Agenda Yoga and Psychotherapy Safe Container the Safe Container

LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute

LifeForce Yoga Agenda Practitioner Training The Safe Container Evidence & Practice Yogic View of Depression Kripalu Center, 2012 Meeting the Mood Yoga Tools Amy Weintraub, MFA, ERYT 500 The Evidence

www.yogafordepression.com The Practice

Yoga Therapeutics & Mental Health Treatment Yoga and Psychotherapy  Strengthens the Therapeutic Alliance  Helps Client focus  Helps Client access feeling states Self-Study (Svadhyaya)  Provides tools for mood regulation Compassion (Karuna)  Provides tools for self-care  Helps in management of Bipolar Disorder & “The highest spiritual practice is self- schizophrenia (Visceglia, 2011) observation with compassion.”  Increases self-efficacy  Nondual Strategies for working with difficult emotions ~Krishnamurti  Provides tools and language to access a larger Self “You are more than your mood, more than your beliefs about yourself and the world.”

Safe Container

We offer the 4 great attitudes: maitri karuna mudita upeksanam The Safe Container sukha dukha punya apunya visayanam bhavanatas citta prasadanam “Crying is one of the highest spiritual practices. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: I, 33 Lovingkindness, compassion, joyfulness, peace One who knows crying knows yoga.” We offer the tools to clear constrictions so that the ~Swami Kripalu essential wholeness within is revealed.

Centering Meditation  Candle Gazing (Tratak)  Toning (Nada Yoga)  Yogic Three-Part Breath (Dirga)  Ocean-Sounding Victory (Ujjayi)  Intention (Sankalpa)  Smile Yoga

Therapeutic Bond – Rituals & Practices Therapeutic Bond Lighting of a candle A hand gesture (mudra) Meta-analysis of over 400 manualized A simple yoga breath (pranayama) treatments for depression, the greatest predictor of a beneficial outcome was not A soothing image of sanctuary or peace the therapeutic modality utilized, but the (bhavana) relationship between client and therapist. A soothing universal tone (mantra) (Wampold, 2001) A cleansing breath (kriya) Client’s intention reveals itself (sankalpa)

Yoga Therapeutics and Yoga in Psychotherapy ~ Psychotherapy Safe Container 1. Safe Container Psychotherapist and LifeForce Yoga® Mentor Joe Walter, LICSW, working with a client, in 2. Permission “Seated Mountain with Integrity.” Inhale: “I am” through the crown; exhale: “Here,” grounding 3. Move slowly through the feet. 4. Cue to sensation 5. Grounding

A client who returned said, "When I came before, you helped me understand and get Yogic View of Depression where I wanted to go. Now you show me yoga practices I use to help myself understand and get where I want to go."  Constricted Prana ~ constrictions in all Koshas ~Sherry Rubin, LCSW, BCD, LFYP, Mistaken belief of Separation ~ Avidya Downingtown, PA (II:3)

Duhkha – Sukha – Suffering ~ Happiness ~ literally means obstructed space literally means unobstructed space

Kleshas ~ Afflictions

Avidya ~ Ignorance Asmita ~ Identification with apparent reality Raga ~ Attraction Dvesha ~ Aversion (to divide life) There’s a yoga appropriate for every body! Abhinivesha ~ Fear of Change/Death or clinging to life ~II:3

 Tamasic: In emotional terms, this would be dysthymia (mild,  Rajasic: In emotional terms, this chronic depression), lethargy, would be anxiety, anxiety-based major depression. Meet the depression, mania, hypomania. tamasic state with a slow, Meet the rajasic state with vigor, restorative practice, then build then move to a more calming to a more energizing practice. practice. Meeting the Mood/Constitution Meeting the Mood/Constitution ~ Understanding the Gunas ~ Understanding the Gunas

Basics of Asana & Pranayama as Treatment

 Postures are practiced with conscious attention to the breath and the sensations in the body.  The following movements are included: Tapas svadhyaya Isvara pranidhana forward bending, back bending, side stretching, twists, inversions. kriya Yoga.  Yogic breathing exercises are practiced that deepen the breath, increasing lung capacity, energizing the solar plexus and the cerebral Patanjali, Yoga Sutras, II:1 cortex.  The practice is regular (minimum of 4-5 times a week.)

Yogic Strategies ~ Yogic Strategies ~ Optimal Mental Health Optimal Mental Health Postures (Asana) ~ attention to sensation (Appropriate in both yoga and clinical settings) and breath as portal into the unlimited.  Breathing Techniques (Pranayama & kriya)  Creating Intention/Affirmation (Sankalpa) sthira sukam asanam (II:46)  Using Visual Imagery (Bhavana) Posture is mastered by releasing tension and  Hand Gestures (Mudra) meditation on the unlimited; from that (mastery of asana), no assaults come from the pairs of  Mantra Chanting (Nada) opposites (II:47-48)  Community (Satsanga) ~Swami Vishnu-Devananda  Nondual Strategies to balance the opposites vitarka badhane pratipaksa bhavanam (II:33)

Yogic Strategies ~ Overview of Biochemical & Optimal Mental Health Physiological Changes  Yoga Nidra  Decrease in cortisol levels (stress hormone) Inner Sanctuary  Increase in GABA levels (primary inhibitory Intention/resolve (sankapla) neurotransmitter) Body Scan (annamaya kosha) Breath Awareness (pranamaya kosha)  Increase in HRV (heart rate variability) Feeling & Balancing the Opposites (manomaya kosha  Increase in BDNF (neuroplasticity, genetic & vijnanamaya kosha) expression) Awareness of Self (anandamaya kosha)  Demonstrated improvement in memory, Suggestion: Self-acceptance, Gratitude cognitive functioning, perceptual motor skills, Intention/resolve (sankapla) visual perception

Overview of Biochemical & LifeForce Yoga® for Mood Physiological Changes Disturbance Study  Relaxes chronic muscle tension  ®  Restores natural diaphragmatic breathing Between times one (before the LifeForce Yoga  Improves oxygen absorption and carbon dioxide program) and two (two weeks after learning it), elimination participants reported:  Increases alpha and theta waves • 64% decrease in total mood disturbance (POMS)  Regulates hypothalamus at an optimum level • 53% decrease in average depression scores (BDI)  Certain techniques stimulate vagal nerve activity  Bioavailability of oxygen and glucose, building blocks • At two months, overall mood disturbance for the production of neurotransmitters continued to drop.  Calms sympathetic nervous system while activating  Bennett, S., Weintraub, A., Khalsa, S.B., “Initial evaluation of the parasympathetic system LifeForce Yoga® program as a therapeutic intervention for depression,” Intern. Jour Yoga Therapy, 2008.  http://www.yogafordepression.com/IJYT-2008-Bennett.pdf 28

UCLA Iyengar Depression Study Yoga Outshines Walking for Mood  Of the 17 completers, all diagnosed with unipolar depression  In a randomized controlled MRS study, researchers at in partial remission, who took 20 Iyengar yoga classes, 11 were in complete remission after the intervention. Significant Boston University compared study participants who reductions were shown for depression, anger, anxiety, and walked three times a week for exercise to a group neurotic symptoms. assigned to three weekly Yoga classes over a period of twelve weeks.  The authors state that the overall remission rate of 65%  GABA levels were significantly elevated in the Yoga “compares favorably with other CAM interventions: 43% Sam-e; 20% Omega-3 fatty acids; 19% folic acid; 25% aerobic practitioners. exercise.”  More mood improvements in the Yoga group on standard psycho-social measurements.

Evidence Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 2007 “Effects of Yoga Versus Walking on Mood, Anxiety, and Brain GABA Levels,” J. Complement Med. 2010, Nov. 16 (11).

Mood Improvement for Young Self-Efficacy in Battered Women Adults with Vinyasa Yoga

 In this first controlled study to examine the effects of pranayama breathing on self-efficacy Young adults with depressive symptoms in a the researchers found that the greatest effect on five-week Vinyasa yoga intervention showed self-efficacy for the battered women in the significant improvements in both self-reported study was derived from the combined & observer-rated depressive symptoms, somatic Testimony/Breathing condition. symptoms & sleep quality.

* (2007) Alliant International University [email protected] “Efficacy in Battered Women,” International Journal of Yoga Therapy, (16), 2006. [email protected]

Chanting Om Shown to LifeForce Yoga & Mood Studies in Deactivate the Limbic System Progress  University of North Texas, Mandy Jordan, PhD Researchers compared 15 seconds of  University of Virginia, Patricia Kinser, MA “OM” (5 – O; 10 – m) to 15 seconds of  Brown University/Butler Hospital, Lisa Uebelacker, the sound “Ssssss…” and to 15 seconds PhD (NIH) of rest. Significant deactivation in the Current yoga and mental research summaries available: amygdala as well as other emotional http://yogafordepression.com/research-and-news/ areas only during ‘OM’ chanting Bangalore G Kalyani, et al., “Neurohemodynamic correlates of ‘OM’ chanting: A pilot functional magnetic resonance imaging study” International Journal of Yoga. 2011 Jan- Jun; 4(1): 3–6.

Yoga Practices Yoga Skills in Psychotherapy

in a clinical setting Working with Children: Psychologist and Psychotherapist and LifeForce LifeForce Yoga® Yoga® Practitioner Laura Orth Practitioner Dr. Deborah teaching an eight-year-old Lubetkin with a client, client with severe anxiety, who Lotus Mudra vomited in new situations, Yogic-Three-Part Breath, after trying numerous cognitive interventions without success.

Yoga Skills in Psychotherapy Yoga Therapy for Mood  Using Client-Created Affirmation: Yoga Meeting Negative Self-Talk therapist and LifeForce Yoga® Practitioner Joy Psychotherapist and LifeForce Yoga® Bennett guiding a client with a history of Practitioner Joe Walter working with a client, in childhood sexual abuse in Mountain Pose with Seated Mountain with Integrity, using mantra and the affirmation, “Unshakeable confidence and Yogic breathing to counter tremendous negative trust breathes through me now.” self-talk and overwhelming anxiety.

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Yoga Therapy for Mood Alternate Nostril Breathing  Meeting the Client’s Belief System: Yoga therapist and LifeForce Yoga® Practitioner Joy Bennett guiding her client suffering from an anxiety-based depression and panic attacks to breathe the prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola through her open hands, aligning the Yoga practice with her strong belief system as a Roman Catholic.

Alternate Nostril Breathing Vishnu Mudra – Hand in a clinical setting Position for Alternate Nostril

Psychologist and LifeForce Yoga Practitioner Dr. Sue Dilsworth leading a client in Alternate Nostril Breathing

Opening Occluded Nostrils for Energizing Mudras Alternate Nostril Breathing Ganesha Mudra

Energizing Mudras Energizing Mudras Brahma Mudra Shiva Lingam Mudra

Calming Mudras Calming Mudras Happy Buddha Mudra Adhi Mudra

Calming Mudras Calming Mudras Chin Mudra Dhyana Mudra