What’s better than starting your day in the sun-room with a refreshing and relaxing session of yoga?
During summers, people tend to enjoy and rejuvenate by different means to keep the bodies physically and mentally active.
Summertime is the perfect time to take up various activities and enjoy the favorable temperature around us.
But as soon as winters start, many people feel that their morning routine gets disrupted because the activities they wish to perform are somehow delayed due to the struggle to get up early.
In winters, we wake up before the sun does which makes us feel gloomy and lazy seeing the late sunrise.
Many people feel mentally and physically drained early in the morning due to the lack of proper sunlight and dull surroundings.
If you are one of those people who find it difficult to tear out of the bed during the frosty mornings, then it could be because of the seasonal affective disorder.
What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a condition commonly experienced in the northern hemisphere where the days are shorter and the nights are longer.
Longer durations of darkness can result in seasonal depression, making it difficult for people to do routine things timely.
SAD is a mood disorder experienced during the same time every year – usually in winters.
It is characterized by depression. People suffering from SAD find it hard to be productive and upbeat during the winter days.
It is typically diagnosed after a person experiences the stated symptoms consistently during the same time of the year. A milder version of the seasonal affective disorder is known as winter blues.
What is the meaning of winter blues?
Winter blues is the condition of feeling depressed or unhappy associated with the cold and dark winter days. Winter blues is a short-lived condition that usually goes away with the end of the winter season.
People suffering from winter blues typically feel cynical in the winter cold and darkness.
Overcoming this depressed feeling is something we should concentrate on to break out of the dreary and depression cycle.
Even though there is very less sunlight during winters and getting routine things done becomes difficult, but trying to engage in refreshing and relaxing activities like yoga is one of the most effective solutions to overcome the winter blues.
Continue doing your calming morning yoga sessions despite the lack of sunlight around you. The art of practicing yoga daily helps deal with the winter blues.
Giving yourself a kick start to get up and indulge in some refreshing yoga is needed to combat the depressed feeling and helps to feel energetic and positive again.
Any calming and relaxing activity go a long way to help combat the effects and feelings associated with the winter blues.
What is essential to consider is the regularity and consistency you maintain in practicing yoga.
Being consistent with yoga is the key to living a healthy lifestyle and fighting the signs of winter blues.
From our personal experience, we know that being consistent in practicing yoga for a whole week significantly reduces the negatives of seasonal affective disorder as compared to when we do yoga for only a few days a week.
Are the winter blues real and What are the Symptoms of Winter Blues?
This type of condition has been studied and documented in the last 30 years.
Studying this well-researched illness gives us a better understanding of the type of feelings and symptoms associated with the seasonal affective disorder.
Many people try to overlook the common symptoms of this disorder to avoid medical attention and don’t pay much attention to the early signs.
Instead of avoiding these signs, it is recommended to start fighting the signs of the disorder and participate in calming and relaxing activities to get out of the melancholic cycle.
If you are suffering consistently from these symptoms and wish to overcome them, then one of the most effective ways to do so is to resort to yoga in the morning.
Even though getting up and practicing yoga in the morning may seem like the most difficult task for a person suffering from SAD, but that’s the only way to combat these depressing feelings.
Is yoga the best way to treat the winter blues?
Yoga is considered one of the best methods to fighting seasonal affective disorder. While it may not be as effective as one of the best light therapy boxes, it is an incredibly effective way of significantly reducing the signs of the winter blues.
Research shows that doing yoga consistently can significantly reduce the signs of anxiety, depression and seasonal affective disorder. Hitting the yoga mat can help you stay optimistic and beat the winter blues and its symptoms.
Regular yoga is known to reduce your levels of cortisol that is the hormone released during stress. With a reduction in cortisol levels, the body and mind feel more relaxed and calm.
Yoga can help your body stay warm and physically active. During frosty days, the body temperature reduces that causes a decline in body activity.
Flexibility promoting and core-strengthening yoga pose help to build the necessary strength and centeredness. Increasing your blood circulation and flow throughout the body is essential for a healthy mind and body.
With yoga, the blood circulation increases and all parts of the body are flushed with blood that helps to keep the body warm and active.
Yoga also helps to increase your concentration and helps the mind to focus better that enables the body to live in the present and keep the negative thoughts away.
Yoga calms the body and meditation helps to keep the mind healthy and free of pessimistic thoughts.
People living in New England know that the winter days are filled with days upon days of overcast weather. It is an unpleasant experience if you’re one of the millions of people who suffer from the seasonal affective disorder.
To stay active and peaceful during this time of the year, heading to your local yoga studio can prove to be a great idea to overcome the winter blues.
If you don’t have time for this, you can pick up a more portable light therapy solution, such as light therapy glasses or a red light therapy device to help you combat the winter blues.
You can choose the light therapy lamps after reading the in-depth reviews at SadLampsUSA and understanding the type of lamp that suits you the best.
What type of yoga is best for seasonal affective disorder?
If you want to practice yoga to fight seasonal affective disorder, then we recommend you start with a few of the more common restorative poses that help to boost endorphin in the body and keep it relaxed.
We like the Yoga by Adrienne YouTube channel morning wake-up sessions and recommend you to watch it if you want to start with yoga.
While that channel isn’t meant to combat seasonal affective disorder, we found that it has all of the necessary poses that will help you get through the winter blues and maintain the well-being of your body and mind.
Some of the common restorative poses that help with the winter blues are discussed below:
Holding this restorative pose for two minutes helps to relieve the stress associated with the seasonal affective disorder. It also helps to relax and open up the chest and shoulders muscles, relieving the muscle tension from these areas.
Winters can reduce the blood circulation in the body and getting your body war requires an even flow of blood to all the parts. This pose helps to relieve the tension in the legs and improves the overall circulation in the body making you feel more energetic and optimistic.
Maintaining the upward salute position for five breaths helps to energize and awaken your body. This pose gives a nice stretch to the entire body and increases your flexibility. Upward salute helps to transfer positive energy within your body from head to toes.
This calming yoga pose helps to reverse the blood circulation to the brain and energizes your body. It also helps to reduce the stiffness in the hips, lower back and hamstrings.
It increases the flow of endorphins in the body which makes your body calm and positive.
One of the most effective poses in terms of enhancing flexibility and calming the body is the down dog pose. Holding this pose for eight steady breaths helps to energize the body.
This pose stretches the back and relieves the muscle tension from the back. It also rushes fresh blood and oxygen to the brain that rejuvenates the entire body and makes you feel refreshed.
Combating the winter blues may seem like a complex task but, with the correct guidance and the necessary impetus to move in the right direction, you can overcome this condition.
If you suffer from the seasonal affective disorder, then you can practice yoga and see the change yourself.
Let us know if you have benefited from yoga in overcoming your signs of the winter blues.
