This morning, a student asked me about pain she was having in her neck and upper trapezius. She revealed that she had no recent trauma. However, (after a while), she said that she was embarrassed about her aging breasts and was seriously considering breast reduction surgery. In the absence of any other obvious muscle trauma, should I proceed with this information as my major consideration? I have not done enough assessments to know if this is an issue of body image and aging, menopause, or depression, or something else. Also, are there specific things you recommend for depression?
Pain in the chest and upper back associated with the enlargement of breasts whether due to aging or being born with large size is not uncommon. For this purpose of lessening pain, surgical breast reduction is very appropriate. This is the type of issue where I encourage the client to share as much or little as they feel comfortable with me to share. I assume that since we are not licensed psychotherapists, getting information of this type of intimate nature is a sign that we are doing a great job of empathy with our yoga students. Keeping a healthy boundary on such topics is appropriate, however. So I would encourage this lady to seek professional advice from a therapist as well as visiting a surgeon for the psychological screening profile to determine if this surgery is something she is indeed a candidate for. No professional surgeon would consider doing surgery of this sort for a seriously depressed client if they thought the motivation was for treating depression. For treating pain it is appropriate.
I think it would be most natural for a woman to become somewhat depressed at the thought of any surgery to her most obvious symbol of feminity and womanhood. I certainly do practices for depression, though in this case I feel she is having healthy responses. If you wish more on depression see Yoga for Depression by Amy Weintraub, a healthy book.