Yoga to Release Trauma

Trauma does not need to be a horrific event to create a lasting effect on our bodies and minds. Most of us have experienced some form of emotional trauma, directly or indirectly, at some point in our lives. If a trauma is not released, it remains trapped in the nervous system. Our bodies, sometimes more than our minds, hold the memory of the trauma. Often times, holding onto the memory of a trauma leads to an imbalance in the body’s energy centers (chakras). This holding can then manifest as chronic physical pain, or intense unresolved emotion.

In this all levels yoga class, we will practice yoga postures and breathing techniques, designed to rebalance the body’s energy centers (chakras), calm the nervous system, promote physical and emotional healing, and bring us into the present moment. As we connect with our physical body through the practice of these postures, we quiet the processing and organizing left side of the brain, and allow the right side of the brain, responsible for consciousness and present-moment awareness, to awaken. Through conscious movement and breath, we can unlock the emotional body, and begin to release intense emotions and past traumas from the nervous system, no matter how subtle or complex they may be. As we become more aware and more mindful, we learn to stay with the body and the breath. We begin to recognize triggers, and are able to release habitual patterns of responding.

In addition to her yoga teacher certification, Sheila is certified through the Boston Trauma Center as a trauma sensitive yoga instructor. It is from surviving a traumatic experience, and resolving her own issues with PTSD through the practice of yoga, that she was led to become a Yoga Instructor.