Who Needs Prozac?

[libby]

I found this clipping in some old papers I'd saved:

The Washington Post
Good Questions

Who needs Prozac?

"After having depression for years, former TV producer Amy Weintraub happened into a yoga class and found that the ancient discipline helped her more than her antidepressant drugs did. Nine months later she was off meds, relying on daily yoga practice to bring a sense of well-being. Now, after teaching yoga since 1992, Weintraub has penned  "Yoga for Depression" (Broadway Books, 2003).  We talked with her recently about it.

How does yoga help with depression?

When you're doing yoga, you're paying close attention to your breathing, making it deepen, which makes for better blood flow to the brain ... The stretching activates receptors that send messages of relaxation to the brain. And a recent study done in Pennsylvania showed that yoga lowers levels of the hormone cortisol.

You say it can even help those with bipolar disorder?

I've known and taught a number of people with bipolar disorder who have been able to manage their symptoms with yoga. One person, who had terrible bouts of mania, had been hospitalized eight times and was told she'd spend the rest of her life in and out of mental institutions. Her daughter's teacher said, "Let me show you some yoga moves." She hasn't been hospitalized since. She uses the breathing techniques she learned in yoga to control her mania.

How many hours do you have to put in to feel better?

For me, doing yoga every day is essential. I do it for an hour at home, first thing, before I start my day. And depending on how you feel that day, whether you're anxious or depressed, you can practice differently-- slowly if you're anxious, more vigorously if you're feeling low. I look at it this way: If you're on Prozac ...you take it every day. Yoga is no different. "

[Palehorse]

I didn't do yoga today. But I did wrestle a water heater. . . 

[libby]

I didn't do yoga today. But I did wrestle a water heater. . . 

Hmmm ... if you're like some men I know (my dad included) in a situation like that I would guess the sounds coming from your house were more like Ralphie's dad ... 

[Palehorse]

  Hmmm ... if you're like some men I know (my dad included) in a situation like that I would guess the sounds coming from your house were more like Ralphie's dad ... 

Funny you should mention that. Oddly enough it wasn't like that this time. I was too busy trying to avoid a trip to the ER to cuss like a sailor.

At one point I had the thing strapped onto the dolly and while rocking it to lean it over and wheel it out the door it went the other way. I'm not a little man and this thing outweighed me drastically. It began slipping closer and closer and my mind was screaming, "drop this thing and take out the door, and you'll have to listen to your wife yell at you for not calling her brother to help you."  At that pony I screamed, "NO!", and in an almost surreal moment I watched amazed as the thing lifted up and straight back toward me.

If it weren't for the sore right arm, neck, back, and shoulder muscles I am walking around with, I'd swear I had divine assistance in that moment. . . Even with them I'm not entirely sure this isn't the case. . . I should have been listening to my wife scream at me, replacing a broken utility room door, and drying out even more soaked carpeting, but somehow I am not.  And I am thankful for it too. . .

Next time the damned thing goes out I'll have to pay someone to come swap them out. . . I'll be too friggin' old to be wrestling a 50 gallon hot water heater. 

[libby]

  Oh my gosh, glad you're okay. You know how to tell a story, and I have a good imagination. Made me think of something that happened to me several years ago:

My front yard is small and steep, and I've spent years trying to make a rock garden out of it. Once, when I was at the top, where there is a level walkway, I stooped down, facing the street,  and tried to reach something just beyond my grasp, and before I knew it, I was airborne. Landed on the sidewalk on all fours, and the first thought I had was, "Oh Lord, I hope the neighbors aren't watching!  They weren't and to this day I can't figure out how I did that without breaking something.

[Anne]

PH, you sound like my husband. We have been married almost 52 years and until last year we have only had a plumber twice, an electrician once and a sewer guy once when we had to have a new sewer line put in. Last year he finally admitted he was past all that. Costs more money but is easier on the back and ears. 😁