What is Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and How it Can Help?
Trauma can affect us in many different ways. Often, we store our trauma in our bodies without knowing it, and it can get stuck. Yoga can help release some of that built-up stagnation. Another common experience for people who have had recurring trauma, PTSD, or childhood trauma is that we start to dissociate from our bodies. Dissociation is a coping mechanism for many people who don’t feel safe in their bodies. As a result, we tend to become disconnected from our bodies and more focused on our thoughts.
Trauma-sensitive yoga offers a gentle approach to help individuals reconnect with their bodies in a safe and supportive environment. By focusing on mindful movement, breath work, and creating a sense of agency over one’s body, trauma-sensitive yoga encourages the release of built-up tension and fosters a renewed sense of connection between the body and mind. This practice not only complements traditional therapy but also empowers individuals to reclaim their bodily awareness and begin the journey of healing from trauma.
How Can Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Aid in Your Journey to Recovery from Trauma?
The goal of yoga is to unite the body and mind. The goal of trauma-sensitive yoga is to help a person befriend their body and start to feel into their bodies again in a safer way. The aim of being a trauma-sensitive yoga class is to make sure that you recognize your agency over your body and experience in the class, to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment, and to guide you through a gentle practice that allows you to move with your breath and start to feel more connected to your body.
The Benefits of Yoga as an Adjunct to Therapy
Trauma-sensitive yoga is an excellent pairing to trauma therapy. It helps regulate the nervous system, works with bilateral movements and stimulation (like EMDR), and allows people with trauma to befriend their bodies. Many people who have experienced trauma often dissociate from their bodies or have learned to live primarily in their heads. This has been a powerful tool to protect oneself. Yoga can help you reconnect with your body, allowing you to feel more connected to yourself.
What Does a Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Class Look Like?
I plan yoga practices based on traditional teachings and what I have learned about yoga and modern neuroscience, particularly polyvagal theory. Yoga naturally helps tone the Vagus nerve, which directly affects the nervous system, but I try to build practices that are specifically geared toward this.
I incorporate yogic practices focusing on breath work (pranayama), yoga asana, and guided meditation. My training is in hatha yoga and may look more like restorative yoga or sometimes supported yin in classes designed for anxiety, especially. In gentle flow classes, the aim is to tone the vagal nerve. The Vagal nerve is responsible for managing the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. When stressed out, our sympathetic nervous system doesn’t allow our parasympathetic system to come online, which may result in feelings of stress and overwhelm. It physically affects our bodies, too. We start to have shallower breathing, disrupted digestion, and a faster heart rate. Yoga stimulates the vagus nerve through various mechanisms, including deep diaphragmatic breathing, gentle stretching, and mindfulness practices, and allows our parasympathetic nervous system to come online, reversing those symptoms.
We will work a lot on the floor but also move into standing poses and work on some balance. By allowing ourselves to feel some discomfort (not pain!), we begin to widen our window of tolerance in a safe way. When we pay attention to our breath and the sensations we feel in our bodies, we also train our stress response. Regularly engaging in yoga, breathing exercises, meditation, and mindfulness can help reduce stress, lower cortisol levels, tone the vagal nerve, reduce muscle tension, improve overall mental well-being, and promote relaxation.
Final Thoughts
Yoga has been used for centuries for good reason! Even before we knew all of the neuroscience that we now know is happening in the brain and body as we perform poses or breathing exercises, we knew something was happening. You feel different after a yoga class, and that is because your parasympathetic system is online. It changes your body and affects your mood for the better.
If you want to join a class or have a one-on-one session with Jenn, please call 720-675-7123 to book.
About the Author
Cory Degnen, PsyD
Dr. CJ Clinkscales is an intuitive clinician who has a gift for connecting deeply with clients. He brings a depth psychology perspective to his work in therapy, with adults and couples. He uses his skills in EMDR and psychedelic-assisted therapy to support deep, lasting healing. CJ is an LGBTQIA+ affirming therapist who works with individuals (16-70 years old) and couples, specializing in his work with teens and young adults. He creates a space for you to be your most authentic self as you delve into the challenges you might be facing and works collaboratively with you to individualize treatment for your needs.
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