The ancient practices of Yoga and Meditation when applied correctly are powerful tools for healing and personal transformation. Yoga for Trauma empowers participants by teaching them ways to use these tools to address the symptoms of trauma.
1) Yoga Nidra Integrative Restoration (Guided Meditation)
2) Yoga Poses (Asana)
3) Breathing (Pranayama)
4) Mantra Meditation (Japa)
5) Positive Thinking
Techniques found to be successful &
How they can be helpful:
1) iRest Yoga Nidra Guided Meditation: Practitioners are guided through a meditative experience that includes the body, breath, feelings/emotions, beliefs and then out into a peaceful state of awareness. The practice is a great way to objectively look at traumatic experiences while in a relaxed state. The practice helps individuals to safely approach their trauma, welcome their experiences on every level of being and eventually let them reveal the message they are trying to send. Healing happens naturally without any force and the participant gets to move at their own pace through the healing process. Research studies are currently being conducted on the efficacy of using Yoga Nidra for PTSD. Initial findings reveal that it helps with insomnia, chronic pain, depression, anxiety and hyper-vigilance.
2) Yoga Poses (Asana): Asanas work on many levels. When the physical body is healthy, balanced and energized, it provides fertile ground for healing to occur. The body holds onto traumatic experiences in a variety of ways. Asanas help the practitioner observe, welcome and release the physical and psychological wounds left by the traumatic experience. In our Yoga for Trauma course, we use the lens of trauma to distill out the key benefits of each asana. For instance, shoulder-stand is useful for strengthening the nervous system and balancing hormones that may have fallen out of balance after the trauma. Cobra pose is useful for strengthening the kidneys and adrenal glands, helping cope with stress and detoxification. The psychological benefits are taught throughout our courses, such as using forward folds to release the past and backbends to open to the future.
3) Breathing Exercises (Pranayama): Pranayama is an incredibly powerful tool that can be used for a variety of purposes. Certain practices are recommended for certain conditions. For instance, Anuloma Viloma (alternate nostril breathing) is extremely soothing for the nervous system. It can be used 'in the moment' to calm anxiety attacks and combat depression. More energizing practices like Kapalabhati can help break through negative thought patterns and process traumatic experiences. The practitioner learns how to use these tools in their lives to target their specific needs and also build them into a daily practice. Other breathing exercises taught are useful for combating insomnia, depression and other conditions related to PTSD.
4) Mantra Meditation (Japa): Individuals with PTSD often suffer from an sensory overload and an overactive mind that results in stress, flashbacks and anxiety attacks. Mantra meditation is extremely useful in creating new and deeper patterns in the brain to overcome the intense memories of trauma. Repetition of a mantra gives the mind something positive to hold onto in situations where an individual feels 'stuck' in their trauma. Practitioners can choose to use 'affirmations' for their mantras, such as "I am healthy, whole and complete, just as I am." They can also choose to use Sanskrit mantras. The ancient, healing vibrations of Sanskrit give increased power to the practice. Think of using a Sanskrit mantra as hitching your healing process onto a high speed train that empowers and nurtures you on every step of your journey.
5) Positive Thinking: These practices empower the practitioner to become AWARE of how their thoughts ultimately create their reality and to find the MEANING every situation presents. Deep experience and understanding of the equation:
Thoughts --> Actions --> Habits --> Character --> Destiny
unveils the anatomy of how the mind affects your entire life!
Testimonials
"When someone tells you that you have terminal cancer, you get a quick blast about what is actually important in life. What Molly teaches helped me find the peace I needed so that I can now enjoy however long I have left on this Earth. I want to make it worth living. Meditation helps with the physical pain, but it's the mental and spiritual part that will change you forever. You should start right now. Don't wait. When people ask me life advice, I always tell them to meditate."
-Charlotte, Cancer Survivor
“Instead of feeling like there is something wrong with us, meditation makes us feel like there is something right with us.”
-Gilbert, Iraq War Veteran
“Meditation brought out the 10-year old boy in me that I didn’t even know existed anymore. I was so happy to know that a part of me is still innocent. I want to find him again and learn to laugh again.”
-Vietnam Veteran
“I feel like I am floating, like for the first time in memory, I actually feel free of the prison of my mind. It actually feels strange to me because I don’t even know what this feeling is, but I really like it.”
-Rene, Vietnam Veteran
“When I can’t sleep at night, I remember the techniques we learned together. If that doesn’t work, I use the Yoga Nidra CD. It is the only thing I’ve found that really works. When I wake up, I feel rested instead of constantly groggy.”
-Joey, Iraq & Afghanistan Veteran
“Over the past few months, meditation has helped me realize how closely connected my physical and mental pain are. I told my wife that I feel like I’m untangling a big knot. I didn’t know which strand was which when it was all knotted together, but as I do the meditation, I feel myself unwinding. As I undo the knot, I see what was mental and what was physical and how letting go of each helps the other.”
-Jon, Vietnam Veteran
“Sometimes when I meditate, flashbacks come to me of helicopters circling and the time we accidentally killed a woman and her little son.Normally, this would have sent me into a breakdown.Now, I am learning to observe the experience, learn the lessons from it.Meditation helps me find the part of my soul that is still peaceful.”
- Rick, Enduring Freedom Veteran
“I hadn’t slept more than two hours in a row since Vietnam. What is this now… 35 or 40 years of no sleep? Since the very first week I started using your meditation CD, I sleep through the entire night, at least 6 hours. I feel like an entirely different person. The other thing that happened is that I got to go off my blood pressure medication. My blood pressure went down from 180 over 110 to 120 over 90. I’m telling every person I know about meditation. I think I eat better too. I feel so good that I don’t want to eat junk food anymore. ”
-William, Vietnam Veteran
“Meditation makes me feel light again. I used to feel like this long ago. But then when the flashbacks would come, I silenced them with drugs and alcohol and darkness consumed my whole life… my wife, my kids, my job. Sitting in this class a few weeks ago, I had the realization that choosing darkness was my choice. So, I said to myself, why can’t I just choose light instead? Now when the feeling comes where I used to choose darkness, I sit down and I just do a little meditation. It’s going to take some time because I spent a lot of years choosing darkness. I feel like change is in my hands. Before I never had a tool of my own to deal with the flashbacks. Now I do.”
-Jason, Vietnam Veteran
“I used to feel like I didn’t trust other people. In meditation, I realized that I didn’t trust myself. It is helping me feel more calm. The more calm I feel, the more I see that people are trying their best.”
-Jose, Veteran
“When I get out [of the VA Residential PTSD program], I told my wife we are going to meditate together. She was in shock. She said, ‘YOU are MEDITATING, Tommy? If you keep shocking me like this, you’re going to give me a heart attack.’ But she was happy. I told her that it is the first thing since ‘Nam that made me feel like I had peace. I told her that I really believe I found a way to be peaceful and that I am going to be a better husband. I am going to make up for all of the years that I was awful to her. I am going to finally teach her something that brings her peace instead of misery.”
-Tommy, Vietnam Veteran