Seasonal Affective Disorder – Can yoga help?

Can you believe the clocks are going back this Sunday? It feels like summer has vanished in the blink of an eye along with all the leaves that have blown off the trees due to the extra stormy weather we’ve encountered over the last couple of weeks.

Winter is most definitely looming. The dark mornings and nights are fast approaching and it’s the time of year that make me want to hide under the quilt with a giant mug of hot chocolate and a packet of bourbon biscuits hoping spring hurries itself up!

Wanting to hibernate is a perfectly normal thing. Our body naturally goes into sleep mode with the extra darkness as our body produces more melatonin and less serotonin.

Do feel mentally & physically drained during autumn & winter? When we have little or no sunshine for days on end do you feel like your body slouches and an overwhelming feeling of lethargy comes over you? If so then it could be you are suffering from SAD.

It is thought that SAD affects around 20% of us to differing degrees and is acknowledged as a form of depression. If you are a woman who suffers with PMT then some scientists believe that these two things are linked and you are much more likely to suffer SAD, and in general women are four times more likely to suffer than men.It therefore stands to reason that the same remedies that can help with other kinds of depression can also help us deal with SAD.

Here are a few things that I personally find help me combat bouts of SAD

Keep a regular sleep/wake pattern

Even though I just want to curl up, I set my alarm every day at the same time and do my best to get out of bed!

Light box or clock

These are known to help as it simulates sunrise and sunset meaning that your body is tricked into thinking it’s daylight and then naturally produces the right hormones at the right time of day. On a personal note, I’ve had a clock for years and I swear by it.

Don’t cave in to the carbs

There’s a higher chance of craving sugary, high carb content food. Try having healthier alternatives stocked up so that when the cravings start you can reach for more energy inducing foods rather than foods that give you an artificial and temporary high before the sugar crash.

Exercise

Inside or outside for as long as you like. It will produce endorphins that make you feel more alive.

Pranayama

Prana in yogic terms is our life force. We can enrich this through incredibly powerful breathing exercises. You will try a variety of breathing exercises in our yoga & meditation classes that you can then practice at home. Just a few minutes every day of conscious breathing to expand your lungs can make an enormous difference.

Yoga

Of course! Yoga is proven to have benefits in combatting depression so it’s natural it will help with SAD. And a regular yoga practice will help you to calm the nervous system and produce the happy hormones, teach breathing exercises that can be practiced at home, and make you feel warm & sunny inside no matter what it’s like outside.