Cultivating Resilience through Trauma Informed Yoga: Research and Practices
Learn the research behind why yoga, as a physical and spiritual practice, is a perfect framework for cultivating resilience. In this episode, I begin to define resilience as the ability to overcome stressors and triggers and diminish the physical and mental symptoms that result from potentially traumatic events. Trauma and resilience are a HUGE topic, so I will talk about this much more on this show, but on this episode I begin to unpack the two concepts, what they mean, and how they relate to each other.
I explain the concepts with examples from a research project I did and illustrate it with examples from my own life. CONTENT WARNING: The examples I give could, of course, potentially be triggering, because I am explaining (with as little graphic detail as possible) how I overcame something that used to often trigger me in early recovery from drug addiction.
I go over many things I've learned about what causes psychological trauma, some symptoms that can result, and how to begin to rewire our patterns so that triggers don't send us down spirals of negative symptoms as much anymore. I explain how yoga helps cultivate body and emotional awareness, and why I believe that is the key to resolving trauma or cultivating resilience.
I also briefly explain my tagline for the show: “Keep your feet on the ground, your head in the stars, and stay in the light” and the nuances between that ideology and toxic positivity. Stay tuned for a more in-depth explanation of toxic positivity!
Guided meditation for cultivating body and emotional awareness: starts at 57:19.
Books I mentioned:
Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine
The Body Keeps the Score by Peter Levine
You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
Your Body Speaks Your Mind by Deb Shapiro
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