Yoga practice has been a life-saving on my healing journey.
When I first discovered yoga, I had not been actively engaged with healing from my childhood abuse for years. I had been busy with graduate school and then switching careers to go back to graduate school in a different field.
My focus had been on my brain and intellect, and not my body or my healing.
I started yoga because we were looking to start a family. I had read that yoga is a good practice to engage in when you are pregnant, but that you should have established a practice before you got pregnant.
So I found a yoga studio that I felt had a good “feel” to it and starting taking classes a couple of times a week.
I soon experienced a challenges in certain poses that left me feeling exposed and unsafe. I was determined to continue my practice, because as an Type-A person, I did not want to fail at a goal I had set for myself.
Luckily I had a good relationship with my teacher and explained to him about my past abuse. He was able to help me modify poses in class, and guide me through the body feelings that were coming up with the asana practice.
Here is a wonderful short video about healing trauma by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk. He is a Boston-based psychiatrist and The New York Times best-selling author of The Body Keeps the Score. He was previously the President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Medical School, and Medical Director of the Trauma Center.
I encourage all survivors to explore the healing that a yoga practice can bring to your life.
You can find great information about the different types of yoga on the YogaJournal.com website.
YogaJournal.com also has directory to help you find a yoga instructor, studio or class
A great free video to watch for an introduction to a gentle yoga practice:
Although this is titled “Recovering from Sickness” it is a great one to try for a gentle practice anytime.
