How to reduce anxiety and depression through mind-body connection – running and yoga were the answer for one woman who had struggled since she was a teen
- PR professional Sarah Keates found that running helped manage her mental health issues, which improved even further by adding yoga and meditation
- ‘I began to see that the mind-body connection was very real,’ she says, something studies and Ayurvedic practitioner Bindiya Surtani back up
About 10 years ago, Sarah Keates took up running as part of a plan to improve her emotional well-being. Having read about the mental health benefits of running, she was curious as to how it might help her.
She had struggled with mental and emotional health issues for more than two decades and decided to do something about them.
“I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression at 13,” says Keates, who is now 41.
“These conditions followed me into adulthood, impacting my physical health over the years. For instance, I suffered from terrible insomnia, rarely getting a solid eight hours’ sleep and waking up every 10 minutes during the night, almost every night.”
Her anxiety also took away her appetite and made it difficult for her to get to a healthy weight.
“I often went for extended periods without eating, especially if I was alone and had no one around me to ensure that I ate or to prepare my meals for me,” she says.
