The Interconnection between Yoga, Trauma, and Psychotherapy
Yoga and psychotherapy share a commonality in their holistic approach to well-being and understanding the interrelation of the mind, body, and spirit. Like other somatic therapy interventions, yoga can be integrated into therapy to enhance several aspects of treatment including nervous system regulation, stress reduction, and helping clients improve awareness of their inner experience. Yoga practices like breathwork, meditation, and mindfulness can complement psychotherapy by cultivating present-moment awareness, assisting individuals to manage anxiety and stress, and deepening their understanding of their intuitive nature.
Interoception is a term used in somatic therapy to describe the “felt sense” or awareness of the internal state of one’s body. Interoception allows one to detect and inform us of the internal regulation responses including respiration, heart rate, muscle tension, and temperature. Moreover, our bodies store emotions, especially unprocessed or repressed ones, in our nervous system, muscles, and fascia. In a yoga class, physical yoga poses or stretches can be held for a long time, like in Yin or Restorative Yoga where there is time for the fascia to feel a release and to tune into our internal environment, which can then lead to an expression of emotion or a resurgence of memory. When a specific movement, breathwork exercise, or pose in yoga stimulates a part of the body that holds emotions, it can trigger an emotional release. That’s because these movements or poses stimulate parts of the autonomic nervous system which controls involuntary body functions - basically, the stuff your body does automatically without you thinking about it. When a stored emotion is then accessed, the limbic system (emotional brain) gets activated. The result of this can be crying, trembling, sighing, or a wave of emotions releasing from our bodies. Our bodies are always aiming for homeostasis and healing. So when movement or a pose breaks a pattern of tension in the body or somatic holding, it creates an opportunity for the nervous system to discharge and flush out what has been stuck. This is where we get the saying “The body keeps the score”.
For example, one area of the body that often gets accessed in yoga is the hips/pelvic area which often stimulates a release. The hips are a large, complex, deeply rooted area. In yoga, we often refer to the hips and pelvis as the “sacral chakra”. This area in the body is often referred to as an emotional “storage locker”. When we experience fear, stress, or trauma, the body often contracts as a protective measure through the tightening of muscles, shortening of breath, and getting into a defensive posture. If the body does not feel safe to resolve this tension, these contraction patterns can become habitual. We quite literally mold our physical posture around our emotional world. The hips are a central point of movement and stability. So when the body goes into the parasympathetic nervous system response (fight-flight-freeze), the body is preparing to run, fight, or curl up, all actions that heavily involve the functioning of the hip area. Furthermore, the sacral chakra which is located near the pelvis, is associated with emotions, sexuality, and creativity. Trauma in this region can often be linked with shame, guilt, or feeling disconnected from the body and its desires. The hips are far away from the face or the heart, so the body often can find it “more safe” to store deep emotions like grief or fear in this area of the body. That’s why pigeon poses in yoga can be so emotional for many students, because it creates an opportunity to enter into the sacral chakra and work through whatever is stuck there.
So how does a therapist incorporate yoga practices into psychotherapy? Somatic Experience (SE), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Polyvagal-Informed Therapy are all therapeutic approaches that have similar benefits to yoga and that can assist in helping clients release somatic blockages and emotions. Therapists might use titration (small doses of emotions) and pendulation (going between safety and activation) to help a client through any overwhelming sensations or feelings that arise when there is an emotional unraveling. As an emotion or memory arises, the therapist can ask a client, “Where do you feel this in your body?” and invite them to observe that sensation more closely if it feels safe enough for them to do so. They then may ask the client, “If that tightness in your *blank* had a voice, what would it say?”.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) parts work is a complementary intervention to somatics and yoga work and can be used with clients in the therapy room. IFS was developed by Family Therapist, Richard C. Schwartz, Ph.D., and helps clients understand and work with the different “parts” of themselves. It is based on the idea that the mind is made up of sub-personalities, or “parts”, each with its viewpoint, memories, and role. The idea here is that the state of self and homeostasis occurs when our parts understand how to better communicate and understand one another more compassionately and respectfully, rather than beating them down through shame, guilt, and dismissive or negative self-talk. IFS can be considered a branch of somatic work because it can be used to guide clients to locate a specific part of the body- for example., “Where do you feel that anxious part?” Or “Can you sense where that fear is?”. This grounds the work in bodily and somatic awareness. Parts work can feel stabilizing for some clients because instead of thinking of their entire self as ashamed, unworthy, bad, etc, they can separate these core beliefs from the self, and get to know the part of them that holds these core beliefs or emotions more intimately without drowning in them.
To review, below are some of the many benefits of incorporating yoga and somatic work into therapy sessions-
Focus on Inner Experience
Cultivating Mind/Body Connection
Gentle and Mindful Breath and Movement
Awareness of Internal Sensations
Reclaiming Body Awareness
Reeducation of the Nervous System
Potential for Healing Trauma
If you are interested in therapy that incorporates the interconnection between the mind and body, it can be helpful to work with a therapist who has certifications and background in somatic, breathwork, IFS, and/or yoga interventions. In doing this work, the therapist can help you develop somatic awareness and skills while working through any emotions or fears that arise during the process. Most importantly, therapists are responsible for ensuring client safety, competency, and respect for client values when integrating these various modalities.