Feeling S.A.D.?

Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression that occurs the same time every year. It can start from the fall months and go all the way through the winter into March. For me, I know I feel much different at this time of year when the light and warmth leave and is replaced by the dark and coldness of winter. I don't have as much energy or motivation and can feel out of sorts and even irritable.

There are quite a few remedies for S.A.D. Light therapy or light boxes seem to be a traditional way. Some people may even go to a tanning bed to get the light and vitamin D their body is craving. While I haven't tried those and do not recommend a tanning bed, per se, I have tried simpler methods, like eating foods that perk me up a bit, like oranges or grapefruit. Something about the smell of citrus wakes me up. But you can also turn to your yoga practice as well.

Restorative yoga poses, while sounding too restful, actually can help with S.A.D. They allow you to go deeper and offer benefits in a much subtler way. And they calm the nervous system. Try holding these poses in a supportive way for 5-20 minutes. Combine this practice with breathwork and meditation, and you'll have a powerful tool to manage depression at this time of year.

Below are some links for more information for S.A.D. and some restorative yoga poses to try.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195

http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/finder/browse_categories/restorative

Blessings,
Susan

Mind the Gap

When my husband and I were in London a few years back, we took the underground train or the "tube" to get around. Besides walking, it was one of the best ways to see the city and get from one little district to the next. On the trains, an announcement would always chime out to "Mind the Gap" as you exit and enter...a little reminder to watch out for the 2 inch gap between the train door and the platform.

But in my spiritual readings lately, Pema Chodron, a Buddhist monk, reminds us to not only mind the gap, but to create one. She poses this question every morning of her life, "as I go into this day, what is the most important thing? What is the best use of this day?" We go through our routines, our patterns, but are we becoming compassionate, more aware, more awake to ourselves and those around us? Or are we staying more enveloped in our cocoon, staying stuck in what we've always done?

She proposes instead to look at those habitual patterns, so that when you feel like you are on autopilot, to practice pausing or creating a gap. "We can stop and take 3 conscious breaths, and the world has a chance to open up to us in that gap. We can allow space into our state of mind." This breath awareness is one way to create a gap.

Another way is to cultivate a meditation practice. When you let your thoughts go in meditation, you are creating gaps. "If you don't fill up your practice time with your discursive mind, with your worrying and obsessing and all that kind of thing, you have time to experience the blessing of your surroundings. You can just sit there quietly. Then maybe silence will dawn on you, and the sacredness of the space will penetrate."

In yoga, our complimentary breathing and meditation practices help us to still the unending chatter in our minds and to create a space of stillness and awareness to go deeper into our poses. Now we can utilize them even more to dwell in that precious gap of sacred space where we can be fully present, fully awake in the moment, even if it's only for a few seconds.

Blessings,

Susan