Why So Sad? How Yoga Helps You Battle Depression

You can choose to be happy.

It does involve effort though. You can't just make the decision and then a sea of happiness magically appears and gently surrounds you.

So what is involved with deciding to be happy?

A couple of things:

1.   First up, you need to identify the things in your life making you a miserable git.

This isn't too hard; as they are the things you are stressed and depressed about.  

When you do this you are using the yogic principle of self-study (svadyaya).

2.    Now that you’ve identified your stressors, you need to decide whether you can actually do anything about them.

The Alcoholics Anonymous motto can help here:

"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, 

the courage to change the things I can, 

and the wisdom to know the difference."

So when you think about the things upsetting you, can you actually change them? Probably not (or you would change them, and then you wouldn't be depressed).

Accepting when you cannot change a situation, is embodying the yogic principle of surrender (ishvarapranidhana).

So, up to now, you've stopped struggling against the things upsetting you.

3.    The next thing to do is to start to find happiness in the things you do. Easier said than done.

1600 years ago, Patanjali said…

"In relationships, the mind becomes purified by cultivating feelings of friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion for those suffering, goodwill towards those who are virtuous, and indifference or neutrality towards those we perceive as wicked or evil." 

The word "cultivating" in the sutra = work - or practice in yoga-speak. 

So Patanjali is saying that you can actually practice (.i.e. work at) being happy. Weird, but oh so true.

Now, this isn't to say that you won't occasionally fall off the happiness horse. You will. 

Like falling out of a difficult pose, remain calm and get back into it.

Depression and stress are serious business. They can wreck your health and your relationships, leaving you lonely and broken. Yoga's great for turning this around.

Summary

Figure out what’s making you sad. 
Let go of it, if you can't change it. 
Look at what’s left in your life. 
Start finding something in there to be happy about. 
Claw your way out of the depression when you fall off the bandwagon.
Try to mend all the destruction you caused in your fall from grace.

Yoga and depression, who'd a thought? 

Hopefully, UR not so sad now, J.