Namaste my friends. Transitions are always challenging, so leaving my students and family at the height of a beautiful Niagara summer was difficult. There was trepidation as I packed my now finished homework and headed out at 4:30 am on Friday.
But as with all things in life that you worry about, it's never that bad once you face your fears.
The sun is bright and it is like coming home to be in a community of fellow yogis. What a luxury it is to have someone else prepare our food while we meditate, stretch and study. This morning's practice was over 3 hours! Can you imagine carving out that amount of time in our normal crazy schedules?
Our topics yesterday and today are depression/anxiety. You probably love someone, or maybe even you, who is burdened with this kind of mental pain. One in ten people in the US seek medical intervention for clinical depression, and the stats for anxiety are even higher. Unlike western psychological approaches, yoga therapy sees each individual as just that, so we recognize that there are different types of depression and anxiety and many different ways to approach healing. It would be my sincere honour to share some of this information with people who feel impacted by negative thinking, racing thoughts and associated pain.
One of the most important aspects to healing from depression or anxiety is to remember that you are not your thoughts. To help calm the thoughts, remember that your mind is tied to the breath like a kite to a string. Deep, rhythmic breathing that focuses on the exhale is almost magic. Try it!
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