3 Tools for Easing Life with Trauma – Today
Photo by Miguel Guzman at the 2018 Sedona Yoga Festival’s “Yoga for PTSD Training”
By Erin Byron
To large or small degrees, each of us lives with some form of trauma. In the past week, I’ve heard people identify trauma from common (though painful) life events such as parenting sleepless children, euthanizing a pet, or the illness of a loved one.
It is traumatic to go through a shock or profound loss in life. Are there ways to lessen the impacts or prepare ourselves? Research on PTSD and trauma say YES!
It is noteworthy that, while there may be a clinical difference between PTSD and trauma, the ways to ease their impact are the same. At the SYF Yoga for PTSD Training, numerous voices offer countless strategies, and the science behind them, to support you and your loved ones in healing trauma.
While we wait for March 14-17 to arrive, pick one of the following 3 ideas and start doing it today and let us know what happens when we see you at SYF2019. Betcha there’s a difference!
Do this first one anytime, anywhere to prevent or shift this…
1. Adapt your breath.
Notice I did not say, “Take a deep breath.” While a 5-count-in, 5-count-out is an adaptation away from shallow breathing, it is not the only option.
Instead, you can see what happens if you move only the abdomen instead of only the chest. Maybe you could sound the exhale or inhale with an ujjayi breath. I sometimes breathe out a merry “Ahhhhhh”, beginning on a high note and ending low.
There are infinite combinations of breathwork. Throughout the day, simply change how you are breathing and notice what happens.
The next idea arises from a yoga for PTSD study. Yoga is continually proven to help reduce traumatic symptoms. What I love about this study is the awareness and self-reliance.
2. Listen to your body and make your own choices in yoga class.
A study by Bessel van der Kolk, Laura Stone, and other researchers (2014) showed that when yoga students were invited to have curiosity about their bodily sensations and make their own choices about how long to stay in a pose, their PTSD improved.
In fact, by the end of the study, 52% of the yoga participants no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD! The yoga and their self-reliant practice had a dramatic improvement on their quality of life.
The final tool is simple. It is gentle, takes very little time, and can bring huge benefits to the mind, nervous system, and body.
“That’s me, at the Yoga for PTSD Training at the 2018 Sedona Yoga Festival.” Photo by Miguel Guzman
3. Use firm pressure to rub in foot lotion before bed.
That’s it?! Yes, it could change your life. Do this for 5 days and wait for revelations. (Bonus points for using sesame or coconut oil with a few drops of an appealing essential oil. I like orange and rosemary oils with a soupcon of ginger.)
Whichever of these 3 options you choose, I hope you have fun applying the new tool. Once it feels secure or habitual, begin to apply the next tool. You can return to this list or inspire yourself with other ideas.
For a wealth of ideas, research, and direct experience with effective practice, please join me and my friends and colleagues March 14 – 17 at the Sedona Yoga Festival, Yoga for PTSD Training. I can’t wait to learn, teach, and commune with you!
- Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD; Laura Stone, MA; Jennifer West, PhD; Alison Rhodes, MWS Med; David Emerson, MA; Michale Suvak, PhD; and Joseph Spinazzola, PhD. Yoga as an Adjunctive Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2014; 75(6): e559-65.
About the Author: Erin Byron
Erin’s Master of Arts research studied the benefits of Yoga practices in coping with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome and the literary review of the study equipped her for helping people with a range of physical and mental health concerns.
Erin is grateful for the opportunity to support others on their personal growth paths.
The current state of affairs in our country is such that the population is constantly bombarded with stress-inducing stimuli, from the harried morning commute to the evening news.
Here, too, we use the breath and when we combine breath awareness with a seated or supine meditation we are in true relaxation mode!
Traumatic Stress: Resiliency & Healing with Yoga
Something happens… call it a miracle (because no short of could it be!) Somehow… the point of identification can shift, does shift and we begin to see the wounded one and realize we can observe him or her. Rest in this awareness when it comes… nurture and allow it to return frequently. Find ways that work for you to cultivate this feeling, because it is a feeling only you will know and your way to it will be unique to you. Always remember, no matter where you are on your journey… teachers will come and go, leaders, too. You are the only constant and ultimately your unique way and practice will be revealed… to you, unfolded by you and realized by you. Yes, you will be guided, a student and a teacher, and you will experience many, many things… but, it will always be up to you to find your way hOMe when the cacophony returns, and it will return.
Backdrop… It’s not about the destination, really it isn’t. All the pundits, sages & masters would point you to presence in the moment, and as such, wherever one is on their journey, it’s fairly easy to see that this is something that one should cultivate in their own practice and daily life. However… if daily life has gotten a bit stagnant and/or stuck, often it takes a jump start to get back on track. Here’s where adventure travel enters the equation and an energized and stunning backdrop for a personal journey becomes a bit more important to cultivating that ever-so important ingredient to successful mindfulness, Presence. Trust me when I say, “just sit for twenty minutes… on the red rocks, overlooking stunningly colorful and vibrant vistas with blue sky panoramas… and not have an experience. It’s just not possible! You can be forever changed by the backdrop to your personal journey. Undeniably, Sedona is a powerful one indeed, unlike anything else in the world; you’ll need to see for yourself.
Water — Oak Creek Canyon & West Fork of Oak Creek… With sun and the summer 100 degree days, water is always nice and there is an ample supply here! Oak Creek runs right through Sedona and provides wonderful opportunities to experience cool waters, red rock waterslides, sycamore shade and much, much more. Sitting in or by this nourishing waterway is a soul-cleansing experience, certainly on par with the rest Sedona has to offer.
Sedona, Arizona… The undisputed spiritual mecca of the American Southwest, red rock canyons, spires to inspire, the water element of Oak Creek Canyon, and of course, the ENERGY. No matter your beliefs or background, Sedona is sure to make you feel something. And it has been known since time immemorial to support human transformation. Indigenous tribes frequented the area for ceremony and gathering, yet lived in the distant canyons. It is palpable.
You see, I had been practicing for over a decade when I moved to Sedona, AZ to deepen my practice and become a yoga teacher. To make a long story short, I Love YOGA (it has saved me from myself 
