I was at a stationery store recently when suddenly the smell of pencils and scented erasers suddenly brought back long lost memories from almost 4 decades ago. Mixed feelings of excitement and mostly fear engulfed me - my memories of my early years in school - having been a very timid, fearful, lonely child!
Just like even a faint smell can trigger deep-seated memories, when we revisit a particular state of mind, most memories corresponding to it surface and begin to dominate the mind.
“No way I can do it”, “I just don’t have the confidence”, “I feel so unworthy”, “This is beyond my abilities”… An otherwise confident and positive person is now gripped by fear and uncertainty. one can’t but believe these thoughts and we are mostly frozen by fear leading to inactivity. Reassurance from others is mostly met with passive resignation or a belief that the other person does not really understand.
This world is quite familiar for most of us. When we are low or depressed, no happy thoughts/memories can come up. Even an otherwise neutral situation is seen in the most unpleasant light. Worse still, we identify with these thoughts and act upon them, displaying unreasonable emotional reactions to people/situations etc. These reactions leave behind a very unpleasant taste, perpetuating more guilt, regret, pain and anger…
Our thoughts and our reactions to them define the substance of our life. They have the ability to perpetuate a pattern of thinking, action, behaviour that eventually can create a physical reality – be it ill-health, poor outcome of an initiative/effort or extended periods of emptiness and frustration.
What can we do about these thoughts?
Be aware The first step is to become acutely aware of the contents of the mind. It appears a daunting task, considering we have around 60,000 thoughts a day! But many of them are repetitive, having a set pattern of emotions, reactions and behaviours to go with them that are easily recognizable.
Observe Choose to simply step back and observe – one complete thought – without pushing it away or getting attached to it. Simply observe. Objective awareness of the thought, just like objective awareness of the body and breath, can come from training and this is what we are trained to do through regular practice of asana, pranayama and meditation. Through this observation, we can stall actions or choose to act differently when we recognize that it is the state of mind that makes us think/act this way. Don’t take the mind too seriously.
Counter inertia In countering depression it is very important to have physical activity (which is very important for activating the quality of Rajas in the body). If the mind tells you “I can’t do it, I have no energy or motivation left, impossible”, it is so convenient to believe these thoughts and lay back in bed. But if we observe and listen to these thoughts with neutrality and do not believe them, we might leave a small window open for possibilities. Engage in some physical movement, maybe a short walk or tiding your room.
You don’t have to do everything given in the yoga practice sheet. Just start somewhere - with your favourite posture and do it dynamically a few times with breathing in and out strongly. At the end of a few movements, you will have the energy for the next posture, and then the next… take each step as it comes instead of imagining you have to do a 30 minute long practice! Practice anytime of the day, except just after a meal.
Simple movements coordinated with breathing in the home while doing chores or a few stretches before you get off bed are excellent inertia-breakers.
For the teacher/therapist: A few Do’s and Don’ts
Keep it short initially as the complaint often is of low energy and lack of motivation. Keep it dynamic and creative yet simple enough to remember and practise. Using active sounds – chanting in the place of exhalation to engage the mind. This enables better breathing. Sounds such as Ha and Ra activates the diaphragm and abdomen emptying heavy energy in the lower abdomen and facilitates inhalation. The vibrations of sound in the throat can activate the Udana vayu and uplift the person, improving morale and motivation. Chanting helps drown the chatter of the mind, thereby freeing one’s attention to focus on the present. Try Brhmana practice hold the breath after inhalation from 3-8 seconds progressively - this activates the mind and body. Choose opening postures where the heart centre (centre of the chest) is free to open and expand. Vary the practice from standing to lying to seated to kneeling, encouraging active physical movement from one position to the next in a harmonious manner. Visualization can help build energy, engage the mind in a very specific process to counter the auto-pilot negative thought process. Encourage physical exercise walking, gardening, swimming…
Avoid kapalabhati or forced breathing techniques because it may churn up the mind and the person may tip into a downward spiral. Avoid extended periods of stay in a posture as that gives the mind a space to return to negative thought patterns. Avoid seated meditation with eyes closed for the same reasons; especially for a beginner. Avoid too much advice, the mind has its own way to filter what it wants to hear.
There is a Sasnkrit saying - Yuddha Kale Sastraabhyaasam – meaning you cannot train to use a weapon in the middle of a war. In this case, if we train our mind when in a neutral state, we will be armed to tackle a depressed state.
