How I Overcame My Depression by Testing a Harvard Study on Hot Yoga

Depression is one of those things I always feel like it’s so normal, yet makes you feel absolutely alone. I spent years of my life where I felt hopeless, tired, and like the world was just completely numb. And for people who haven’t experienced it, depression feels kind of abstract. But for us, who have known it, understand how disorienting and vulnerable it makes one feel. Living in this cycle of perpetual negativity and isolation really killed my motivation and hope for a better future. Even the easiest things became too difficult, and it sometimes felt as if happiness existed just beyond my reach.

From antidepressants to hours and hours of therapy, you name it, I’ve done it all. Even mindfulness and some spiritual practices, and even returning to church, which was unfortunately short-lived. I just found myself spiraling into more and more of the void until I came across this article that has altered my life by its effect on me.

The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry reported a clinical trial that took 80 people and asked them to participate in Bikram yoga, otherwise known as hot yoga (which basically means doing yoga in rooms as hot as 105°F). The trials revealed that The individuals participating in heated yoga classes did have some pretty impressive improvements in their depression symptoms compared to those who didn’t join in. More than half of the participants reported their symptoms decreased to 50 percent and many, including themselves, were thought to be in remission after only eight weeks. As a noted expert, Dr. Maren Nyer said that leading this study, heat-based interventions truly show a lot of promise as alternative non-medication approaches to treating depression because physical activity combined with heat exposure has been shown to help reduce inflammation, one known leader among the causes of depression.

How hot yoga might be used as a treatment for depression:

1.Thermoregulation
Some of the claims by Dr. Charles Layson include that hot yoga warms up your body and raises your internal temperature to a point at which you can better regulate your heat. Most victims of depression have an off internal thermostat, compared to most healthy persons. This makes their body temperature rise instead of going down and eliminates their chances of sweating off what can only be referred to as toxins that collect inside them. Your thermoregulator cools down and resets at the end of the class, helping with the alleviation of symptoms of depression.

2.Hormetic Effect
It has a hormetic effect, an adaptive response to mild stressors. In this process, it can even reduce inflammation and overall improve brain health, so it lends to better mood regulation.

3.Serotonin:
Regardless of the form of exercise, whether it’s hot yoga, serotonin levels in the brain will be raised. Higher serotonin levels have been associated with a better mood and fewer symptoms of depression.

4.Mindfulness and being present:
Hot yoga demands extreme focus and mindfulness of most of it, it merely remains about breathwork and movement within the heat. That did cut down the people’s ruminations and anxiety, and allowed people to take heed of the present.

5.Physical Exertion and Serenity
The sweat drenching you at the end of your hot yoga session can make you feel exhausted yet serene as you await unwinding after class. Practitioners have complained of feeling refreshingly energized and more calm after class, which serves to counter feelings of fatigue and low energy that typically accompany depression.

Increased emotional and social functioning: Regular exercise can lead to higher emotional well-being, increases energy, and enhances social interaction-issues that all contribute to quality of life for the person with depression.

Class started today!

Feeling this mix of excitement and slight nervousness, I thought the opposite: take this first hot yoga class. As soon as I entered the warm room, heat hit me like a boomerang. Some instructor took us through various poses and reminded us how to breathe and be present. Actually, it was very tough to deal with so much fire at the beginning, but mid-class was when I began to relax and let go.

It was an excellent exercise to clear one’s head. I caught a rhythm of breathing and movement, and suddenly it felt.calming (?), a feeling with which I haven’t been familiar for such a long time. By the end of the class, I was proud of myself and way clearer in my head than I was in ages.

So I kept it going. Day after day just waiting for the next session, the next class not only gave me a motive to look forward to but I also started to notice a change in how I felt mentally. The heat and movement really helped clear my mind and I had found a place I was allowed to let go and get back in touch with my body.

Dr. David Mischoulon said that as few as one class per week had a huge positive effect on mood in those in the yoga group. Being a little bit active and some heat makes for a pretty cool healing space.

For me, hot yoga has been a game-changer, but I know it is not for everyone. The study pointed out the results may not apply to everyone for merely the reason that mostly included college-educated women. But it is always good to chat with a healthcare pro if you want to try something new, especially if you have some health issues.

Then there is of course the very important point that hot yoga does not replace conventional treatments. I still attend therapy and take my meds; hot yoga is only a nice supplement to my daily routine, making me feel better on the whole, and providing some extra means of having with depression.

Probably, the most important thing I have learned on this journey is how much self-care is worth doing. To cope with depression is very labor-intensive. Even making the effort just to get to a hot yoga class shows me that I am lovable and cared for, and the commitment in sticking with my mental health.

The process of dealing with depression can be an absolute rollercoaster ride; it has its highs and lows.

If you’re depressed, just know you are not alone and don’t quit trying all new ways to heal- you never know what will click for you. Perhaps it is hot yoga, like it was for me, or maybe something different will work for you. Just pay attention to how your body is feeling and maybe check in with a pro.

And no matter how far along you are in your recovery journey, dear reader, know that I’m proud of you.