{"id":103640,"date":"2026-07-31T13:06:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T17:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yogafit.com\/?p=103640"},"modified":"2026-08-18T06:35:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T10:35:12","slug":"exercise-is-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogafit.com\/staging\/exercise-is-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Exercise Is Medicine\u2014But It Wasn’t My Entire Prescription"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Beth Shaw, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, Founder of YogaFit Worldwide<\/em><\/p>\n

After three decades teaching yoga and wellness, I discovered that healing from depression required more than movement alone. We often hear that\u00a0exercise is medicine<\/em>, and I believe that’s true\u2014but like many powerful medicines, it works best as part of a thoughtful, individualized prescription. Here’s what finally helped me reclaim hope.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Throughout my life, I have struggled with depression and anxiety, despite all the exercise, yoga, meditation, healthy eating, and mindfulness. It looms in the background like a shadow, sometimes creeping up and overtaking me.<\/p>\n

I’m not supposed to be depressed. I thought I had handled this. It’s summer. We’re enjoying our new life in Traverse City. I belong to two gyms. I’m hiking, swimming, kayaking, and sometimes working out to the point of exhaustion because I use exercise as my primary mood stabilizer.<\/p>\n

I’ve spent more than three decades immersed in health and wellness. I’ve written books on yoga, nutrition, healthy aging, and trauma recovery. I’ve taught hundreds of thousands of yoga teachers around the world. I meditate. I practice yoga every day. I strength train. I understand sleep, hormones, breathwork, and the science behind building a resilient mind and body.<\/p>\n

I’ve spent my career telling people that exercise is medicine. What I didn’t fully appreciate was that medicine isn’t always enough by itself. Sometimes healing also requires community, accountability, purpose, and the willingness to ask for help.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I believe two things can be true at the same time. While this has probably been the best move of my life recently, that shadow overtook me\u2026 I know when it\u2019s coming; I spend more time in front of the screen, and by that I mean the television.<\/p>\n

I spend more time listening to podcasts that are less than educational, and then I feel disconnected from the joy and sense of purpose that carries me through life\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n

I always look for the WHYs<\/h3>\n

Is it hormones? Is it the weather? Is it situational? Is it a supplement that I\u2019m taking or not taking?<\/p>\n

And then I\u2019m reminded of something important: depression doesn\u2019t discriminate. It doesn\u2019t care how much you know about health or how many years you\u2019ve spent helping others. Sometimes it arrives quietly during seasons of grief, uncertainty, and transition.<\/p>\n

For me, this season brought all three.<\/p>\n

I moved to Traverse City, Michigan after living in New York, Los Angeles, and most recently spending five and a half wonderful years in Fort Lauderdale. Leaving Florida wasn\u2019t simply a change of address. It meant leaving behind the Be YogaFit community that had become my extended family. Those relationships weren\u2019t just students attending class. They were friends. They were my tribe.<\/p>\n

At the same time, I moved north to be closer to my cousin and to my ninety-year-old mother, whose health has declined rapidly following multiple strokes. Watching someone you love slowly disappear is one of life\u2019s greatest heartbreaks. There is no yoga pose that makes that easier. Also, because her partner died unexpectedly over a year ago after she had been with him for 23 years, his daughters unceremoniously pushed her out of their shared household. He also made some health decisions on behalf of my mother that I would have never made that contributed to her strokes, so I\u2019m dealing with anger. I\u2019m dealing with a lot of questions why, and I\u2019m dealing with the knowledge that I will never get answers to these questions.<\/p>\n

Add to that rebuilding a life in a new city, making new friends, reflecting on another birthday, and wondering what this next chapter is supposed to look like, and I began to understand why my emotional foundation suddenly felt less stable.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t falling apart.<\/p>\n

But I wasn\u2019t myself.<\/p>\n

Ironically, \u00a0I recently read an article discussing why exercise should finally be treated as legitimate medicine for depression rather than simply \u201cgood advice.\u201d The article didn\u2019t claim exercise was a miracle cure or that it should replace therapy or medication. Instead, it made a much more thoughtful argument:<\/p>\n

Exercise deserves to be prescribed with the same level of intention as any medical treatment.<\/h3>\n

That resonated deeply with me.<\/p>\n

If your physician prescribed an antidepressant, they wouldn\u2019t simply say, \u201cTake some medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n

They would explain which medication.<\/p>\n

How much.<\/p>\n

How often.<\/p>\n

When to take it.<\/p>\n

How long before you might notice improvement.<\/p>\n

Possible side effects.<\/p>\n

What happens if it doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

Yet when people are told to exercise for depression or anxiety, the recommendation is often little more than, \u201cGo work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a prescription.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a suggestion.<\/p>\n

Research now consistently demonstrates that exercise can significantly reduce symptoms of mild to moderate depression. Regular movement improves neuroplasticity by increasing Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), reduces chronic inflammation, regulates cortisol, improves insulin sensitivity, supports healthy sleep, enhances self-confidence, and creates opportunities for meaningful social connection.<\/p>\n

In other words, movement changes both the body and the brain.<\/p>\n

As yoga teachers, we\u2019ve understood this intuitively for decades. Neuroscience is finally catching up.<\/p>\n

Yoga Is More Than Stretching<\/h3>\n

For years I\u2019ve said that yoga isn\u2019t simply exercise.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s nervous system regulation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s breath training.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s mindfulness.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s resilience training.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s learning to become an observer of your thoughts rather than a prisoner of them.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons we created YogaFit\u2019s Balancing Moods training was because I saw firsthand how many students were walking into yoga classes carrying invisible burdens. Anxiety. Depression. Chronic stress. Grief. Hormonal changes. Caregiver fatigue. Burnout.<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t necessarily need a harder workout.<\/p>\n

They needed a different nervous system.<\/p>\n

The YogaFit Balancing Moods program combines movement, breathwork, meditation, mindfulness, restorative practices, and evidence-informed lifestyle strategies designed to support emotional well-being. It isn\u2019t intended to diagnose or treat mental illness, but it provides yoga teachers with practical tools to help students regulate stress, improve resilience, and cultivate emotional balance.<\/p>\n

Likewise, our YogaFit for Warriors\u00ae program was developed specifically to address the needs of veterans, first responders, trauma survivors, and anyone living with PTSD, anxiety, depression, or the lingering effects of chronic stress. The program integrates trauma-informed yoga, breathing techniques, mindfulness, and nervous system regulation in a way that helps participants feel safe, empowered, and connected to their bodies again.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never explored these programs, I encourage you to learn more:<\/p>\n