Yoga for Bipolar Disorder

Yoga for Bipolar Disorder | Kripalu Yoga, Sivananda Yoga, and Nia classes and private lessons in Knoxville, TN

Posted by Santosh on October 27th, 2008

So the cat’s out of the bag that I came to yoga through dealing with bipolar disorder and addiction. I’m hesitant to share these sorts of things in class — yoga class is about the student, not the teacher. Plus there’s the rather un-yogic fear of being judged. How human of me.

Last week I won an award for my work on the topic by Psych Central, the oldest and largest online source for mental health information. My blog Yoga for Bipolar Disorder was named one of the top 10 mental health blogs on the topic of bipolar disorder for 2008.

Looking over the other winners, it’s a real honor to be included in a list of such high caliber, creative, dare I say it, genius writers.

In a nutshell, here’s how yoga helps with bipolar disorder, at least mine: It acts as a bridge to the present moment, giving me space from thoughts and feelings that can be overwhelming and are sometimes quite dark. Yoga invites compassion around the darkness and gives it expression. Yoga gives me the experience of being strong, whole, and connected.

Yoga is a way to get well rather than get better. I have had no bipolar symptoms for nearly two years, the same amount of time I have enjoyed a serious personal yoga practice. You don’t get the full benefit of yoga by attending class once or twice a week. Dive in. Go deep.

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