The Therapeutic Potential of Yoga

The Therapeutic Potential of Yoga: Healing the Nervous System and Beyond

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, in his much lauded book The Body Keeps the Score, discusses how trauma and stress are conditioned in the body, not only affecting our emotional well-being but also our physical well-being. One of the major themes of the book is how profoundly trauma influences the nervous system, and how one cannot recover from it with talk therapy alone. One of the methods van der Kolk discusses for healing from trauma is yoga as an incredible tool for balancing the body and mind.

 The Role of Yoga in Healing

Yoga, an ancient practice of movement, breath, and meditation, offers an all-encompassing system of healing the body and mind.

While traditionally associated with flexibility and strength, the more therapeutically potent aspect of yoga lies in its ability to allow one to access and control his or her autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS regulates automatic functioning of the body, including heart rate, digestion, and rate of breathing, and is powerfully influenced by trauma. Yoga can be a healing activity in recovery from trauma, leading to immediate and long-term relief. In The Body Keeps the Score, van der Kolk points out how trauma can lead to nervous system disregulation.

Such disregulation can manifest as hyperarousal (anxiety, insomnia, irritability) or hypoarousal (numbness, dissociation, depression). Yoga addresses this disregulation directly by calling forth a state of “embodied awareness,” whereby individuals can reconnect with their bodies and the present moment. By means of conscious breath control (pranayama), body postures (asanas), and meditation (dhyana), yoga allows for a state of balance and calm, helping individuals move out of survival mode that trauma so readily initiates.

 Yoga’s Impact on the Nervous System

The nervous system also has two branches: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which controls the “fight-or-flight” response, and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which will enhance relaxation and recovery. Following trauma, the SNS can overactive, leading to repeated stress responses, and the PNS can underactive, stopping the body from being able to relax and heal.

Yoga can potentially balance these two systems by stimulating the PNS and calming the overactive SNS. By breathing deeply and consciously and moving slowly and in control, yoga lowers heart rate, decreases blood pressure, and lowers cortisol levels, the stress hormone released in response to stress. These physiological shifts, in turn, decrease symptoms of anxiety, depression, and hyperarousal, opening the door for healing and recovery.

Also, certain yoga practices, such as restorative yoga, engage with the vagus nerve, which is a major component of the parasympathetic nervous system. The vagus nerve is the one that triggers the relaxation response in the body and is also engaged in mood regulation, digestion, and the immune system. Slow, deep breathing, held postures, and meditative movement activate the vagus nerve, inducing a sense of calm and restoring the body’s ability to self-regulate.

Reconnecting with the Body

Trauma also causes individuals to disconnect from their bodies, either due to physical hurt or the burden of the trauma. Disconnection is perhaps the biggest reason why traditional talk therapy will not be sufficient in helping an individual heal from trauma. Yoga offers a mechanism of reconnection.

The physical movements of yoga teach individuals to listen to their bodies, find areas of tension, and release suppressed feelings. As individuals go through this process, they gain a more acute body awareness, which is used to break the cycle of repetition of numbness or dissociation that so many individuals go through with trauma. With practice of yoga, individuals are able to begin to trust their bodies again, being able to feel and sense without judgment. Practice in self-compassion and mindfulness is at the center of healing trauma.

 Yoga and Trauma Recovery: What the Research Says

Studies have shown that yoga has a significant positive impact on recovery from trauma. A study in the Journal of Traumatic Stress indicated that individuals who practiced yoga had substantial reductions in post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSD) and improvements in emotional regulation. A study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology indicated that yoga was able to improve sleep, reduce anxiety, and improve overall psychological functioning in individuals with trauma histories.

While the science on the efficacy of yoga in healing trauma continues, current evidence clearly shows its capacity to reduce the physiological and emotional impact of trauma. Yoga is a unique form of healing that involves the body, emotions, and mind simultaneously, thus making it an invaluable addition to an integrated plan of healing from trauma.

Adding Yoga to Trauma Therapy

Yoga should not be used to replace standard therapy but to augment it. Used along with other trauma-informed treatments—like CBT, DBT, or somatic experiencing—yoga can promote healing by helping the patient be able to modulate their nervous system and become reconnected to their body in a protective and supportive environment.

For an individual experiencing severe trauma or PTSD, it is necessary to practice yoga cautiously and under the guidance of a trained instructor who understands the principles of trauma-sensitive practices. Trauma-sensitive yoga emphasizes safety, pacing, and consent so that the individual can discover movement and breathing at their own pace without feeling overwhelmed or triggered.

Yoga offers profound therapeutic benefits for individuals who are struggling with trauma. Through balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, building body awareness, and allowing for regulation of emotions, yoga allows for profound healing from trauma. As is written in Dr. van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score, healing only occurs when one heals mind and body together. Yoga allows for a practical method to do just that, assisting those along the journey of recovery, resilience, and peace.