Depression

 Print This Post

          Practice Shavasana (Dead Body Pose) – Lie flat on your back, feet comfortably apart, arms and hands extended, arms and hands extended about 6 inches from the body and parallel with the body. Begin by consciously and gradually and mindfully relaxing every part and each muscle of the body: feet, legs, calves, knees, thighs, abdomen, hips, back, hands, arms, chest, shoulders, neck, head and face. Relax yourself completely feeling as if your whole body is lifeless. Now concentrate your mind on breathing rhythmically as slowly and effortlessly as possible. This will create a state of complete relaxation. Remain motionless in this position, relinquishing all responsibilities and worries for 10-15 minutes or discontinue the exercise when your legs go numb.

Other Yogic asanas such as vakrasana, bhujangasana, shalabhasana, halasana, paschimottanasana, sarvangasana and shavasana and pranayamas like kapalbhati, anuloma–viloma and bhastrika are highly beneficial in the treatment of depression.

Adopt Deep Breathing Habits

          Two main functions of the lungs are (i) to take in oxygen from the air you breathe into all the cells of the body through the medium of blood; and (ii) to get rid of the waste product – carbon dioxide and toxins – when you breathe out. The normal tendency by all of us is to breathe in and out mostly and quickly from the upper part of the chest rather than the whole chest down to the abdomen. One should normally breathe in deeply by pushing the air into the abdomen and thus swelling the abdomen for maximum oxygenation of the blood. Deep abdominal breathing promotes relaxation of all the muscles and cells of the body.