Yoga practice may support people with depression

Experts in the article describe yoga as a complementary practice that can provide mental and social benefits for people with depression, and a longtime yoga teacher profiled credits yoga with playing a central role in her recovery.

The article reports on how yoga is used alongside conventional care to support people living with depression. It notes both personal experience and research perspectives. A longtime teacher, Amy Weintraub, is described as attributing much of her recovery to yoga, and some experts emphasize that yoga is not a cure but a complementary practice. Clinicians and researchers in the piece outline possible psychological and biological ways yoga might help. Key points: - Yoga classes combine movement, breathwork, sound, and pauses that can promote present-moment attention and emotional regulation. - Amy Weintraub, a teacher with many years of experience, is described as having used yoga during her recovery and later training other teachers to work with depression. - Experts quoted in the article say yoga should be seen as a complement to, not a replacement for, professional mental health care. - Researchers mentioned are exploring biological pathways, including possible effects on DNA methylation and increases in endorphins and GABA. - A 2023 Gallup survey cited in the piece reports that about 29% of adults have been diagnosed with depression at some point. Summary: The article presents yoga as a complementary approach that may support mental and social well-being for some people with depression, and describes both lived experience and emerging research into biological and psychological mechanisms. Undetermined at this time.