Utilizing Yoga as Treatment for PTSD

In this post, I will further the discussion that emphasizes the success of yoga as a treatment approach for individuals with PTSD. To start, I would like to express how I have personally seen yoga ease the tension that PTSD brings. As I have mentioned in many of my discussion posts, my parents are Bosnian genocide victims, and my mom still suffers from PTSD almost daily. She goes to yoga at least twice a week because she has really seen an improvement on her mental state. It allows her to disconnect from the world for an hour and focus on calming down her brain. Yoga is a powerful tool for all, but it is especially essential in treating PTSD.

For centuries, yoga has been used as a practice for the mind as well as the body (Rousseau, 2022). The process of directing your breath and energy to certain parts of your body is a beneficial skill to possess. In our book The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (2014) discusses how yoga was more effective in treating PTSD than medicine (p. 209). This was my favorite part of the book to read. I consider myself more “holistic”. I will try every natural remedy for a headache before I take a Tylenol. I truly believe there are natural and holistic ways of healing what ails our bodies. Obviously, this is very dependent on the individual, and medicine is oftentimes needed. However, yoga can be used in combination with other treatments since it is a physical practice.

 

References

Rousseau, D. (2022). Module 4: Pathways to recovery: Understanding approaches to trauma treatment. Blackboard, https://onlinecampus.bu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-9960461-dt-content-rid-63971458_1/courses/22sprgmetcj720_o2/course/module4/allpages.htm

 

van der Kolk, B. A., MD. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin.

 

 

 

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4 comments

  1. I couldn’t agree more! As we know, trauma can show itself in many different forms and can go unrecognized for so long. Untreated trauma can create even more of a negative space in ones body because they are allowing room for more excessive amounts of stress. Managing these stressors and symptoms is so important and I think pretty tabu to talk about still but thankfully, depending on the area, I think is being further explored day by day.

  2. Hi Alleah,

    I too believe in trying to find the holistic solution first. Of course everyone has their own strategies and preferences, but as you’ve mentioned combining something like Yoga with another treatment is also a viable option. I think when there are resources like Yoga available, that have very little downfalls to trying are worth noting. There are many things that can be downright bad for you, but very little that have more pros than cons. Yoga is definitely one of those options!

    Great post!
    Kelly

  3. In the same vein as Dr. van der Kolk’s text on the benefit of ‘mindfulness’ in trauma recovery, yoga’s benefit for practitioners is outstanding – and well-supported by a variety of research papers. I love the willingness of researchers to look into historic methods that have proven effective over hundreds of years and peruse them for modern-day utility. Their teachings are perhaps more important than ever in today’s daily rat race.

  4. Thank you for bringing out the great post about Yoga and PTSD. I couldn’t agree more with your point because these few weeks I learned about the trauma and the treatment of the PTSD found that Yoga is a good way can help the people who have PTSD to relax and become better!!! The reading and the class material also so us that Yoga can treat PTSD!!

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