My beloved child,
Break your heart no longer.
Each time you judge yourself,
You break your own heart.
Swami Kripalu/Carolyn Dell’uomo
 

Message from Amy:
 

COMPASSION AS PRACTICE
Let your first step onto your mat in the morning be an act of compassion for yourself. Compassion is a practice, just like asana (postures) or pranayama (breathing exercises). Think how much easier it is to say “I love you” to someone else. When you wake up tomorrow morning, why not practice saying it to yourself? If that’s too hard, remind yourself that your body is a temple. When you love yourself, you are loving the divine that dwells within. Yogi Amrit Desai used to say, “Praise the wisdom of the body as the silent voice of the divine itself.”
 

Welcome to the 4th issue of the LifeForce Yoga® for Depression Newsletter! In this issue, you’ll find an announcement of the FIRST LifeForce Yoga® residential retreat and professional training here in Tucson, news from the International Association of Yoga Therapists, abstracts and brief reports on current research that links yoga to positive mental health, news about new options for the LifeForce Yoga® Persona Retreats, a way to find a LifeForce-trained Yoga teacher and/or therapist in your area, the current schedule of workshops and trainings for 2005 and 2006, and reviews of two recommended audio practice CD’s.

I returned to Tucson from a spring and summer spent teaching In Texas and on the East Coast, where I met many of you. Those wonderful yogis whom I met in Texas, New York, and Massachusetts who asked me to develop a retreat/training in Tucson in 2006— well, as of today, we have dates!

Our first annual LifeForce Yoga® Healing Intensive in Tucson, which offers CE credit for Yoga Teachers and social workers (NASW/AZ pending), will be held January 7 - 12th, 2006, the best time to come to sunny Tucson. I am grateful to Susan and the folks at the Redemptorist Renewal Center at Picture Rocks in the Tucson Mountains (120 acres adjoining Saguaro National Park, watched over my Hohokam petroglyphs) for inviting us to their outstanding and affordable retreat center in prime time. Please click here to read more about the retreat and to register. The early bird discount applies until October 1st.

From August through November, I’ll be offering workshops and trainings on the East Coast, West Coast, Texas, Nevada, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Vancouver, B.C. The next week in New England will be at Kripalu with Eve Wood, M.D. From August 21 - 26th, we'll be leading Yoga and Postive Mental Health. For more specific details about any of these offerings, please see the calendar below.

In this Issue:
News
Research
Schedule of Workshops & Trainings
CD’s: New & Recommended
Resources

 

New LifeForce Training Page
 

Because so many people who’ve read the book write to me looking for a teacher in their area who teaches with an understanding of the emotional body, we’ve launched a new page on the web site to help folks find a teacher or yoga therapist. The “LifeForce Yoga® Practitioners” page includes teachers and therapists around the country who have taken the advanced professional training, “LifeForce Yoga® Training for Depression and Anxiety” (18 hours or more). For those of you who took the training in its earlier form, “Teaching to the Emotional Body,” and would like to be listed, please contact me.

New Options for the Personal LifeForce Healing Intensive Retreat
 

New healing practitioners have joined the caring team for our LifeForce Yoga® Personal Healing Retreat.

Author, healer, psychiatrist, Lewis Mehl- Madrona, M.D., Ph.D., who led the sweat lodge for those on the LifeForce Healing Retreat, is now doing his healing work primarily in Hawaii and in Canada where he is a professor in the Department of Academic Family Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine. We will miss him here in Tucson and are grateful for the many lessons he taught us, the depth of his compassion, and his open heart. http://www.drma drona.com/

Jonathan H. Ellerby M.A., M.S.C. now runs our Earth Wisdom and Sweat Lodge program. Jonathan’s work as a Spiritual Counselor, holistic healing practitioner, and educator draws on over 15 years of experience and study in a wide range of healing systems. He has studied with healers and spiritual leaders from more than 35 different cultures including 12 years with a Lakota Sioux Spiritual Leader, and 5 years with African healers. www.journe ytotheheart.org

A soothing option many guests choose is the two- hour session that includes Jin Shin Jyutsu, a gentle energy practice, and a Desert Alchemy consultation with Cynthia Athina Kemp Scherer. Cynthia is a Flower Essence Practitioner with over twenty years of experience. She is the founder of Desert Alchemy® flower essences and teaches flower essence therapy courses domestically and internationally. Her books include The Art & Technique of Using Flower Essences and The Alchemy of the Desert – Second Edition. www.desert- alchemy.com

Psychiatrist Eve Wood, M.D., author of Medicine, Mind, and Meaning: A Psychiatrist's Guide to Treating the Body, Mind, and Spirit and energy medicine doctor, Ann Marie Chiasson, M.D., M.P.H. continue to support retreatants with their healing presence. To learn more about this personal retreat, please click here.

from the International Association of Yoga Therapists
 

Trisha Lamb, Editor-in-Chief and Associate Director, will be stepping down as Editor in Chief and Associate Director on July 31 after serving IAYT and the Yoga community for many years. On September 1, she will enter into a three-year retreat at the nearby Garchen Buddhist Institute and continue to serve us all in a different manner. (from the IAYT web site)

Trisha has been an inspiration to me personally. As a Karma Yogi, she has served many of us who spend time researching and writing about Yoga. She has helped us connect with one another by providing invaluable suggestions and contact information. Whenever I e-mailed Trisha a question, I received an almost instantaneous response. As a Jnana Yogi, she has an in-depth understanding of Yoga and its applications for healing, based on years of her own study and her procurement and cataloging of new research as it is published. She has also been a tireless and insightful editor to me and to the numerous contributors to both the International Journal of Yoga Therapy and the Yoga Studies On-Line Journal. She has also been a friend, sharing small pieces of her journey on the way to this important step for her own evolution and for ours.

Two highly qualified, committed,and credentialed yogis will be filling her shoes at IAYT. Executive Director, John Kempner will have the able support of Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., who will become Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy and Yoga Studies and Pamela Byard, Ph.D., who will become Associate Director, with an initial focus on member services, website development and operations management. Amber Elliot will continue to support the organization as Membership and Office Manager. To read more about the leadership of this important organization, visit: here for more information

The effects of yoga on mood in psychiatric inpatients.
 

Lavey R, Sherman T, Mueser KT, Osborne DD, Currier M, Wolfe R. Rehabilitation Services at New Hampshire Hospital, USA.

The effects of yoga on mood were examined in 13 psychiatric inpatients at New Hampshire Hospital. Participants completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS) prior to and following participation in a yoga class. Analyses indicated that participants reported significant improvements on all five of the negative emotion factors on the POMS, including tension- anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, fatigue-inertia, and confusion-bewilderment. There was no significant change on the sixth POMS factor, vigor-activity. Improvements in mood were not related to gender or diagnosis. The results suggest that yoga was associated with improved mood, and may be a useful way of reducing stress during inpatient psychiatric treatment.

Psychiatr Rehabil J. 2005 Spring; 28(4):399- 402.

Sudarshan Kriya yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression: part I-neurophysiologic model.
 

Brown RP, Gerbarg PL. Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.

Mind-body interventions are beneficial in stress- related mental and physical disorders. Current research is finding associations between emotional disorders and vagal tone as indicated by heart rate variability. A neurophysiologic model of yogic breathing proposes to integrate research on yoga with polyvagal theory, vagal stimulation, hyperventilation, and clinical observations. Yogic breathing is a unique method for balancing the autonomic nervous system and influencing psychologic and stress-related disorders. Many studies demonstrate effects of yogic breathing on brain function and physiologic parameters, but the mechanisms have not been clarified. Sudarshan Kriya yoga (SKY), a sequence of specific breathing techniques (ujjayi, bhastrika, and Sudarshan Kriya) can alleviate anxiety, depression, everyday stress, post-traumatic stress, and stress-related medical illnesses. Mechanisms contributing to a state of calm alertness include increased parasympathetic drive, calming of stress response systems, neuroendocrine release of hormones, and thalamic generators. This model has heuristic value, research implications, and clinical applications.

J Altern Complement Med. 2005 Feb;11 (1):189-201.

Iyengar Yoga and Depression
 

Woolery A, Myers H, Sternlieb B, Zeltzer L.
University of California, Los Angeles, USA.

CONTEXT: Yoga teachers and students often report that yoga has an uplifting effect on their moods, but scientific research on yoga and depression is limited. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of a short-term Iyengar yoga course on mood in mildly depressed young adults. DESIGN: Young adults pre-screened for mild levels of depression were randomly assigned to a yoga course or wait-list control group. SETTING: College campus recreation center. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-eight volunteers ages 18 to 29. At intake, all participants were experiencing mild levels of depression, but had received no current psychiatric diagnoses or treatments. None had significant yoga experience. INTERVENTION: Subjects in the yoga group attended two 1-hour Iyengar yoga classes each week for 5 consecutive weeks. The classes emphasized yoga postures thought to alleviate depression, particularly back bends, standing poses, and inversions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Profile of Mood States, morning cortisol levels. RESULTS: Subjects who participated in the yoga course demonstrated significant decreases in self-reported symptoms of depression and trait anxiety. These effects emerged by the middle of the yoga course and were maintained by the end. Changes also were observed in acute mood, with subjects reporting decreased levels of negative mood and fatigue following yoga classes. Finally, there was a trend for higher morning cortisol levels in the yoga group by the end of the yoga course, compared to controls. These findings provide suggestive evidence of the utility of yoga asanas in improving mood and support the need for future studies with larger samples and more complex study designs to more fully evaluate the effects of yoga on mood disturbances.

Yoga and Depression in Australia
 

According to Stephanie Johnson, a Charles Darwin University researcher and social worker, Yoga combined with counseling could be an effective way of treating the symptoms of major depression. Her pilot study with nine students suffering from depression who did six weeks of counseling and then six weeks of counseling with yoga, showed that yoga had positive effects on people’s wellbeing and could be used as part of overall treatment for depression. “Inverted postures can give a fresh supply of blood and oxygen to the brain, giving a feeling of instant wellbeing and calmness,” Ms Johnson said. “Eastern studies have shown that these postures can re-energize people and have a positive effect.”

Yoga and Weight
 

A new study published in the current issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine examined the impact of yoga on weight change in a group of 15,550 adults aged 53-57. The study found that normal weight adults who practiced yoga regularly (at least one session of 30 minutes or more per week for four or more years) gained an average of 3 pounds less between the ages of 45 and 55 than those who didn't practice yoga.

Meanwhile, overweight adults who practiced yoga lost an average of 5 pounds. Those who didn't practice yoga gained about 14 pounds during the same time period.

Researchers say yoga's effect on weight loss and maintenance may have more to do with body awareness than the actual calories burned during the average session.

Kristal, A. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, July/August 2005; vol 11. News release, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Doctors and Drugs
 

According to a study done in England, Male GPs are far more likely to prescribe antidepressants than female doctors. A survey of 200 GPs by the Mental Health Foundation found 61% of male GPs would first offer pills to people with mild or moderate depression. Only 37% of female GPs questioned said they would suggest medication first; the other 63% favored counseling.

Vagus Nerve Stimulator Approved
 

In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally approved an implantable VNS therapy (Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy System) device for patients with severe depression. The device, made by Cyberonics Inc. and used since 1997 for patients with epilepsy, is implanted in a patient’s chest with wires that connect it to the vagus nerve.

Comment: If you can stimulate the vagus nerve with yogic breathing (kriyas in particular), why spend the money on invasive surgery?

Magnetic Stimulation as Treatment
 

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may be alternative to ECT (Electro Convulsive Therapy). A magnetic coil is placed over the patient’s scalp (specifically the left prefrontal cortex). The field passes unimpeded through the skull and induces an electrical current in the brain. There have been 62 published studies on 1,415 depressed patients showing "a reasonable effect size." Better results corresponded to longer courses, greater pulse intensity, and pulse quantity.

The aim of rTMS is to induce seizures that do not spread to the motor cortex, thus sparing the memory regions of the brain. A study on primates showed better memory after MST than electroshock. Human subjects reoriented themselves much faster after MST than ECT and experienced less retrograde amnesia.

Some patients in clinical trails experienced moderate to severe discomfort during the treatments and headaches following the procedure.

rTMS is an investigational procedure in the U.S. and is not FDA-approved. The treatment is approved in Canada.

adapted from an article in McMan’s Depression and Bipolar Weekly
http://www.mcmanweb.com/newsletter1.html

A medical team at Saint Louis University is developing a new treatment where a small device, implanted near the armpit, stimulates a nerve in the neck. The FDA-approved device will be used on people who don't respond well to other depression therapies.

Summary:
 

Toward the end of August, I’ll be back at Kripalu in Lenox, MA, teaching an experiential program called “Yoga and Positive Mental Health” with my friend, Eve Wood, M.D., author of Medicine, Mind & Meaning: A Psychiatrist’s Guide to Treating Body, Mind & Spirit. Then I’ll head to All That Matters in Wakefield, Rhode Island to lead a day-long workshop and training that focuses on meditation techniques for depression. Private sessions will be available there on Monday, August 27th. In September, I’ll be teaching a day-long workshop in Seattle at 8-Limbs, then on to Nirvana School of Yoga in Vancouver, where in addition to workshops, I’ll be offering a professional training: “LifeForce Yoga® for Depression & Anxiety” at two Semperviva locations. I’ll be back at Kripalu at the end of September to offer “Yoga to Beat the Blues.”

Following the Kripalu Yoga Teachers’ Association Conference, October 20 – 23rd, I’ll be in the Boston area, teaching and offering private sessions at the Arlington Center in Arlington, MA. Then I head to Pittsburgh to offer private sessions and a workshop at Schoolhouse Yoga. In November, I’ll be teaching at the Yoga Sanctuary in Las Vegas for the first time, then back to Austin to teach at the Crossings.

The most exciting development is the first LifeForce Yoga® Healing Intensive, a residential retreat here in Tucson, scheduled for January. Click here.

 

DATE	TIME	EVENT
Lenox, MA July 4 - 8, 2005		LifeF orce Therapy for Depression and Anxiety, Kripalu Center, Lenox, MA, 800 741- 7353,  24.5 CEU's for Social Workers & Yoga Teachers.
Rhinebeck, NY July 10 - 15, 2005		Yoga to Beat the Blues, Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY, 800- 944-1001
New York, NY July 17, 2005	10:00 AM - 5:00 PM	Yoga for the Emotional Body Workshop, Be Yoga, 138 5th Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY, 212 647-  9642,
Lenox, MA August 21 - 26, 2005		Yoga and Positive Mental Health, Kripalu Center, Lenox, MA, 800 741- 7353, CEU's offered. Amy teams up with psychiatrist Dr Eve Wood, author of Medicine, Mind and Meaning: A Psychiatrists Guide to Treating the Body, Mind & Spirit.
Wakefield, RI August 28, 2005	10:00 AM - 5:00 PM	LifeForce Yoga® for the Emotional Body, All That Matters, 401 782-2126, Private Sessions available.
Seattle, WA September 11, 2005	10:00 AM- 1:00 PM	Yoga to Beat the Blues! The Breath and the Body in the Treatment of Mood Disorders, 8 Limbs Yoga 8 Limbs Yoga Centers, 508 East Pike St., 206 325- 8221,
Seattle, WA September 11, 2005	2:00 PM- 5:00 PM	Yoga to Beat the Blues! The Breath and the Body in the Treatment of Mood Disorders, 508 East Pike St., 206 325-8221,
Vancouver, B.C. September 13 - 16th , 2005		LifeForce Yoga® Training for Depression & Anxiety CE credits available for Yoga Teachers. Sponsored by Nirvana School of Yoga, info@nirvanaschoolofyoga.com 604 542-0392
Vancouver, B.C. September 12th, 2005	7:30-9:00 PM	LifeForce Yoga® to Beat the Blues! - Intro Sponsored by Nirvana School of Yoga, info@nirvanaschoolofyoga.com  604 542-0392,
Vancouver, B.C. September 17th, 2005	1:00-6:00 PM	LifeForce Yoga® to Beat the Blues! - The Body and the Breath in the Treatment of Mood Disorders Sponsored by Nirvana School of Yoga, info@nirvanaschoolofyoga.com   604 542-0392
Lenox, MA September 29 - October 2, 2005		Yoga to Beat the Blues, Kripalu Center, Lenox, MA, 800 741-7353
Lenox, MA October 20 - 24, 2005		Keyn ote Address, Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association Conference, Kripalu Center, 800-741- 7353
Cambridge/Boston October 28,  2005	7:30-9:30 PM	LifeForce Yoga® Training for Mood Management Intro: The Breath, Arlington Center, 369 Mass Ave, Arlington, MA, 781 316-0282, Private Sessions Available
Cambridge/Boston October 29, 2005	1:00-6:00 PM	LifeForce Yoga® Training for Mood Management :The Breath and The Body, Arlington Center, 369 Mass Ave, Arlington, MA, 781 316-0282, Private Sessions Available
Pittsburgh, PA October 30, 2005	1:30- 4:30 PM	LifeForce Yoga® to Beat the Blues! Schoolhouse Yoga, 41st & Foster (next to 40th St. Bridge), 412 401-4444, Private Sessions Available
Las Vegas, NV November 11 – 13, 2005		LifeForce Yoga® for Mood Management, Sherry Goldstein’s Yoga Sanctuary, 702 240-7666
Austin, TX November 18 - 20, 2005		Yoga to Beat the Blues, The Crossings, 877-944- 3003
Tucson, AZ January 7 – 12th, 2006		NEW! First LifeForce Yoga® Healing Intensive (CE credits available) in Tucson. [click here to go to the brochure.] Info: Rose Kress – 520 349- 2644.
Lenox, MA February 24 – 26, 2006		Yoga to Beat the Blues, Kripalu Center,  800-741- 7353
Austin, TX March 3-5, 2006		LifeForce Yoga® to Beat the Blues, The Crossings, 877 944- 3003
Washington, DC March 16 – 20th, 2006		Psychotherapy Networker Symposium - Amy will lead a Pre-Conference Day-Long Workshop, Clinical presentation: Yoga as Complementary Treatment for Mood Disorders, Morning Yoga & Afternoon Integration practice.
Austin, TX May 21 – 26, 2006		LifeForce Yoga® to Beat the Blues, The Crossings, 877 944- 3003 CEU's available
Watsonville, CA June 23 - 25, 2006 June 23 - 27th, 2006		LifeForce Yoga® to Beat the Blues!  Mount Madonna Center (408) 847- 0406
Lenox, MA July 2 – 7, 2006		LifeF orce Yoga Training for Depression & Anxiety, Kripalu Center,  800-741- 7353
Rhinebeck, NY July 7 -- 9th, 2006		Yoga to Beat the Blues, Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY, 800- 944-1001
Rhinebeck, NY July 10 -- 14th, 2006		LifeFor ce Yoga to Beat the Blues, Rhinebeck, NY, 800-944-1001
Lenox, MA September 1 – 4, 2006		LifeF orce Yoga to Beat the Blues, Kripalu Center,  800-741- 7353
Austin, TX November 3-5, 2006		Yoga to Beat the Blues, The Crossings, 877-944- 3003

Journey into Yoga: Awakening the Spirit, an audio practice CD with Jashoda Rona Edmunds & Brahmani Liebman
 

This is no ordinary asana practice CD. Rather, it inspires you to open your heart to compassion as you practice, to deepen your awareness, to boost your vitality and confidence, and to move towards wisdom and peace. Brahmani and Jashoda, senior Kripalu teachers and teacher trainers, lead the practice based on their years of refining the art of co- teaching. As teachers who live in two different countries on two different coasts, married to two different men, they are masters of the art of relationships, as this CD demonstrates. In this seventy minute, moderate-level session, you’ll be invited to practice ancient Sanskrit chants, pranayama yogic breathing, asanas, a guided relaxation and a brief meditation. It’s a complete practice, not only because of the fine guidance through warm-ups and postures that stretch and balance every part of the body, but also because it tends to the spirit. www.journeyintoy oga.com

The CD can be ordered by sending a check to:
The Rivertown Center for Yoga and Health, 145
Palisade Ave Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
$18.50, includes shipping & Handling.

 

Gentle Yoga for Everybody with Karen O’Donnell Clarke, RYT
A new gentle practice CD produced by Karen Clarke, who specializes in offering yoga for M.S. is excellent for beginners and those dealing with physical challenges. In simple, yet precise, easy-to-follow language, Karen takes the practitioner through gentle warm-ups and easy poses with modifications. This 79.25 minute practice can be done on a bed or on the floor. Seated postures may be done in a chair or on the floor. There are no standing postures. The accompanying insert includes general directions for practice, photos of every position and demonstrates the use of props. If you are new to Yoga, or want a gentle way to begin, this is a great way to start practicing at home, especially if you would rather not compare your body to a Yoga body on a video.

Order Karen’s“Gentle Yoga for Everybody” Karen O’Donnell Clarke, RYT, www.yogahealsu s.com. yogahealsus@yahoo.com $16.95 plus $4.30 for shipping.

International Association of Yoga Therapists: www.iayt.org
 

This organization maintains a vast database of Yoga research, a library, publishes a yearly journal, and a tri-annual newsletter with current research and articles. In addition, IAYT maintains a searchable online member database, which folks can use to locate a Yoga therapist/teacher in their local area. (They currently do not do any verification of training and experience.) If you are a health professional, a Yoga teacher or therapist or have an interest in Yoga therapeutics, I highly encourage you to become a member.

To learn move about Yoga for Depression (Broadway Books)
To listen to Amy’s audio practice CD, Breathe to Beat the Blues