Best yoga poses for depression treatment

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 What is depression?

Depression is a mental ailment and disorder that affects your mood negatively. The reasons could be a hectic and unhealthy lifestyle, past trauma, or hormonal issues. There is no control in life. It can lead to sleep disorders, low self-esteem, and suicidal feelings.

Yoga for depression

Yoga is a natural mood enhancer. It increases the supply of oxygen to the brain, releases mood-enhancing chemicals in the brain, and relaxes and releases stress. Yoga combined with deep breathing can do wonders for people affected by depression. 

Here are few yoga asanas for depression:
  • Uttanasana
  • Prasarita padottanasana
  • Adhomukh svanasana
  • Sirsasana
  • Sarvangasana
  • Paschimottanasana
  • Ustrasana
  • Savasana
Uttanasana:
woman doing uttanasana

Stand straight keeping feet together and knees tight. Exhale, bend forward from the pelvis keeping the back straight and place the palms on the floor, keeping the head up. Take a few deep breaths. Exhale, bend further, and rest your head on your knees. Do not loosen the grip of the knees. Take a few deep breaths. Inhale and raise the head up keeping palms on the ground and then with an inhalation raise the trunk and get back to the original position.

Prasarita padottanasana:
man doing prasarita padottanasana

Stand straight keeping feet together and knees tight. Exhale, bend forward from the pelvis keeping the back straight and place the palms on the floor, keeping the head up. Take a few deep breaths. Exhale, bend further, and rest your head on your knees. Do not loosen the grip of the knees. Take a few deep breaths. Inhale and raise the head up keeping palms on the ground and then with an inhalation raise the trunk and get back to the original position.

Adho Mukha svanasana:
woman doing adhomukh svanasana

Lie on the floor on your stomach keeping your feet slightly apart. Put the palms on the sides of the shoulders, exhale and raise the trunk from the ground. Straighten the arms, move the head inwards keeping elbows tight and straight and back extended. Keep the legs tight and do not bend the knees and rest the soles of the feet entirely on the floor parallel to each other. Stay in this asana for a few deep breaths and then lower the body and come back.

Sirsasana:
woman doing sirsasana

Sit on the floor on your knees. Inter-twine the fingers and place the forearms on the floor in front of you. Place the crown of the head between the fingers. Lift the knees off the floor and straighten them. Now start walking towards the trunk until the back is upright. You can bend the knees slightly to straighten the back. Bring the knees as close to the trunk as you can without lifting your feet off the ground. Now raise one leg off the ground and try to balance the body and similarly the other one should be taken off the ground slowly so that you do not lose the balance. Straighten the thighs together or one by one and then the knees. The body would be straight as a stick in the final pose. Hold this pose for some time and then come back.

Sarvangasana:
woman doing sarvangasana

Lie straight on your back with your arms resting on the sides. Tighten the knees and lift the legs off the ground until they are perpendicular to the floor. Beginners can bend their knees if they are not flexible enough. Raise the torso using the force of your palms. Bend the elbows and use them to hold the back steady with your palms. The trunk and legs should be in one line perpendicular to the neck. The chin should be pressed against the chest. Hold for some time and then return back.

Paschimottanasana:
woman doing paschimottanasana

Sit on the floor with legs straight in front with a straight back. Exhale and bend slightly forward to grab the toes. Now inhale, and stretch the spine, look upwards trying to make the back concave. In the start, it will feel like an impossible task but with time muscles elongate and adapt themselves and the hump will disappear. Take a couple of deep breaths in this position. Exhale, bend forward from the pelvis using your arms as a lever to pull the trunk, do not strain. First, try to touch the head on the knees, then the forehead, nose, and lips. Hold this pose for a few seconds and slowly extend the time up to 5 minutes.

Ustrasana:
woman doing ustrasana

Kneel on the ground, keeping thighs and feet together and toes pointing back. Rest the palms on the hips and expand the chest. Now, rest the left palm on the left ankle and the right palm on the right ankle, and with an exhalation extend the head back fully. Stretch the back and thighs such that the thighs are perpendicular to the floor. Stay in the pose for half a minute and then return to the original position.

Savasana:
woman doing savasana

Lie flat on the ground on your back. Keep the arms slightly away from the thighs. Heels should be kept together and toes apart. If you relax your body enough you will observe that it will happen naturally. Keep your eyes close and breathe even and deep. There should be no jerks in breathing. It should be so slow that your nostrils should not feel the warmth of breath. Stay in the pose for good 15 minutes.

People using asanas for therapeutic purposes should hold them and breathe deeply for longer durations.

Note: If you have any pre-existing medical condition, kindly consult your doctor or an experienced yoga teacher before starting a yoga practice.


Thank you for reading. Stay healthy!



Attributions:
  • <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/young-yogi-attractive-woman-uttanasana-pose-white-loft-backg_1282076.htm#query=uttanasana&position=5&from_view=search&track=sph">Image by yanalya</a> on Freepik
  • <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/man-with-his-head-resting-flor_935434.htm#query=wide%20legged%20forward%20bend&position=7&from_view=search&track=sph">Image by yanalya</a> on Freepik
  • <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/young-attractive-woman-downward-facing-dog-pose_3939071.htm#page=2&query=adhomukha%20svanasana&position=7&from_view=search&track=ais">Image by yanalya</a> on Freepik
  • <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/sporty-woman-practicing-yoga-doing-headstand-exercise-salamba-sirsasana-pose-working-out-wearing-sportswear-black-watching-fitness-video-tutorial-online-laptop-doing-workout-home-sitting_14779507.htm#query=sirsasana&position=0&from_view=search&track=sph">Image by jcomp</a> on Freepik
  • <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/young-attractive-woman-salamba-sarvangasana-pose_3939098.htm#query=salamba%20sarvangasana&position=0&from_view=search&track=sph">Image by yanalya</a> on Freepik
  • <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/young-yogi-woman-paschimottanasana-pose-with-block-loft-back_1282106.htm#query=paschimottanasana&position=5&from_view=search&track=sph">Image by yanalya</a> on Freepik
  • <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/young-woman-doing-ustrasana-exercise_3955050.htm#query=ustrasana&position=5&from_view=search&track=sph">Image by yanalya</a> on Freepik
  • <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/young-woman-savasana-pose-grey-studio-background_1281541.htm#query=savasana&position=2&from_view=search&track=sph">Image by yanalya</a> on Freepik

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