Yoga and depression

Meagan Arnold’s story could have been tragic. The 29-year old had spiralled into a deep depression in her teens. Her way out might have been devastating. Instead it’s become her way of life.

At the age of 16 meagan arnold was gripped by depression. feelings of anxiety. low self esteem. locked in her bedroom, flipping through a magazine one day she found an article on yoga: “It causes you to think about the horrible thing of ending your life because you don’t want to be in this pain anymore. There was a little pullout of 7 poses for depression. So I pulled that out and I was practising in my bedroom as a teen and I didn’t tell anybody that I was practising.

She adopted the daily postures. Weeks turned to months, turned to years. The breathing exercises and slow, smooth movement gave Meagan something she had been lacking strength: “I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t find that strength and I do feel that I found it in yoga and it got me to a place where I could take control of it and go get the help I needed.

Though passionate about yoga, Meagan has turned to other modalities to help her deal with depression: “Meditation really helps. Yoga really helps. Any physical activity really helps. And then of course other things like going to therapy.”

This ancient discipline had more revelations for Meagan. It started when she entered her first structured yoga class while in university: “All the years, doing it in my bedroom, you miss out on so much. Because when you’re in a class you get all the energy from all the people. You kind of get to shut down a little bit because there’s somebody guiding you thru the class.”

It took Meagan a few more years before realizing her strength in being the guide. She took intensive training in India, and returned home as co-owner of Yogashala in Waterdown. Though it wasn’t her initial plan, meagan believes it’s where she should be: “As humans we truly search for connection a the best person you can connect to is yourself. And we all seem to kind of miss that.”

Meagan’s studio is in Waterdown. The contact information is www.yogabum.ca and phone 905-689-9642(yoga)