

I'm thinking of moving to the South (N Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, or Louisiana)... any comments on the yoga scene?

Cheers,

Emma