what do you do for a bad day

[Guest guest]

I am a newcomer to Kundalini yoga, but have already felt some major changes

in my life from doing it, both mentally and spiritually. I am particularly

interested in using it to help me begin to stop using antidepressants

(obviously, slowly and with my doctor's advice). Yesterday I had a bad day,

just one of those dark and gloomy ones, and I was wondering if anyone had

any favorite sets or meditations to recommend, keeping in mind that i am a

total beginner.

 

Also, this is totally off the topic, but is there a maximum amount of yogi

tea one should drink in a day? I drink at least 3 cups.

love,

jessie

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[Guest guest]

Sat Nam Sadhant:

 

On what do you base the statement that Prozac, Zoloft, etc., cause

liver damage. I have Hep C/cirrhosis, and I take Nefazodone and Trazodone

for events that happened to me in Vietnam (PTSD). I have tried St Johns wort

by itself and it was not able to alleviate the depression, sleeplessness, and

nightmares. Could you enlighten me on this other product you mentioned

(5-HTP) to take in combination with the SJW.

 

Most humble Sadhaka.............Ken

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Jessie,

I leave the question on sets or meditations for someone whith more

experience than what I have. I give you just a tip: when I feel

depressed, ginger tea seems to help me even more than yogi tea. Try

it!

 

With love,

Sat Sarbat Kaur

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam Jesse:

 

Gururattan's book "Relax & Renew" has several meditations that are

useful for depression. Perhaps my favorite is "Meditation to get out

of depression, & for the capacity to deal with life". I learned it

several years ago, and have always found that it effects me very

powerfully. I also like Chatachya Kriya in the Positive and Neutral

mind section of her "Transitions to a Heart-Centered World", and

Meditation for the Positive Mind from "The Mind" (Gurucharan).

 

Here are some comments Gururattan posted some time ago on coping with

depression:

 

To deal with the immediate situation and change your emotional state

breath through your right nostril (close off left with one finger.)

This creates fire energy and lifts you up. Then DO something. Take

action for yourself. Also 3 or more minutes of breath of fire will

certainly change your state of being.

 

(It sure does!)

 

On a related note: many doctors seem far too quick to prescribe anti-

depressants when safer alternatives exist. Study after study has

shown that a combination of St. John's Wort and 5-HTP are just as

effective as SSRI's (Zoloft, Prozac, etc.), at least for mild to

moderate depression, without the unpleasant side-effects of these

drugs (liver damage, etc.).

 

Note, however, that they work in the same way as the SSRI's, and

should therefore not be combined.

 

> topic, but is there a maximum amount of yogi tea

 

I've never seen anything to indicate there is a maximum amount of

yogi tea - of course, one can overdo anything, but I'm sure that

three cups a day is not overdoing things. BTW, I particularly like

it with plenty of ginger, and find that the extra ginger is

energizing and warming.

 

Love & blessings,

Sadhant

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam Ken:

 

I can't cite studies offhand - actually, I'm quoting from write-ups

of comparison studies between various SSRI's and 5-HTP, with and

without St. John's Wort (apparently 5-HTP works in a synergistic

fashion with St. John's Wort, so that smaller doses of both are more

effective than large doses of either one). An example study is:

 

Poldinger, Calanchini, Schwartz, A fucntional-dimensional approach to

depression: serotonin deficiency as a target syndrome in a comparison

of 5-HTP and fluvoxamine (Psychopathology, 1991)

 

The studies don't specifically attribute liver damage to a specific

SSRI, but merely say that such problems are not uncommon to that

class of drugs, and also mention other potential problems, such as

agitation, anxiety, nervousness, hyperactivity, insomnia, nightmares,

and weight loss. Many of them have serious side-effects to be

considered. Just as an example, Prozac has some serious potential

adverse effects - here is a web page with a complete list:

 

http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-p05.html#Head_6

 

5-HTP (Hydroxy Tryptophan) is an amino acid that increases serotonin

levels (it is actually a a digestive precursor of serotonin), rather

than blocking the inactivation of serotonin, as do the SSRI's. It is

easily available in health food stores, both separately and in

combination with St. John's Wort.

 

A common dosage level would be 50 mg 5-HTP, 10 mg. St. John's Wort,

although people have used considerably higher dosages in clinical

trials.

 

Note that, generally speaking, 5-HTP should be avoided with MAO

inhibitors (as should the SSRI class of drugs), but this isn't an

absolute contraindication - many people take deprenyl, an MAO-B

inhibitor) for 5-HTP with no ill-effects, and St John's Wort is also

an MAO inhibitor. In any case you should consult a physician when it

comes to combining medications - the fact that so many useful herbs &

other psychoactives are available OTC doesn't mean they aren't

medications with potential for harm.

 

But, by the same token, finding a doctor who is up-to-date on such

things, and willing to go outside the USP rather than reaching for

the prescription pad may be difficult.

 

Many blessings!

Sadhant