Healing Trauma with Yoga Therapy

Healing Trauma with Yoga Therapy

By JJ Gormley, MS, CIAYT, ERYT, CN

Healing trauma with yoga therapy involves addressing the physical, emotional, and psychological impacts of trauma through a comprehensive approach that integrates various yoga practices. Trauma affects both the mind and the body, and yoga therapy offers a comprehensive method for addressing these interconnected aspects. Here’s how yoga therapy can be effective in healing trauma:

Understanding Trauma

Trauma can result from a single event or prolonged exposure to stress, leading to physical and emotional dysregulation. It can manifest as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and various physical health issues. Yoga therapy addresses trauma by focusing on the mind-body connection and promoting holistic healing.  The key elements of yoga therapy for trauma include:

Physical postures (asanas) help release tension and stored stress in the body, which is often a result of trauma. Yoga postures can also help individuals regain strength and a sense of control, giving them empowerment over their bodies and counteracting feelings of helplessness.

Trauma often causes disconnection from the body and dissociation. Yoga can help individuals reconnect with their physical sensations and improve body awareness (interoception). It encourages a safe exploration of bodily sensations, helping to identify and release areas of tension and trauma.

Breathwork (pranayama) can help regulate the nervous system by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation, and reducing the hyperarousal associated with trauma.

The ability to control the breath can help individuals feel more grounded and centered, providing stability and safety.

 Mindfulness and meditation practices help individuals focus on the present moment, reducing the tendency to relive past traumatic experiences or worry about the future.  These practices encourage individuals to observe their thoughts and feelings without judgment, fostering a sense of acceptance and reducing self-criticism.

Trauma-Informed Yoga

                  Look for yoga teachers or yoga therapists who are trauma-informed trained.  These teachers know that creating a safe space is important.  Ensuring the environment is safe, welcoming, and non-judgmental helps ensure a positive outcome. 

                  Trauma-informed yoga teachers help empower individuals by offering choices and options in the practice, respecting boundaries, and avoiding any triggering language or touch.  These teachers use gentle poses to prevent overwhelming the nervous system.

Trauma-informed yoga focuses on the physical sensations associated with trauma, allowing for the release of traumatic energy stored in the body.  This release is encouraged in a gradual and controlled way.

Benefits of Yoga Therapy for Trauma

                  Yoga therapy for trauma will decrease physical symptoms associated with trauma, such as chronic pain, muscle tension, and headaches.  It will help improve sleep patterns, assisting individuals to recover from trauma-related sleep disturbances.

Yoga therapy for trauma will yield psychological benefits, including reduced anxiety and depression. Regular yoga practice helps reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression by promoting relaxation and improving mood.

Yoga therapy helps individuals develop better emotional regulation skills, reducing emotional reactivity. It also promotes neuroplasticity, helping the brain form new, healthy neural connections to recover from the effects of trauma.

Regular practice of yoga therapy begins to balance the autonomic nervous system. Yoga Therapy restores balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, reducing the hyperarousal state common in trauma survivors.

Because Yoga Therapy is a complementary approach, integrating it with other Treatments such as psychotherapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), and medication can significantly improve the outcome by providing a holistic approach to healing, addressing the physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of trauma.

Yoga therapy offers a powerful, holistic approach to healing trauma by addressing the interconnected physical, emotional, and psychological impacts. Through mindfulness, breathwork, physical postures, and body awareness, individuals can reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous systems, and develop resilience. When practiced consistently and in a trauma-informed manner, yoga therapy can be a transformative tool for recovery and healing.