Trauma Needs Bodywork. Trauma as Portal. The Safe Container. Symptoms of PTSD. LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute

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1 LifeForce Yoga: Empower Your Clients to Manage Their Moods Trauma Cape Cod Institute, 2014 Amy Weintraub, MFA, ERYT 500 Founding Director, LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute Author of Yoga for Depression, Yoga Skills for Therapists Trauma Needs Bodywork We ve all had experiences where we ve had to shut down. Preverbal experiences The body remembers in the places we constrict. Yoga is the most exquisite form of bodywork Trauma as Portal The mind may go elsewhere dissociates. Persephone Woman (Roger Woolger, Ph.D. Other Lives, Other Selves) The Safe Container Crying is one of the highest spiritual practices. One who knows crying knows yoga. ~Swami Kripalu Centering Meditation Inner Sanctuary 4:4:6 Breath Movement & Mudra Inhale arms out in front of the heart Exhale hands in Eagle Mudra to the heart Toning (Nada Yoga) Sha-ma-ya Flashbacks Nightmares Symptoms of PTSD Avoidance of activity or people reminiscent of the event Heightened arousal: irritability, sleep disturbance, irrational fears of being unsafe Self-Medication with drugs & alcohol 1

2 Yoga View: Grief in the Tissues Samskaras Indelible imprints in our subconscious accrued through the experiences of daily life. They propel consciousness into action, karma, so that we repeat our patterned behavior (IV:9-11). Vasana Web of samskaras the template of our actions and reactions (IV:8). Neurobiology is catching up with ancient Yogic wisdom Vasana relates to the development of our neuronal pathways. Chronic tensions held in the body/samskara relates to recent discovery of the role of the neuropeptides. Rewiring the Neuronal Paths Yoga dissolves the web so that we can respond without self-limiting reactions to what life brings. Neuroplasticity: Our brains are adaptable. We are REWIRING this week! PTSD Shock Trauma: Due to the increased levels of cortisol, the hippocampus has not functioned to store the memories of the event in chronological order. Rather, the memories are implicit. They are incoherent and fraught with emotion. PTSD ~ Amygdala Whisperers PTSD Complex Trauma: Chronic, repetitive. The memory may be explicit, but completely devoid of emotional content. 2

3 Left/right Hemisphere Integration Bessel van der Kolk, MD Trauma Center, Brookline, MA We need therapeutic strategies that address both sides of the brain, that invite emotional content (right side of the brain/implicit memory) back into explicit memory and logical narrative (left side/explicit memory) back into emotional coherence. Daniel Siegel, M.D., quoted by Mary Sykes Wylie, Mindsight, Psychotherapy Networker, Sept/Oct 2004 This is what yoga does. As Long as people simply sit on their tuchas and move their tongues around, they will never release the deepest level of trauma. Psychotherapy Networker, Feb, 2004 PTSD: Yoga compared to DBT 8, 75-minute yoga sessions were compared to 8 sessions of group Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Over 8 sessions of yoga with 8 subjects, HRV increased and PTSD symptoms decreased. (CAPS) Only Yoga group showed a decrease in frequency of intrusions and severity of hyperarousal symptoms. Van der Kolk, BA, Annals New York Academy of Sciences (2006) Yoga as Treatment for PTSD 1. Safe Container 2. Permission 3. Move slowly 4. Cue to sensation 5. Grounding 6. Recognize the freeze 7. Yoga Nidra 8. Therapeutic long holding 15 Permission Permission from the client Ask before introducing a yoga practice. Permission from you is granted to stop the process, be it a practice or an inquiry. Cueing to Sensation Moving Slowly Body Sensing When you come to innocent unconditional listening, your body goes spontaneously into a deep peace. ~Jean Klein 3

4 Body Sensing Guided practice with sensory details Cues to feel sensation are specific and direct, not global Practice Bellows Breath Safely Embodied Body awareness, body scanning exercises, and body-sensing yoga, where movement is accompanied by mindful attention to sensation and breath, are vital core practices for those suffering from PTSD. Bellows Breath - Exhale Bellows Breath - Inhale Bellows Breath - Exhale Grounding Root chakra practices, including sitting and standing, cueing to root & feet. Mantra tone: Lum Inhale: I am to the crown; Exhale: Here. into the feet. 4

5 Yoga Nidra Intention/resolve (sankapla) Inner Sanctuary Body Scan (annamaya kosha) Breath Awareness (pranamaya kosha) Feeling & Balancing the Opposites (manomaya kosha & vijnanamaya kosha) Awareness of Self I am more than (anandamaya kosha) Suggestion: Self-acceptance, Gratitude Intention/resolve (sankapla) irest Yoga Nidra Instead of feeling like there is something wrong with us, irest makes us feel like there is something right with us. ~Gilbert - Iraq War Vet In working with traumas of the mind, as well as severe traumas in the body, irest has helped navigate recovery and increase coping skills. Therapeutic Long Holding Therapeutic Long Holding Presence to body sensation and breath cultivates the observing mind. Releases long held body memories without the story attached Contraindicated in acute PTSD Therapeutic Holding Permission Not about the story Inquiry into initial impulse to release Stay with sensation-watch it change Breathe into sensation Witness what arises without judgment Nothing will happen that you can t handle Shaking in psoas Melting the Freeze Guide breath Identify sights and sounds in the room Open the eyes Humor: Am I having a good hair day or a bad hair day? (The Body Remembers Casebook, Babette Rothchild) 5

6 Therapeutic Release Listen to body let the constricted prana guide It doesn t have to look like yoga Flow until your body takes you into child pose Back press in child w/permission Savasana full yoga nidra Partner sharing/check-in with yoga therapist Group sharing debriefing session Shanmukhi Mudra in a Clinical Setting Psychologist and LifeForce Yoga Practitioner Dr. Deborah Lubetkin teaching an anxious client suffering from anorexia the Shanmuki Mudra that accompanies Bee Breath (Brahmari) to calm her racing thoughts and focus her mind for the transition into therapy. Shanmukhi Mudra Chanting Om Shown to Deactivate the Limbic System Researchers compared 15 seconds of OM (5 O; 10 m) to 15 seconds of the sound Ssssss and to 15 seconds of rest. Significant deactivation in the amygdala as well as other emotional areas only during OM chanting Bangalore G Kalyani, et al., Neurohemodynamic correlates of OM chanting: A pilot functional magnetic resonance imaging study International Journal of Yoga Jan- Jun; 4(1): 3 6. Chakra One Muladhara (Base of Spine) Tone: Ō Press the tips of the two little fingers together close to the base of the spine. Chakra Two Svadisthana (Low Abdomen) Tone: Ū Press the tips of the two ring fingers in front of the low abdomen. 6

7 Chakra Three Manipura (Solar Plexus) Tone: Ah Press the tips of the two middle fingers in front of the solar plexus. Chakra Four Anahata (Heart) Tone: A Kapota (Dove) Mudra Palms together as in prayer. Keep the base of the palms and the tips of the fingers together but cup the palms. Chakra Five Vishuddha (Throat) Tone: Ē Padma (Lotus) Mudra Bring the hands together as in prayer. Keep the base of the palms, the little fingers and the thumbs together. Open all the other fingers wide like petals. Chakra Six Ajña (Third Eye) Tone: Mmm Anjali Mudra Bring the hands together into prayer positions, thumbs touching the bridge of the nose and the brow. Chakra Seven Sahasrara (Crown) Tone: Hnng Dhyana Mudra Place the left hand in the lap, palm facing up. Place the right hand on top of the left with the palm facing up. Bring the tips of the thumbs to lightly touch. Simple Nondual Practice A limiting belief or feeling breathe into it. If the belief lived in your body, where would it be? Color? Image? Breathe into it; stay present to all that s arising. Step into spacious awareness. Step back into the constricting belief or thought. Go back and forth several times. Notice how you re feeling now about that belief or feeling. 7

8 Nondual Practice ~ Exploring the Opposites A limiting belief or feeling breathe into it. If the belief lived in your body, where would it be? Color? Image? Breathe into it; stay present to all that s arising. Find the most far-fetched opposite of the limiting belief or feeling. If this opposite belief lived in your body, where would it be? Color? Image? Nondual Practice ~ Exploring the Opposites Breathe into it; stay present to all that s arising. Go back and forth several times. Step back into spacious awareness embracing both. Notice how you re feeling about the constricting belief. Is there a third belief emerging between to the two opposites? Is there an affirmation that arises? LifeForce Yoga Newsletter - research & news on yoga & mental health Trainings & Retreats Next LFYP Certification Training: Tucson 1/12 1/19 Modular version begins October, 2013 (webinars) Audio downloads & yoga for mood management 8