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LifeForce Yoga is a specific type of yoga that is intentionally
designed to work with and manage the mood. Through breath work,
simple postures, and meditation techniques, LifeForce Yoga is used
as a compassionate approach to relieve depression and anxiety.
LifeForce Yoga works toward:
balancing the biochemistry of the brain
stimulating the endocrine system to
create
a state of healing and relaxation
Eighty percent of people experiencing depression have some form
of anxiety included in their symptoms. LifeForce Yoga offers specific
practices to balance both spectrums, giving students practical take-
home tools to address the range of moods.
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Benefits of LifeForce Yoga
Physiological Benefits
- Increase in "feel good" hormones: oxytocin and prolactin
- Decrease in cortisol levels
- Increased serotonin
- Relaxes chronic muscle tension
- Restores natural diaphragmatic breathing
- Improves oxygen absorption and carbon dioxide elimination
- Certain techniques stimulate vagus nerve activity
- Calms the nervous system
Psychological Benefits
Elevation of mood
Balances left/right brain function
Cultivates equanimity in the face of life's challenges
Develops greater self-awareness
Symptoms of depression and/or anxiety are lessened
Better management of bipolar disorder
Greater access to feelings, which is a complement to talk therapy
The road to recovery from depression may be finding the balance of medication, talk therapy, and yoga that works for you . . . recovery from depression must include the body . . .LifeForce Yoga is not about "doing," but "undoing" the places in the body where trauma and loss are stored.
--Amy Weintraub, author of "Yoga for Depression."
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Amy Weintraub, MFA, E-RYT 500 is a senior Kripalu teacher, the creator of LifeForce Yoga for depression and anxiety, and founder of the LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute. She is the author of Yoga for Depression (Broadway Books), as well as her CD "Breathe to Beat the Blues", and a recent DVD LifeForce Yoga to Beat the Blues Level One.
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