If you’re doing yoga for releasing trauma and haven’t noticed a difference, you may feel like you’re doing something wrong. I welcome this friendly reminder that your pace and progress is unique to you (you’re not doing anything wrong). However, there are simple shifts to promote release with more ease. I invite you to join me in this blog post to explore why you’re not having trauma releases, and what you can do to promote holistic healing through movement.
Understanding Trauma Release in Yoga
What is trauma release? Your mind and body are connected, and when your nervous system becomes activated by a past trauma (even in your unconscious mind), your body tenses. Overtime, you might develop tension, exhaustion, and other symptoms.
Trauma release happens when you release the tension and emotions associated with your fight-or-flight response. You may notice feeling lighter, experiencing less tension, and more natural, positive feelings.
Yoga is a holistic healing avenue that promotes trauma release, with no need to speak about your symptoms. It’s a somatic practice, meaning you work with your body to find release. Along with physical release, yoga also promotes emotional release. You develop more self compassion, kindness, and offer more grace to yourself with a consistent yoga practice. This is important for trauma survivors because the road to healing is not an easy one – self kindness goes a long way.
5 Reasons You’re Not Having Trauma Releases
1. You’re Going Through The Motions
While any yoga class is beneficial for restoring your nervous system, you can enhance your practice with embodiment.
You can create more embodiment through mindfulness. This is how you tune into your body, discover where you’re holding tension, then finding gentle softness.
Here are a few supportive questions I welcome you to explore for deepening mindfulness:
- How do your feet feel in downward dog?
- Can you bring more softness to your face during child’s pose?
- Is there a pose that you tend to gravitate toward? If so, why do you think that is?
2. You Haven’t Spent Enough Time With Your Practice
Yoga is a practice, along with mindfulness. Healing is a slow process, and if you’re not giving your mind and body enough rest and time, you may face frustration when results aren’t happening as soon as you hoped.
There is nothing wrong with needing a break – and there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that maybe this isn’t the most opportune time to work on holistic healing.
When you’re ready to create a consistent practice, I welcome you to start small. Even practicing once a week for a month is a good start. There is no rush to your practice and you deserve to take all the time you need with each class.
3. You Might Be Exploring Yoga That’s Activating Your Nervous System
There are plenty of yoga styles, ranging from spiritual to restorative. I believe the yoga that you enjoy the most is the best to start with, but I welcome you to check in with your body after your class. You might take note if you feel a deeper sense of calm or if you’re experiencing more anxiety.
It may take some trial and error, but you’ll soon discover the style of yoga that soothes your nervous system. One style of teaching you might choose to explore is called trauma-informed yoga. It’s typically taught in slower forms of yoga (like Hatha, Restorative, and Yin.)
Trauma-informed yoga promotes release because it eliminates unnecessary triggers, demanding language, and complicated poses. Classes focus more on embodiment and somatic healing instead of spirituality or perfecting poses. Creating a welcoming, empowering, and safe environment for exploration is supportive for release.
I invite you to learn more about this style of teaching and if it’s a style that would be supportive for you in this blog post.
4. You’re Putting Too Much Pressure On Yourself
I welcome you to view the list below and see if your inner dialogue matches these examples:
- Why can’t I just let go already
- Is this even working?
- Maybe there’s something wrong with me
If you’ve said this (or a similar version of these) to yourself, I welcome you to take a deep breath. There is nothing wrong with you. I know how it feels because I used to say these lines to myself during practices.
None of these are true. You don’t need to find a release after one practice, or seven. There is no strict timeline for healing. The more you focus on what’s going wrong in your practice, the less you’re able to let your practice take its natural course.
Being kind to yourself is hard, but it’s important for your trauma release journey. If you take longer than someone else, that’s okay. Healing is unique to all of us, and in my experience, the more I allowed myself to embrace the practice (instead of trying to force a release), I made progress.
It’s okay if becoming more compassionate and kind toward yourself is a challenge – it gets easier with time and practice.
5. You Experienced A Release, But It’s Not What You Expected
Many people think trauma releases are these big moments when everything releases all at once. You cry and feel all tension release. You’re healed, and it’s all over.
Healing is like an onion, and there are many complex layers. It’s completely unique to each of us. That’s why a combination of healing modalities, exploring different options, and being patient with yourself are so important.
It’s also why you may already have had a trauma release, but you didn’t know it. It shows up in many forms, not always a big emotional release. You might feel lighter, or more at ease. Maybe you feel a little less tension than before practice, or you sleep better the next night.
Little victories over time creates the big changes later. You might look at where you were six months ago and acknowledge your tension is half what it used to be, or you speak a little kinder to yourself. I invite you to look at all the changes happening within you, because you may be further along in your journey than you give yourself credit for.
Are you curious about other signs you’ve had a trauma release? I welcome you to read five signs you’ve had a trauma release in this blog post.
Overview
Releasing trauma is a complex journey with many factors involved. I invite you to explore as many support options as you choose and know you can take as many breaks as you need.
