PTSD: Bridging the Mind and Body

As psychiatrist and trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk explains, trauma is stored in every cell of the body, and must be safely released by the body. What we sense as emotions are essentially an interplay of chemical reactions in our body. When we are happy, our brain releases Seretonin, the ‘feel good’ compound. Likewise, when we are anxious, threatened, angry, scared… these emotions also release chemicals that we believe to be toxins. Although it has not been scientifically proven, people are starting to draw a link between such emotions, and health ailments such as stroke and cancer.

With trauma victims, one of the biggest difficulties is the mind is often dissociated from the body.  Yoga is a practice that directly addresses the mind-body connection, and one way it does this is through the breath.

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the branch of the nervous system responsible for the “fight-flight” reaction, and respiration is the only function of the ANS that humans have control over. All other functions of the ANS such as heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, eye dilation, digestion, and so on, are involuntary.  The breathing exercises (pranayama) that are often conducted in yoga classes can affect the ANS in either direction, toward increased arousal or toward relaxation, depending on the technique.

For victims of PTSD, breath exercises, or Pranayama, are known to help re-set the ANS toward a calm and relaxed state.  The yoga asanas (poses) also help the veterans get out of their heads and back into their bodies.

Stretching, strengthening, and changes in bodily position and alignment produce bodily sensations, increasing body awareness in the present moment, and help the mind move out of its “rut” of “stuck thoughts”.  Sometimes PTSD can feel like a car stuck in the mud; the more one tries to move out of it (the trauma), the more entrenched in the mud it becomes.

Yoga helps individuals connect the mind with the body in the present moment. Sometimes, it begins with just one moment when the heavy mind suddenly becomes clear and present.  The next class, it may be a couple of minutes.  With regular practice, the victim’s mind will gradually returns home from the painful memories of the past.