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YOGA TO HEAL TRAUMA

Soothing Poses Calm the Nervous System

by Marlaina Donato

the journal Military Medicine in 2018 reports that U.S. veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that participated in a one-hour vinyasa-style yoga session for six weeks showed significantly lowered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, as well as less insomnia, depression and anxiety.

Getting on the yoga mat can be a powerful stress-buster that lowers blood pressure and excessive cortisol, but yoga can offer an added boon for those living with the lasting effects of traumatic events. Trauma-informed yoga (also called trauma-sensitive yoga) is a promising therapeutic branch of the yogic system designed to quell the body’s programmed “fightor-flight” responses.

Founded on yoga, psychology and neurobiology principles, the approach is in harmony with the ancient yogic concept of samskaras, or memories imprinted on our cellular consciousness. People from many walks of life can benefit from trauma-sensitive yoga including bullied teens, women rebounding from abuse and anyone impacted by pandemic turmoil. Research published in

TRAUMA-INTELLIGENT FITNESS

Yoga performed with trauma sensitivity can pick up where talk therapy leaves off, targeting the amygdala, the danger detector in the brain, and the vagus nerve that runs from the brain to the abdomen, which plays a vital role in processing trauma. “Somatic processing and treatment methodologies like yoga are now being used to help repair and rebuild distressed nervous systems, which in turn helps the brain integrate and ‘file’ distressing memories,” says Beth Shaw, founder of YogaFit Training Systems Worldwide, the largest yoga teacher training school in North America, and the author of Healing Trauma with Yoga: Go From Surviving to Thriving with Mind-Body Techniques. The Fort Lauderdale-based yoga therapist and entrepreneur highlights the body’s role in trauma and stress. “The brain rewires itself around the traumatic event and memories stored in the tissues throughout the body. Yoga can help to free those memories, alleviating troubling emotions

and thought patterns, as well as chronic somatic tension and hypervigilance.” Shaw draws upon new psychological and neurological discoveries, including polyvagal theory, that help explain the full impact of trauma and most importantly, how and why yoga helps to lessen these impacts.

Trauma-informed yoga keeps the nervous system in mind, excluding poses and breathing techniques that might provoke a sense of vulnerability or overstimulation. Trained teachers adhere to non-touch assistance methods and often opt for well-lit studios to avoid a possible triggering atmosphere.

A trauma-informed yoga teacher knows the inner workings of the nervous system,” explains Mandy Eubanks, a trauma-trained yoga educator and certified yoga instructor in Tulsa. “We have respect for the variety of responses that our clients have to yoga, meditation and breathwork practices. For example, we understand deep breathing will be calming to one person and agitating to another. We normalize clients’ responses and work with them to find an effective technique for that individual.” Teachers with specialized training and access to props can also support people on a yoga journey that are limited physically. Eubanks emphasizes, “Yoga truly is for everyone and every body.”

THE POWER OF CHOICE AND INDIVIDUALITY

Lisa Danylchuk, the Oakland-based author of Yoga for Trauma Recovery: Theory, Philosophy, and Practice, underscores that in a trauma-informed environment, everything a teacher instructs is an offering or invitation. “This is important because people who have endured trauma have often not had a say over what happens to their bodies. A good trauma-informed class cultivates somatic and psychological resources, and focuses, above all, on cultivating a sense of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual safety.” The founder of The Center for Yoga and Trauma Recovery believes it’s important to be responsive to individual needs. “Trauma affects so many different individuals and groups of people and in such a variety of ways that it is impossible to give one prescription. Some people might benefit from a weekly, 60- to 90-minute vinyasa-style class. Others might benefit from a short, five-minute daily restorative practice.”

Shaw also stresses a tailored approach. “How one wishes to practice is up to the individual, but I suggest a combination of both one-on-one instruction and class format. If someone is in the throes of trauma, they will need a private session to start.”

Eubanks adds the importance of consistency. “In my experience, it is about finding which yoga practices work best for the client and then encouraging them to find time to practice every day. Yoga for PTSD is not a one-and-done deal. It takes time, effort and belief in oneself.”

Marlaina Donato is a body-mind-spirit author and recording artist. Connect at AutumnEmbersMusic.com.

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CREATIVE MOVEMENT With the Steel Mace

Our modern age finds us living in a linear fashion. Most of our physical requirements demand only one plane of motion throughout the day. The most utilized modern-day posture is seated with arms stretched forward. When we set out to move after a day of work, we most likely find ourselves yet again utilizing that same plane of motion. Our bodies never really have a chance to move outside of the “box” we have built for it. Long ago, humans used every part of the body in all planes of motion for hard labor, fighting, hunting, staying on the move, etc. Bodies were rarely sedentary and moved in ways that we now see are a struggle for so many. Movements such as bending, twisting, deep squatting, stabilizing, and endurance in all movement are now goals that we try to achieve in the gym. This is where creative movement comes into play. Rather than taking the body through the same sagittal plane demands of the workday, it is beneficial to find something that maximizes movement from all planes of motion and asks the body to perform the movements that were so commonplace long ago. Unconventional training is a rapidly growing trend in the fitness industry, one that will not be going anywhere for the foreseeable future. The steel mace as a fitness tool is gaining in popularity thanks to many trailblazers in the fitness world. When one hears the word steel mace, the visualization of a weapon used to bludgeon someone comes to mind. It is true that the steel mace of today takes after this ancient weapon, but it is now modernized and modified to be used solely for fitness purposes. It can be traced back to India well over 2,000 years ago. The mace is referred to as a Gada in India and was used as a weapon for Hindu warriors. It was also the first piece of strength equipment of its time. Warriors would use it as a training tool to increase their battle skills. Swinging the Gada increased a warrior’s fighting proficiency and accuracy. Today, we find ourselves once again looking to ancient ways as a different and unique approach to training with a modern twist. A Gada is very different from a steel mace as they are usually a long bamboo stick attached to a block of concrete. A steel mace is a cast iron globe welded onto a hollow steel handle. Working with the steel mace can enhance any recreational exerciser’s weekly routine, bringing a new flavor and way of moving into a program for any level. Because conventional gym routines usually find us stuck in the same patterns most of the time, incorporating the steel mace into any plan brings with it many physical and mental benefits.

n Training with the steel mace is a functional movement staple. Because of the offset and uneven nature of it, when held in any position it automatically requires stability and fluidity in the body. It also helps to strengthen the body unilaterally and supports balanced strength on both sides. n The steel mace develops shoulder strength and mobility like no other fitness tool. The small muscles of the shoulder that make up what’s called the rotator cuff are typically very weak in most people. This area is highly prone to injuries. The steel mace strengthens every small muscle of the rotator cuff, thereby increasing strength for any sport and reducing chances of shoulder injury. n Moving with the steel mace promotes creativity in movement in all planes of motion. The possibilities of where one can go with the mace are endless. Instead of moving just forward and backward, one moves in

all possible directions. It develops a fluidity and openness to the joints, increasing range of motion and allowing for deep engagement and utilization of all muscles rather than just focusing on one group of muscles at a time. This facilitates a very full-body experience. n Because of the comprehensive nature of moving with the mace, we benefit from both a cardiovascular and strength standpoint. Moving with the mace for timed durations can increase cardiovascular endurance and give those that love a good sweat a great workout punch in a short amount of time

The benefits far outweigh any downfalls in this unconventional way of training. Keep in mind when wanting to try steel mace training is to select an appropriate weight. Because of the unevenness of the weight, a 10-pound mace will feel much heavier and different than a regular 10-pound weight. There is no ego in mace training. To begin mace training, it’s suggested to stay within the seven- to-10-pound range, then work your way up from there.

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Cheryl Natusch is a certified fitness trainer and owner of Laughing Hearts Yoga & Movement, that offers two, weekly, steel mace training classes, at 912 W. Kings Hwy., in Haddon Heights. For more information or to register for a session, visit LaughingHeartsYoga.com.

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