Did you know... research has shown that yoga and controlled breathing can reduce depression?
Allow me to share with you an interesting research study that supports the above statement…
In 2017, a group of researchers had a look at the impact of an integrative health intervention in a group of patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder.
Adults between the ages of 18-64 years with major depressive disorder were put through a 12-week program that included Iyengar yoga classes and controlled breathing exercises.
Half of the group participated in...
- 3 high-dose yoga classes per week,
the other half of the group participated in...
- 2 low-dose yoga classes per week,
and everyone was advised to practice yoga postures at home as well as controlled breathing.
The yoga classes consisted of... Iyengar yoga for 60 minutes, deep relaxation for 10 minutes followed by 20 minutes of the slow controlled breathing exercise.
At the conclusion of the study, all the participants showed significant improvements, regardless of whether they were medicated or not.
However, those that did the 3 high-dose yoga classes/week plus the controlled breathing improved more.
You may be asking why am I discussing adult depression?
The reason is that many children who are diagnosed with ADHD go on to be diagnosed with Depression and Anxiety. They often struggle in childhood to keep up with their peers both academically and socially. This leads them to feel anxious, sad and frustrated.
I believe that prevention is better than cure. So, if parents enrol their children into yoga and meditation classes at an early age it may help them manage these feelings and prevent the onset of clinical depression and anxiety. You might want to consider enrolling yourself in these classes too.
I know from personal experience it helped me. When my daughter was young I needed time for myself and so, I would go to yoga classes. At the end of a one-hour yoga class, we would practice 10 minutes of meditation.
I remember enquiring about yoga classes for my daughter, unfortunately back in the 1990s, there were no children's classes available. Well, at the very least, I could not find any. Now, there are many classes advertising children's yoga classes as well as family yoga classes. I encourage you to look into it!
