Why Practice Yoga for Trauma - My Story

On a rare snowy morning in Atlanta, I sat down with coffee and my journal and started listing all the benefits of a long-term yoga practice. Without question, yoga can bring near-immediate relief because of its calming effect on the nervous system. There’s even more magic beyond the hour-long practice. And here’s what happens when you stay with this system of transformation…

The purpose of practice is to reveal your essence. To bring more of YOU into expression.

For those of us who have endured toxic relationships, we’ve lost our sense of self. We’re often unclear about who we are and our role in the world. We may walk around appearing “confident” and “together” but inside we’re numb, confused, and scared. To be our authentic or essential selves sounds great, but we’ve got zero idea how to get there. I’m so grateful that my personal trainer sent me to yoga to strengthen my core. What started as a physical motivation quickly became an emotional and spiritual one. The journal continues…

It gives me a sense of power, mastery. It feels good. It makes me calm and peaceful. It puts me in a better state of mind. Though my asana practice has changed, I keep coming back because yoga is a complete system that brings order to chaos and provides a way to get in touch with my inner wisdom.

Having a deep sense of powerlessness coupled with shame left me feeling anxious and unsafe. I was either extremely busy and on the verge of burnout or barely functional and constantly feeling stuck and worthless. But yoga…for that hour, all of that mind chatter and discomfort went away, and I was captivated by the synchronization of movement with breath. I felt good. And I wasn’t used to feeling good.

And for a girl who was often confused about life…well, it helped me make sense of it all. It helped me learn to listen to myself. It helped me learn to do what’s hard. It helped me find my own power. It helped me grow and be healthy. It made sense.

Access your power, your wisdom. Be clear. Be calm. Be confident. Be courageous. Be yourself. Develop the inner trust to live life on your terms—inner and outer worlds in harmony.

Well that sure sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? I didn’t even realize that was my dream. I just wanted to stop being scared all the time. I wanted to find love. I wanted to have a “normal” life. I wanted to learn how to be functional and healthy. So I kept on practicing.

Yoga gave me back to myself.

Wounds transformed to strengths. Pain resolved. Armor softened. … We become better communicators, better vessels. We become stronger in who we are. We learn to live authentically and allow our hearts to shine. We learn to think for ourselves and guide our lives in a way that serves both us and the greater good. We become aware of our impact and influence on the world. We start to understand our worth and value.

We learn how to trust ourselves, how to witness our own pain. We learn how to be better friends to ourselves and others. We learn to be better lovers.

We become more response-able. We understand our own agency. We recover our sense of self. We discover, strengthen, and resolve to live our truth. We wake up from our slumber and live in ways that feel good to us.

Rather than clamoring around in the dark, we begin to live in the light.

We release toxicity in our bodies and minds. We gravitate toward loving and kind behavior toward ourselves and others. We learn what works and what doesn’t work for us. We learn how to use our bodies, our breath, and our minds.

We discover that we HAVE power, and we learn the proper use of our own power.

We learn that we are the cause or source of our experience, and that we have agency, choice. We learn that some people just aren’t good for us. We learn how to handle ourselves in the face of difficulty or challenge.

We learn that we can do new things - do them poorly at first - try again - and eventually master them.

We learn how to be kind to ourselves, to extend grace. And we learn how to challenge ourselves. Sometimes we need to let go and sometimes we need to hang on.

Yoga helps us discern the right action in each moment…not to live by rules but by intelligent awareness.

We learn that we can be safe again.

We learn how to be safe without being isolated, that boundaries are our friends. We learn to take care of ourselves and ask for what we need. We learn to accept things as they are and that we can choose whether or not to stay.

We learn to accept ourselves as we are - and we discover the unconditional love we always craved is sourced from within ourselves.

We learn to love ourselves well, and that changes everything.

For the last 14 years, I’ve been blessed with this practice. It serves me well, and it’s truly transformed my life from the inside out. Yoga allowed me to guide my life in ways that have promoted healing and thriving, and I am confident that there’s more to come. In an earlier post, I used hell to health in the context of relationships. That polarity is again applicable today. From my personal hell 14 years ago to my ever-evolving physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health today, I must express heartfelt gratitude to the teachers who’ve gone before me and paved the way for this magical, slow medicine to make its way to me. I hope that one day it reaches you.