Yoga for Depression: A Compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering Through Yoga

by Amy Weintraub

Book Overview

Take the natural path to mental wellness

More than 25 million Americans are treated with antidepressants each year, at a cost in excess of $50 billion. But the side effects of popular prescription drugs may seem nearly as depressing as the symptoms they're meant to treat. Veteran yoga instructor Amy Weintraub offers a better solution--one that taps the scientifically proven link between yoga and emotional well-being as well as the beauty of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767914503
• ISBN13: 9780767914505
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Harmony/Rodale
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Extremely Helpful and Well Written

As a long-time sufferer of depression and anxiety who has spent years on medication as well as counseling, this book provides a great deal of information on the healing nature of yoga and meditation. Ms. Weintraub certainly seems to understand the dark days firsthand and she offers positive advice on how a yoga practice can help quiet the mind as well as energize the body. I did buy the book expecting it to have a full yoga program in it. But that is not the purpose of the book. It does have many yoga practices and they have been helpful but her intent is to explain the connection between our bodies and emotions and how yoga can help. She recommends taking a yoga class or using a book to truly learn yoga properly. She provides a fantastic list of resources at the end of the book for yoga websites, retreats, books, and cds. I highly recommend this book and I am enjoying my new yoga adventure.

Essential For Anyone Struggling With Depression

This book is one of the best I've read for people who want to take control of their mental and physical health. Amy Weintraub speaks from the heart on every page. Her compassion and enthusiasm for yoga and pranayama shine through, giving this book a personal feel other self-help books may not. Uncomplicated, it offers simple, prescriptive exercises that, when practiced regulary, will make a difference in the way you see and confront your daily life. I would recommend it to anyone suffering from anxiety and/or depression. My only criticism? The publisher's didn't put Amy on the cover!! Her natural beauty and enthusiasm would have far better reflected the contents of the book.

Yoga for Depression: Saved my Life

Dr. Christiane Northrup has called YOGA FOR DEPRESSION a "godsend" for good reason. Amy Weintraub's new book has given me insight in how to BE with myself in yoga class, so that I am doing the postures and breathing in new and more beneficial ways. "Going inside" now has a deeper meaning for me. I have been able to reach those parts of my psyche that have long been repressed. By getting to those areas, I have had openings in my life which I didn't even realize were possible. Reading this book has led me to a fuller, richer practice, and a fuller richer life. I threw away the anti-depressant medications & blended my new yoga practice with psychotherapy, I have regained my power & have taken charge of my emotions. I have ended a long term relationship, which I have tried for years & cleared the emotional & physical clutter in my life. YOGA FOR DEPRESSION defines the different types of yoga practices with clear understanding about what practices are most likely to work for an individual. The book is both educational & inspiring and is appropriate for both mental health professionals and those experiencing depression. I would highly recommend this book to yoga practitioners, yoga teachers, mental health professionals and those who are holistically conscious. ,

Surprised By The Story Telling, It's Sensitivity & Balance

I am not a doctor, nor a therapist and I am certainly not a Yoga expert. I read the book because a friend suggest it because I sometimes suffer from depression and I have never found my therapy and my med-therapy completely fulfilling. I was capartured by the authors words within the 1st few pages and it never let me go. It felt like a good mystery that you never want to put down because it continually reveals new twists and turns that are both baffling and intriguing. I am hooked on what the author has said and have begun some beginner programs that are already feeling like they balance my talk therapy with a wholistic body therapy through yoga. Anyone who is a skeptic about yoga will get the most out of this book.Her views on the need for the body to recover as much as the mind from depression struck me as simple yet astounding because we always think that talking & meds are a balance to depression or a vehicle out of depression; while missing the point of how we are centered through our bodies. All of this plus being backed up by research hit home in a significant way.

Invaluable Resource for Anyone

Yoga and Depression is supportive, insightful, and user-friendly. Amy Weintraub discusses a difficult topic from her heart in a nonthreatening manner. She connects genuinely with the reader. She transmits soundly the message of self-acceptance and empowerment to every person who experiences depression and for every therapist who works with them. This is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to know more about depression and to acquire a shift in perspective about the treatment of this human condition.