Therapeutic Yoga

"Using Yoga to Heal Old Wounds"

by Anna Rychner, RN, CYI as it appeared in Milwaukee Yoga Magazine, winter '05

Many of us have been wounded in life, not physically, but emotionally and psychically. These wounds may manifest in the body as an assortment of physical illness including heart disease, GI problems or chronic pain. Psychically, they usually surface as depression, anxiety, panic or even PTSD (post traumatic stress disorders).

For thousands of years yoga has taught us how to address our thoughts and reframe them through movement, breathing and meditation. The practical wisdom and experience of the ancients has evolved into a science of positive mental health practices rooted in Vedic philosophy, the most ancient spiritual knowledge revealed to humankind. These self-help tools passed on to us and described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali were originally not meant to be used as healing devices. The therapeutic benefits of yoga or "healing" aspects become the aftermath of a consistent daily practice. Researchers and therapists today are just beginning to gain recognition for their work in documenting and reporting these benefits.

Amy Weintraub, a senior Kripalu yoga teacher and writer speaks from the depths of her own personal struggles with major depression in Yoga for Depression, a compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering through Yoga. She very candidly explains how she began to practice on her own after taking a yoga intensive. Within nine months of consistent daily practice, she could see herself moving out of a deep, chronic depression, where she'd been in treatment and on medication for years. She found herself giving up the familiar experience of "always having empty pockets" to embrace a life with new meaning and feelings of "abundance" and joy. This in itself is a great accomplishment, since according to the World Health Organization, depression is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, and the current Western biomedical model for treatment is costing us more than 50 billion dollars a year.

The research of numerous yoga therapists and psychiatric practitioners worldwide affirm these similar positive results. For example, Mercedes McCormick, a psychologist in the New York/New Jersey area uses yogic pracitces; meditation, postures, guided visualization, with New Yorkers, both children and adults suffering from the emotional impact of September 11, 2001. She found "Yoga and Yoga therapy encourages exploration of thoughts, feelings, body sensations and behaviors related to traumatic events in a safe, supportive environment, recharging and healing the body and mind, and helping to restore it to a condition of harmony and balance."

In a Scandinavian study by Eric Hoffman, alpha waves, those brainwaves enhancing relaxation, and theta waves, those related to unconscious memory, dreams and emotions, were increased after a two hour yoga class. What this means is that the brain is more deeply relaxed and more in contact with the subconscious and our emotions after doing yoga practice. An increase in brain chemicals that contribute to the "feel good" response; endorphins, enkephalins and serotonin, also contribute to a greater access to feelings.

In stressful situations increased cortisol levels are an indicator of sadness or grief. Researchers at the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in cooperation with the Yoga Research Society found there was a significant drop in the stress hormone, cortisol after a single yoga class. Another study in a hospital in France found psychiatric patients asked to attend a yoga class, felt a sense of deep relaxation lasting several hours after the class; and after attending regularily for one to two months, some experienced an actual decrease in psychiatric symptoms. All of these studies confirm that every time we choose to make the positive effort of stepping onto the yoga matt, we are actually changing our brain chemistry.

Another way to look at how yoga psychology can help reframe our thinking is to view yoga according to Amy Weintraub, as Dukha vs. Sukha. "Dukha" in Sanskrit the language of yoga, meaning "obstructed space" which happens any time there is a compression of body or mind, or a suppression of some emotions. "Sukha" the opposite, refers to "open space" or happiness. Yoga postures and pranayama decompress areas of tension, expanding the lungs and increasing blood flow, thus creating more inner space within the body and mind to relieve congestion or blockages.

All of these positive uses for yoga naturally flow out of the first of the yoga restraints or commitments "Ahimsa" , "a" meaning no and "himsa" meaning harm. Ahimsa is the opposite of violence or aggression, an expression of love and caring. Yoga teaches us how to approach our bodies; physical, mental and emotional in a kind and loving way. This approach to yoga practice inevitably leads to balance and harmony, and can help you heal both mental and physical illness over time. It becomes your gift to yourself.