Your Yoga for Mental Health Starter Guide

Hello friends,

Happy Sunday! I can’t believe it’s almost MAY already. Time is flying.

For those of you are who new to my newsletter, WELCOME!

My name is Jake Goodman and I’m a Psychiatry Resident Doctor about to enter my final year of residency (this means that I completed 4 years of pre-med, 4 years of medical school, 1 year of a Masters program, and I have completed 3 out of 4 years of residency training).

I’m a doctor who treats mental health every single day and I’m a huge believer in doing so using a holistic approach which considers things like exercise and nutrition as well as therapy and medication when appropriate.

Today we are going to discuss an age-old practice which has been used for thousands of years for healing purposes: YOGA.

My journey with yoga started about 5 years ago when I tried yoga for treating my low back pain, and discovered something amazing: not only did it improve my pain, but also helped reduce my anxiety.

A Brief History of Yoga

• Yoga has been practiced in Eastern cultures as a form of healing for thousands of years and over here in the West - we are super late to the game as far as recognizing the healing power of Yoga. 

• The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, written around 400 CE, formalized the principles and practices of yoga, including ethical guidelines (yamas and niyamas), physical postures (asanas), breath control (pranayama), concentration, and meditation.

  

My Favorite Types of Yoga

There’s many different forms of Yoga and I’ve tried most of them. Here are 2 of my favorites that I recommend to beginners:

1. Vinyasa Yoga: Vinyasa yoga emphasizes fluid movements coordinated with breath, creating a dynamic and flowing practice. It promotes flexibility, strength, and mindfulness as we move through sequences of poses.

2. Restorative Yoga: Restorative yoga focuses on deep relaxation and stress relief, using props to support gentle, passive poses held for extended periods. It promotes deep rest, rejuvenation, and healing.

What does the research show about Yoga for Mental Health?

When I dove into the research, I noticed 3 things, and the last one was the most surprising:

1. We need WAY more research on yoga. The research out there isn’t bad. There’s just not enough of it to make definitive conclusions.

2. The data supporting yoga for treatment of depression and anxiety was - okay at best. In a review of 15 studies, published in the jour­nal Aging and Mental Health, that compared yoga to a bunch of other treatments for depression and anxiety in adults - yoga did better than massage therapy & progressive muscle relaxation, but not as good as some of the more conventional treatments. 

   

3. The data showing yoga being effective at reducing symptoms of PTSD (or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) was actually really good. Like shockingly good. One study of women with chronic PTSD found that participating in a trauma-sensitive yoga treatment program significantly reduced PTSD symptoms. At the end of the 10-week study, more than HALF of participants NO LONGER met criteria for PTSD. If a medication did that, we’d consider it to be a major success!

How does Yoga work for PTSD?

One of the leading theories about why yoga helps reduce symptoms of PTSD is that Yoga may help regulate our autonomic nervous system. 

Let me explain:

• There is evidence that PTSD is associated with an OVERDRIVE of our Sympathetic Nervous System - which controls our “fight or flight" response and a REDUCTION in our Parasympathetic Nervous System which controls our “rest and digest” response.

  

  Sympathetic vs Parasympathetic

  • In PTSD, when your “fight or flight” is ramped up, you may be easily startled, constantly on guard for danger, and have trouble sleeping or relaxing.

  • In yoga - we see more of a return to baseline with a reduction in the “fight or flight” and perhaps an increase in “rest and digest”, allowing the person to return back to a resting state!

In conclusion, although more research is needed, for certain mental health conditions, especially PTSD, yoga may be effective in combination with other treatment approaches

YOGA STARTER GUIDE:

I learned how to do Yoga basically for free, and so can you. I am not against paying for Yoga classes, and have done this several times. But much of Yoga can be learned from the comfort of your own home.

The only real expense you need is a mat (see “My Favorite Things” below to get my yoga mat). You also need access to YouTube.

My favorite at home Yoga teacher is Adriene from “Yoga With Adriene”.

She does an entire playlist focused on Yoga For Mental Health which I am going to link here. It’s geared toward beginners and she does an excellent job of teaching Yoga concepts throughout:

My Favorite Things

Each week, I’ll include a few of my favorite things. Feel free to send me your favorite recipe, gift idea, book, etc and I may even feature it here. Just respond to this email!

Recipe of the week - Do you like store bought hummus? Then you will LOVE homemade hummus. There is really no comparison! It’s a perfect snack if you are trying to follow a Mediterranean diet. Simple recipe here!

Item of the week - I feel like you can’t have a newsletter about yoga and not have the item of the week be a yoga mat. I use this one, but there are hundreds of colors and brands to choose from!

Person to follow this week - Adriene Mishler - the GOAT of Free At Home Yoga:

Video to watch this week - A year ago, I took the TEDx stage and spoke from the heart about ways we can fix the medical training system and improve the mental health of medical students and doctors. If you haven’t seen it already, I’ll link it here:

Dr. Goodman’s Psychiatry tip of the week -

Sources:

• Maren Nyer, Ph.D., Maya Nauphal, B.A., Regina Roberg, B.A., Chris Streeter, M.D. Applications of Yoga in Psychiatry: What We Know. Jan 2018

• Van der Kolk BA, Stone L, West J, Rhodes A, Emerson D, Suvak M, Spinazzola J. Yoga as an adjunctive treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Psychiatry. 2014 Jun;75(6):e559-65. doi: 10.4088/JCP.13m08561. PMID: 25004196

Disclaimer: These emails do not assume a doctor-patient relationship and my information is not intended to substitute for medical advice. I offer science-backed educational information aimed at empowering you to live your best life. Always consult your personal doctor before starting any treatment. My newsletter will always be free.