Yoga can be very helpful for people who have experienced trauma

Yoga can be very helpful for people who have experienced trauma

Yoga may complement trauma care for some adults with complex childhood trauma by improving body awareness, emotion regulation, agency, and hope. Qualitative evidence indicates benefits depend on voluntary participation, individualized pacing, and safe therapeutic settings; practice can also be distressing or overwhelming.
The experiences people have with yoga are embodied and take place in the here and now. Yoga can offer a different kind of insight than what one gains by thinking and talking about what has happened or might happen.
When people talk about their experiences of yoga as part of treatment, certain themes recur. These include a clearer sense of connection to their own body and feelings, a sense of having something they can do themselves, and a belief that further recovery is possible.
It can act as an integrated supplement to health care services and therapy.
Many people with difficult life experiences sought out yoga because they needed something more than conventional therapy and other treatments they had often already been through.
According to researchers studies indicated that adult patients with complex trauma experiences perceive yoga as a multifaceted and transformative process.

"On the yoga mat, they can gain new experiences and meet themselves in new ways; in everyday life, they may find new ways of coping with daily challenges; and over time, yoga can open up possibilities for personal growth and deeper change."
But it is important to proceed carefully and adapt the yoga practice to what each individual can tolerate and benefit from.
In recent times mindfulness, which often includes yoga, has become common as an adjunct to other forms of treatment.
The research so far suggests that yoga practice can be a significant contribution for some adults with complex trauma experiences, particularly in terms of increased bodily awareness, emotion regulation and a sense of personal agency.

https://www.uio.no/english/research/research-news/articles/2026/yog...