Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment! I hope you might consider a yoga practice for yourself and your family. It's one of the best, fastest, easiest methods I know for rewiring the system, and I've seen people of all ages benefit greatly from it! I think you would find it fascinating to study how the brain & body are engaged in a yoga practice @lukestokes.
Yes, depression is a really awful program to get stuck in. Once you're in it, it's so easy to spiral downward...but I am living proof that it's possible! The trick is to remember all these effective and successful tools for reset. That's the challenge, because when you feel bad and start to lose hope it seems to take a superhuman amount of effort to pop out of it.
Prevention is really key for me. I still have lower days, but nowhere near like the hell I used to live. I find that when I consciously take care of my health with a regular yoga practice and nutritious foods and other positive inputs, my mental state is much more stable and joyful. It's a feedback loop!
My wife and kids do a regular Friday yoga meetup with a bunch of other homeschoolers and love it. I'm a bit hesitant to get back into it myself because my first experience with it was via YouTube. @corinnestokes and I were doing a daily Yoga with Adriene thing and for the first week or two it was great! And then... my back started hurting. I think I was trying to replicate what the professional was doing (along with my wife who was a dancer for many years). I wasn't bending my knees enough when leaning forward and I jacked things up. I started to get sciatica pain and had to stop. After months of physical therapy, finally, things came back to normal. I was worried I'd have to get surgery or something.
So yeah, if I do it again, I'll probably do it with some professionals who can ensure I'm not doing something wrong. That said, for a while I was doing the Wim Hoff method which was super interesting. I eventually stopped because... well, I'm not entirely sure. I felt like it was breaking down my immune system or something because I kept getting sick. It was also a bit of work and I've been busy doing cryptocurrency stuff lately. :)
As for depression, a lot of people in my community (computer programmers) deal with that an anxiety on a regular basis. A friend started OMI which has helped a lot of people. I think talking openly about mental health challenges is the first part of ending the stigma and helping more people find peace. Few people snicker when someone has a sprained ankle. Why should it matter if their brain isn't producing ideal chemicals? It's just another physical malfunction and there are many fantastic natural ways to deal with it.
I my self am not a fan nor a practitioner of yoga or the Wim Hoff Method. I find routines, rules, rights, wrongs, have to's, supposed to's, should, etc to be very limiting.
Ideally one is conscious enough to know what one is lacking in and improve it. Ideally one is conscious enough to know what one is strong in and build upon it.
I firmly believe that no one can tell us how to be a master and thus we must tall realize that our selfs.
I attempt and intend to help others do this knowing that one must find it ones self.
Yoga is a means to and end. The end is to realize ones self and be healthy, strong, flexible, happy etc.
I detest "yoga class" yet I embody yoga and do it every day. That is the paradox of mastery.
I am always here for you should you request anything.
Bless~*~
Oh God, how easily I forget that I AM the one and only thing responsible for my experience!!! And what a blessing to remember I have the power!!!
Being human is a crazy trip.
It's cool to hear your wife & kids enjoy yoga together! I think children are naturals at it. I remember when I started practicing, some of the moves were things I would do regularly as a child because they were just super fun and felt good.
One of the ladies here at the GOE likes yoga with Adriene a lot, and if I remember correctly we tried one of her practices! I've also heard quite a lot about Wim Hoff lately...that's interesting you mention him again.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of classes. I think they can be really helpful for a beginner because you learn some moves & methods, but ultimately the practitioner is always the most important one and no one knows what they really need but themselves. My own goal as a "teacher" is to help the "students" develop a sustainable practice, which means tuning into their own breath's pace & their own body's needs in any moment. I can assist by suggesting routines, breathing exercises, and other practices that may strengthen, open, or address particular physical, mental, emotional, or physical issues (like hip openers, for example, or stress relief), but without being real with your own body it doesn't really matter. I published something to help with sciatica if that is still an issue you deal with, @lukestokes.
I totally agree that depression is a physical malfunction and that there are wonderful, accessible, non-invasive, free, cheap, easy, natural solutions!! Unfortunately the mind gets so warped and it can feel so isolating, which can make someone withdraw more, which can make it worse and on and on...it's really horrible when you're in it! Awareness is indeed key - there is always hope!!!
If you know anyone dealing with it now or future, please let them know that I'm a success story & I would be happy to share my experience with them. I'm really amazed that I didn't kill myself, and at this point I think it's because I'm supposed to help others going through similar darkness and be of service. I'm going to look into the OMI link you shared!
Beautiful comment. Thank you. I would love to share this with those who are open and interested in potential solutions for their mental health challenges. Thankfully my sciatica has been fine lately, but I will definitely check that out if I have issues again.