Advertisement
How Iyengar yoga helped three women overcome anxiety, depression, insomnia, PTSD and excruciating pain
- Iyengar yoga, founded by the late B.K.S. Iyengar, is designed to help people of all physical abilities and ages by employing tailor-made sequences of poses
- Three women share how Iyengar yoga helped them overcome serious physical and mental ailments, allowing them to stop taking strong medications
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Cary Au-Yeung suffered from anxiety and insomnia. A busy corporate executive in Hong Kong, she spent long hours at work and travelled a lot. When her father fell ill in 2016, her stress levels soared.
Advertisement
“I barely slept three hours a night. I could not focus on work, felt exhausted and was anxious all the time,” says the 50-year-old, who also suffered from hot flushes and mood swings – side effects of menopause.
In Pune, India, Uttara Desai was diagnosed with acute recurrent pancreatitis – repeated episodes of inflammation of the pancreas – when she was 15. Over four years, she went to hospital more than 25 times. Along with excruciating pain, she suffered from nausea, vomiting and weakness, and was prescribed strong medication to manage the condition.
“I felt drained, physically and emotionally and was unable to attend school regularly,” says the now 21-year-old.
Nandita Khaire, also a Pune resident, experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety at the age of 49, after the sudden death of her father and sister-in-law. She had panic attacks for eight months, stopped eating and lost weight. She was also given drugs to help her cope.
Advertisement
“I did not want to live,” says the marketing and brand consultant, now 64 years old.
Advertisement