Years ago (over a decade!), when I started teaching yoga, I wanted to teach Yoga for Depression and Yoga for Anxiety classes. Every studio said, “no, students won’t come to a class like that.” Even Yoga for Mood Management was rejected. In one case I was told “our clients don’t have depression or anxiety.” I am not joking, someone actually said that to me. So, I compromised, I taught the material under the guise of many different names over the years.
Things have changed…finally. People are more willing to talk about mental illness and mental health. People are reaching out for support. I have seen classes popping up in Tucson for depression and anxiety. Maybe it has something to due with the political climate, maybe folks are ready for a change. Whatever the case, I am glad for the shift. I am glad that we are starting to recognize that things need to change and that yoga is complementary to conventional treatments. One big shift is that I no longer teach at yoga studios. I am not bound by someone else’s marketing beliefs.
It is with great pleasure that I announce a name change to my Wednesday yoga class, the longest running yoga for mood management class in Tucson, from LifeForce Yoga for Self-Empowerment to LifeForce Yoga for Mood Management!
What is Yoga for Mood Management?
Yoga teaches the cause for our suffering is the constricting and false belief that we are separate. Yoga, meaning “union,” embraces all facets of the individual while giving the experience that each of us is more than the sum of our parts. We are already whole, we just forget that wholeness.
LifeForce Yoga is ancient yoga techniques, supported by current research, and adapted for accessibility. The practice uses intention, visualization, breath, movement, sound, hand gestures, meditation, etc, as pathways to wholeness. We embrace ourselves in each moment and understand that nothing is permanent, except for the unchanging Self. Through our practice, we come to know and experience this Self, which is formless and defies explanation, yet it is undeniably present. Every moment spent in union with this omnipresent Self is a step closer to ultimate freedom.
Why “mood management” instead of “for depression” or “for anxiety”?
Simply put, 80% of people suffering from depression are also suffering from anxiety. Mood states fluctuate and to see yourself, or another, as a label of depression or anxiety, is limiting. We have all experienced moments of depression and moments of anxiety, in each day of our life. LifeForce Yoga for Mood Management is about learning skills to find balance and ease.
