My Kripalu Yoga Practice

I have a book on Kripalu Yoga that I recently picked up again. I think it was meant to find its way into my hands. Naturally, since I am starting a daily yoga practice I have been reading it. So far I like what I have read. Kripalu Yoga is a practice that starts you off focusing on your body awareness and breathing. It then progresses to the poses. It focuses on you and what you need on the mat and it helps you work through difficult emotions on the mat. Like I said, I like the focus of Kripalu Yoga.

I am only up to the first chapter. I want to read the complete book before I start my yoga practice. So, I am not practicing yet. I am still in the process of reserching what I will be devoting myself to. It says in the book that just by focusing on your breath and awareness you are doing something good for yourself. That is what I will be doing today, then. I will be practicing my breath and body awareness.

The book I am reading is called 'Kripalu Yoga A Guide to Practice On and Off the Mat' by Richard Faulds and other senior teachers of Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. I will be using this book to start a Kripalu practice starting by practicing my breath and body awareness. That means being present in the moment, something I have been trying to practice daily. Mindfullness is part of my Wiccan and Buddhist spriritual path. For the Wiccan path mindfullness helps with spellwork. For the Buddhist path it helps you to be happy with what you have.

 I have been practicig mindfullness to help with the depression I go through. It is not easy to be mindful when you have a chemical imbalance that tells you that you are unhappy. However, you practice meditation and you practice living in the moment. Over time it becomes easier, from what I have been told. As with all things, practice makes perfect.

I have had depression for nearly six years. That is every since I was hit by one of my ex boyfriends. One day I woke up and the world was grey. Only, I did not know why it was grey and meaningless. I went through a time where I wanted to commit sucide. I did not. My will to live was too strong. I went through the sudden crying spells and the not being able to sleep. I still have nightmares where I wake up cold and shaking because of the events that caused the depression. They were traumatic.

Today, I stand here as a person making a life for herself. I am on an anti depressent called zoloft. Other then that I use my running and meditation as tools to help ease the pain.

Being depressed does not mean that you can not have a child. Depression is an every day struggle. However, it does not mean you should hold off on being a parent forever. You need to make sure it is treated because studies have shown that mother's who are pregant and depressed are more likely to have a child that goes through depression. You need medications and you need your coping skills. Yoga has been shown in studies to lower seasonal depression. If it works for season depression I am sure it can help with clinical depression.

It is because of that study I am starting a daily yoga practice. I am using yoga as a tool to help me through my pregnancy and depression. I am going to need help with both. I have practiced poses off and on for a few years. Now, I am ready to start a daily practice.