Mindful Yoga For Trauma: 3 Strategies For Trauma Healing

Mindful yoga for trauma healing is a gentle way calm your nervous system and restore inner balance. I welcome you to add these 3 strategies to your current practice to create more room for healing in your current practice.

Mindful Yoga For Trauma Healing: 3 Strategies

I welcome you to explore these strategies and only use the ones that work for you, your body, and healing. You’re welcome to skip or adjust any of these strategies as you see fit.

1. Practice Yoga Meant For Trauma Healing

Is there a type of yoga that is better than others for healing? Ultimately, it’s about you and your preferences. A good place to start is with Hatha yoga. It has moments of movement and stillness so you’re not overworking yourself or remaining still for long periods of time. You may even explore trauma-informed yoga. This isn’t a specific style (like hatha or vinyasa), but a way of teaching. It honors your lived experiences and purposefully avoids triggering techniques.

You could explore different styles and see which ones feel best in your body. Whatever style you choose, I welcome you to deepen your practice with these tips:

• Discover new sensations. As you get into a pose, I welcome you to notice something new you normally don’t pay attention to. If you’re in tadasana (mountain pose), students typically focus on their feet and creating an elongated spine. Maybe you take a moment to notice your fingers, forehead, or hamstrings. What does this feel like for you?
• Journal. A yoga journal is an amazing way to see your trends, what poses you like, and which ones you don’t. You may find they have something in common (like you don’t prefer to rest on your belly.) This is helpful information you can use to cater your practice and discover points of tension in your body.
• Understand your body is unique. Everyone’s body is unique, so poses will feel different to you based on your anatomy. This is crucial to removing judgement about yourself if a certain pose is inaccessible to you, so you can focus on what feels best instead. This is a powerful first step to creating more mindfulness in your practice because you can focus on your body’s sensations (and not perfecting the pose).

2. Mindful Breathwork

Breathwork is another strategy to include in your mindfulness yoga practice. Even a simple cleansing breath can be enough to bring more mindfulness into your day.

It’s important to note that just because a certain breath work (pranayama) practice may traditionally be known to produce a certain effect, it may be different for you. This is 100% normal. Learning which techniques work best for you is how you can deepen your mindfulness and create a mindful yoga practice you love.

The three breath practices below are a great way to settle into your practice before beginning the awareness breath. You may skip or adjust these practices to better suit you.

1.Cleansing Breath. In your time and pace, I invite you to inhale through your nose for as long as you choose, then exhale or sigh through your mouth. You can alter this (inhaling through your mouth and exhale through your nose.) Discovering which version you prefer is the best way to do this breath.

2. Diaphragmatic Breath. Breathe using your diaphragm, expanding your belly as you do so. This has many helpful benefits for trauma symptoms like easing nausea, anxiety, and promoting relaxation.

To perform this, I welcome you to inhale, sending your breath to your diaphragm (belly). You’ll know you are accomplishing this because your belly will expand rather than your shoulders and chest rising. When you are ready to exhale, I invite you to sigh or exhale through your nose or mouth, drawing your navel toward your spine. Repeat as many times as you choose.

You have the option to combine cleansing breath with diaphragmatic breathing if that suits your practice.

3. Mindful Breathing Practice:

Apa Japa (Awareness Breath) – This breathwork is an amazing way to deepen your mindfulness practice. Mindfulness is about stepping into the role of the observer, remaining present, and simply noting. Those are the same major components of this exercise.

Steps:

1. I invite you to find a comfortable seat of your choice. You may include as many props (blankets, pillows, cushions) as you like.
2. You have the option to complete a cleansing breath (listed above) before we begin. If you’re comfortable, you may also notice any points of tension (shoulders, jaw, in between your eyebrows, etc.) and gently soften.
3. With your eyes opened or closed, I welcome you to bring an awareness to your breath. There is no need to change or alter your breath. Simply note what you observe. There are no wrong answers.
4. As you bring an awareness to your breath, maybe you ask yourself these questions to deepen your mindfulness practice:
   • How long are your inhales and exhales?
   • What is the temperature of your breath?
   • Where do you feel your breath travel (into your belly, chest, throat, nostrils, anywhere else?)
   • What is the quality of air in the room?
   • Is your breath deep or shallow?
   • What does your breath sound like?
   • What else do you notice that isn’t mentioned in these questions?
5. I welcome you to stay in your practice as long as you choose. Note that it’s normal for your breath to change as you bring your awareness to it. Your thoughts may also drift, and you may choose to gently release them and come back to the practice and breath when you’re ready. You may end your practice at any time, perhaps adding another cleansing breath if you choose.

3. Find Your Perfect Meditation

Meditation allows you to return to your center, reduce stress, manage anxiety and more. Finding a practice that works for you is one mindful yoga strategy you can use to return to your center.

Many people typically think of meditation as sitting still for hours and erasing thoughts completely. This can be potentially triggering for many trauma survivors. Trauma-informed yoga teaches that a one-size-fits-all approach to meditation is not the best strategy.

The more you meditate, the easier it can be to naturally be more mindful as you move about your day. Maybe you notice the sun on your face, or the birds chirping instead of your to-do lists or checklists in your mind. This can be helpful when triggers arise because you’re able to root and ground into your present sensations to better manage your nervous system.

Helpful Tips For Your Mindful Yoga Journey

Yoga is a practice that can be taken from your mat and into your everyday life. This is beneficial for trauma survivors because you regulate your nervous system with the strategies you learn during class.

Here are some tips to help you incorporate more mindfulness in your yoga routine to create a healing, transformative practice:

• Consistency. A few minutes a day is much more manageable than planning an hour meditation or yoga class once a week. You still receive the benefits of your practice, but with less overwhelm.
• Discover the practices you love. Many people swear by Hatha yoga, but others love Vinyasa. You’re welcome to choose the style of yoga or meditation strategies you love first, then find your balance as you progress.
• Give yourself grace. You may struggle to create mindfulness some days on your trauma healing journey. Returning to your practice with kindness is far more important than being 100% present all the time, every day.

Overview

A mindful yoga practice is an amazing tool to aid your trauma healing journey, and you are always welcome to go at your own pace. It’s important to take your time discovering which techniques work best for you and your body, and a consistent practice is the best strategy. I wish you the best on your mindfulness journey!