Trauma-informed yoga has become incredibly popular over the past decade and with just cause. It has influenced how sensitive teachers and studios may be to welcoming students who have a lived experience of mental health issues. Over 30% of students in any general class are there because they are trying to manage anxiety, stress, trauma or depression. So it is wonderful that teachers are now more responsible for providing a safe psychological space for students.
I have been going to yoga classes for the past 28 years, and I can tell you that not all classes or studios were psychologically safe places. Not all teachers are psychologically safe. I have had very senior teachers tell me that they have nothing to teach me about how to use yoga for mental health outcomes. I hope no other student has to go through such an experience. I was really lost for a while...
When I was diagnosed with PTSD, I didn't want to take the medication. (Although I am a big supporter of the right meds now) I thought the medication would change me, would alter my mental feeling and I was scared of that. So I really looked at yoga as a serious tool for mental health recovery. And this is what I discovered....
Anxierty, Stress, Trauma or depression are felt in the mind/body as a sensation. There is a mental feeling and a corresponding body sensation. This is the mind-body connection at play. The environment of the mind affects the body so we can affect the mental feeling through the body. This is the essence of Trauma-Informed Yoga. For Trauma-Informed Yoga to be effective, we will work with the Vagus Nerve, the 10th cranial nerve responsible for mind-body connectivity.
Working with the vagus nerve is best done by 1) joining yoga postures and breath patterns together. 2) entering a flow state where body and breath move in synchronicity. By doing this for 5 - 15 mins you will engage 'The Relaxation Response" where the vagus nerve tells the brain, 'I am in a safe and connected space', and now your brain can release feel-good hormones/neurotransmitters such as Dopamine, Serotonin, and Cortisol. (You can actually feel them releasing).
In terms of pranayama for Trauma-Infromed Yoga the most important practice is to try to slow the breath down incrementally. Become aware of breathing into the belly first, the lower ribs second and the armpit chest third; as you do this, the diaphragm moves downwards towards the base chakra. When you exhale, you relax from the armpit chest, down to the lower ribs and then suck the tummy back towards the spine; as you do this, the diaphragm moves up toward the solar plexus chakra. Can you feel your diaphragm moving? If you manage the movement of the diaphragm and slow it down just a little, you will slow down the breath pattern altogether. This is the best practice I have found for softening and deepening the breath. (When you slow the breath, you slow down the racing thoughts/negative thoughts and corresponding negative emotional state).
Come to the last class of the year on Monday Night 6:30 PM through Meetup!
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