The Strange is Beautiful (TSIB) Yoga with Shannen Roberts, certified 350 hour yoga instructor, uses yoga, meditation, self-massage and pranayama practices to find beauty in mental, emotional and physical obstacles.
#TheStrangeisBeautiful.
TSIB Yoga for Depression, Anxiety and Panic Attacks
I offer yoga classes and self-help workshops for depression, anxiety and panic attacks. Self-help retreats coming soon!
Click on the photo to practice 10 poses for depression, anxiety, and panic attacks.
Yoga for Anxiety and Depression
“The yogis believe we hold the traumas and the losses in our psychic (mental-emotional) body and our physical body. What’s unique about yoga is that when practicing, we begin to release all that past trauma held in our body, but without a story attached.
“Most everybody who practices yoga has had an experience of crying on their yoga mat.
“If you can create sacred space when you’re practicing yoga, you don’t even have to know what’s being released; you’re going to feel refreshed and better.”
– Quote from a Huffington Post interview of Amy Weintraub, founder of LifeForceYoga, yoga for depression research and trainings.
I believe traditional methods of help such as talk therapy and medications are necessary means for recovery, however, the combination of holistic methods such as yoga and traditional treatment has been proven to be more effective in assuring those struggling maintain lasting happiness and satisfaction of life.
The Science of How Yoga Works
Doctors tend to focus on changing the biochemistry of the brain with drugs to “raise the levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin,” however, even if these levels are balanced, it does not mean the person suffering will cease to have symptoms. According to Dr. Chad Cox of The Doctor’s Office in Valencia, anti anxiety and depression pills “do not make people happy, they correct chemical imbalances.” Yoga and meditation are the missing link to discovering inner happiness that should be used hand-in-hand with traditional treatment methods. In cases with mild or moderate symptoms, sometimes pill are unnecessary means because holistic methods would work better, faster and have effects that last. Below are highlights of research Forbes magazine recently published on how yoga and meditation has similar results as anti anxiety and anti depression pills, aids mental obstacles, and creates lasting happiness.
- Research conducted by Boston University School of Medicine showed that one hour of yoga significantly increased brain levels of a calming neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, which is what the antianxiety pills benzodiazepines target.
- Another study in 2011 conducted by Sara Lazar and her team at Harvard found after eight weeks of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a training that combines mindfulness meditation and yoga, the brain cell volume in the amygdala, which is responsible for fear, anxiety, and stress, decreased and participants reported having improved psychological well-being.
- Being present has been known throughout many philosophical and religious traditions to be the key to happiness, and yet the natural tendency for a human is mind-wandering. One study recorded people’s ongoing thoughts, actions, and level of happiness during random waking hours of the day and concluded “a human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind.” Yoga and meditation are ancient practices that aim to quiet the fluctuations of the mind. Yale University revealed that mindfulness meditation reduces activity in the brain network that causes mind-wandering called the default mode network (DMN), or “monkey mind.” A study at Johns Hopkins reinforces the power of meditation and discovered that meditation has the same level of effectiveness as anti-depressants.
“As a yoga therapist, you want not only to help lift your students out of depression, but to quiet their restless minds, put them in touch with their deeper purpose in life, and connect them with an inner source of calm and joy that yoga insists is their birthright,” says yoga instructor Dr. Timothy McCall. Through movement, breath techniques and body awareness, yoga teaches students to look within for happiness and treats the person as a whole, not just the problem.
What is Yoga and What is NOT Yoga
Yoga is a method of reconnecting with the universe and with self through movement and breath. Many people believe yoga is simply a physical workout with crazy show-off poses, but that is the Western hype of yoga with the focus on the physical appearance of the body and the ego, and is not the purpose of yoga. Yoga is meant to be a form of moving meditation that brings calm in the mind, body and soul. Humans are constantly changing, so yoga honors the natural mental shifts, and offers techniques to create less reactivity during stressful situations. Yoga’s origins date back to the Vedic period in India, but the yoga I teach falls under the umbrella of Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga entails the styles of Iyengar yoga, focuses on form and alignment, Vinyasa flow yoga, focuses on constant movement connected to the breath, and Viniyoga, heals injuries and promotes the parasympathetic nervous system otherwise known as restorative yoga. My classes will combine these three aspects of Hatha Yoga to serve the individual needs of each student.
I hope I can help you find beauty in the strange, and make life a little bit easier and enjoyable. You can email me at strangeisbeauty@gmail.com to set up a text, Skype, Snapchat, or in person lesson.
Sending ++posi vibes++
Shannen Roberts
Founding Editor in Chief
The Strange is Beautiful
Read about my personal journey with injuries and mind obstacles here.
Learn about about why I started The Strange is Beautiful here.