The Healing Art of Yoga
Trauma is a like a silent partner that resides inside the subconscious. It’s a distorted lens that taints the way you view yourself and the world. Surely, you’ve asked the question: why is life so easy for some, and difficult for others? Many see the yoga mat as way to deal with emotional trauma, disease, physical disability, grief and wounds about self-esteem.
In this articles, you’ll discover the how yoga heals, why developing a practice is key to self love and how the practice of yoga tunes you into your emotions and body.
What Is Trauma?
Trauma is all about experiences often involving a threat to life or sense of security that left the individual feeling overwhelmed, isolated and a sense of inability to cope with certain situations.
We have a student who suffers from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). During their life as a war journalist, they encountered a situation where life was turned on its head. Everywhere they went they were followed, phones tapped and every ounce of security stripped from them.
Here in Bali, going to yoga class, shopping or even living is disrupted as people from all walks of life follow this person due to a false box. They believe that this person can save, heal or give them good fortune. But in reality, this person is clinging to their last bits of emotional strength to save themself.
Let’s face it, human beings are self-centered and lack the true compassion needed to truly listen to the silent cries around them. You know what I’m talking about. Friends who are always complaining about money when you are broke and broken. People unhappy about their luxury home while you’re homeless. Better yet, people manipulating situations to use your lack for their benefit. The humour comes when, in act of self love, you set boundaries and they don’t respect or get angry because they benefited when you had none.
Whatever the trauma, feelings of loneliness and not being heard can lead to seeking a way out. For some, death seems to be the only option while for others a more holistic approach leads them on a path of self love and liberation. This is where the healing art of yoga comes in.
Healing Trauma With Yoga
Yoga is like a deep and intimate lover, and your practice involves nurturing and tuning your body and breath to forge a meaningful relationship with yourself. Just as what holds true in life, it can be difficult to maintain a consistent yoga practice but, for some, it’s the medicine they need to keep going.
“Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life, where you do not feel you are constantly trying to fit broken pieces together.”
Yoga allows us to loosen the trauma or tags that we clothe ourselves in and tears down the limiting beliefs of who we are. You are not broken but rather disconnected.
A three-year NIH-funded yoga and trauma study conducted at the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute in Brookline, Massachusetts, with women who have treatment-resistant complex PTSD, revealed that participation in trauma-informed gentle yoga leads to a significant reduction (over 30 percent) in symptoms of post-traumatic stress, including fewer intrusive thoughts and less dissociation from the body.
Simply put, yoga helps you to get grounded. Practicing yoga or pranayama allows the flow of energy to take place. During this process, hidden energies or emotions or toxins are released. The mind comes into alignment with the breath and at some point the body becomes a playground of exploration and awareness.
Yoga and Health Benefits
The word “yoga” comes from a Sanskrit root “yuj” which means union, or yoke, to join, and to direct and concentrate one's attention. Regular practice of yoga promotes strength, endurance, flexibility and facilitates characteristics of friendliness, compassion, and greater self-control, while cultivating a sense of calmness and well-being.
Sustained practice also leads to important outcomes such as changes in life perspective, self-awareness and an improved sense of energy to live life fully and with genuine enjoyment. The practice of yoga produces a physiological state opposite to that of the flight-or-fight stress response and with that interruption in the stress response, a sense of balance and union between the mind and body can be achieved.
Healing comes from within. The philosophy of Ashtanga directs the yogis attention towards one’s health, energetic self and spiritual nature. Yoga philosophy, asanas, meditation and pranayama prepare the mind and body for spiritual development. Healing happens when the mind is in a positive state.
It’s only when you truly love yourself that you can make healthy choices, have a high quality of life, and allow you to show up in the world as the most balanced, healthy and authentic version of yourself. If you’re looking to deepen your relationship with yourself and reverse trauma then join our Ashtanga Yoga & Somatics or Mindful Ashtanga Yoga classes. See you on the mat.
