The Effects of Yoga on People with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Dani Gardner
Professor Vinciguerra
ENG 170, Writing and Rhetoric
November 2019
The Effects of Yoga on People with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The first thought that strikes people when thinking about yoga is (perhaps) pain from how challenging some poses may seem, someone telling you to inhale and exhale, and a room full of people who are just trying to get some exercise. However, the benefits that have been scientifically researched and proven, of a proper yoga practice are astounding and absolutely striking—people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can thoroughly benefit and work towards achieving a state of wellness without expensive doctors and costly -perhaps even damaging- drugs, from the practice of yoga.
Psychology Today defines Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as “a trauma and stress-related disorder that may develop after exposure to an event or ordeal in which death or severe physical harm occurred or was threatened” (“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” Psychology Today). Often, soldiers come back from war with this intensity of severe trauma. Before going on duty, they attend boot camp in order to train for combat and be able to look at someone (an enemy) in the face and pull the trigger to kill them. In terms of being a mentally healthy person, going through the same gruesome process that soldiers do is seemingly and irreversibly damaging. Moreover, PTSD has existed as a concept (initially it had the nomenclature, Shellshock) in America since World War One. Since then, perceptions of how to approach and treat this disorder have varied. Now, it has been scientifically studied and proven that one way to assuage the symptoms of PTSD is through a routine practice of yoga.
Many people practice yoga as a means to lose a pound or two. However, seldom do people consider the effects of consistent and proper yoga on the brain. For instance, Hillary Dowdle, who has had through experience in social work and even holds a Master’s Degree from The College of Saint Rose in Community Mental Health, explains in her article, “The Magic of Yoga,” that yoga can contribute to lowering cortisol levels (Dowdle). Often, cortisol is referred to as the “stress hormone” because of its connection to the stress response (“What is Cortisol?”). On hormone.org, in the article “What is Cortisol?”, the organization lists how involved the hormone cortisol, (a steroid hormone made in the adrenal glands) is in the way that the human body functions,
Cortisol can help control blood sugar levels, regulate metabolism, help reduce inflammation, and assist with memory formulation…Anxiety and depression may also be linked to high cortisol levels (“What is Cortisol?”).
Veterans and people that suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder experience immensely and, to a certain extent, unfathomable levels of stress and thus they probably produce high levels of cortisol. By taking up a regular practice of yoga, they can lower their cortisol levels and mitigate the enormous degree to which they are stressed.
A study done by the University of California concluded that just ten minutes of light exercise, specifically yoga, is enough to increase activity in the hippocampus (“Walk in the Park”). The hippocampus is an area of the brain that is a part of the limbic system (responsible for how people experience certain emotions, such as fear and anger, motivations and memory); the hippocampus is the part of the brain in charge of the ability to store and retrieve memories (Tull).
Dr. Matthew Tull, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the University of Toledo in Ohio. Dr. Tull has extensive clinical and research experience with anxiety disorders and wrote about how the hippocampus is affected for people with PTSD in his article, “The Effect of PTSD on the Hippocampus”. In this article, Tull explains, “people who have some kind of damage to their hippocampus may have difficulties storing and recalling information” (Tull). Furthermore, Tull elaborates on the fact that the hippocampus is involved in a person’s ability to overcome fear responses, and people with PTSD have problems overcoming their fear response to thoughts, memories or situations reminiscent of the traumatic events that they experience (Tull). Tull cites that there are studies that suggest the correlation of constant stress, such as the stress experienced in people with PTSD, with damage in the hippocampus (Tull). Like Hillary Dowdle wrote, Tull asserts that high levels of cortisol, which happen with constant stress, may damage or destroy cells in the hippocampus (Tull). Consistent with Hillary Dowdle’s article and the research done by the University of California, a structured practice of yoga can contribute immensely to positively enhancing neurological development, specifically in the hippocampus, especially for people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Having PTSD means that the ability that someone might have to regulate the central nervous system is turned off. In other words, people with PTSD are always on the alert. This is due to the sympathetic nervous system of those with PTSD to being far more active and overworked than those without this disorder. In her article, “Five Ways Yoga Helps Veterans with PTSD,” Jennifer D’Angelo Friedman, a freelance writer and editor based in New York specializing in health, fitness, and general lifestyle content for digital media, elaborates in detail on specific ways that Veterans with PTSD can use yoga to help them achieve a state of wellness. Firstly, she affirms that because of this constant state of ‘being on the alert,’ the body is “so overloaded with stress hormones that all it can do is keep itself in [a] heightened state” (Friedman). Yet, when practicing yoga, Friedman claims that the copious amounts of breathing involved is massively helpful as a natural tool in order to self-regulate the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems without using any medication. Moreover, Friedman elaborates on how yoga can aid in socially reintegrating veterans. Perhaps one of the most difficult parts about going to war is coming back. By having routine classes and a community to turn to, veterans such as the ones that Friedman worked with from a Veterans Administration (VA) hospital can more easily assimilate back into regular living. Perhaps the most imperative aspect of yoga that helps veterans, and really anyone that practices yoga consciously, that Freidman brings up is the fact that it “brings you back to your body” (Freidman). If a veteran has suvire PTSD, they may dwell on their past trauma and dissociate from their body. Memories of intensely traumatic events can overwhelm the mind and consciousness of someone that suffers from PTSD to the extent that they cannot focus on or experience anything else while having an episode.
yoga gives them allowance to experience flashbacks or whatever needs to come up, to welcome negative thoughts, habits, and emotions without freaking out, knowing it will pass. Or it may stay and they’ll be gentler with themselves in the process (Freidman).
The argument that Freidman makes about how yoga can allow people with PTSD to turn their attention to their body is tremendously valid and proves why practicing yoga is so beneficial to this disorder. When it comes down to it, yoga is about focusing on the breath and connecting it to the body. This is quite useful when working with those that suffer from PTSD because it helps them to stay in the moment and perhaps make peace with their trauma.
In a study done by Robin E. Cushing, an Army Physician Assistant who holds a Doctorate in Public Health from the University of Hawaii and a Warriors at Ease Yoga Instructor and teacher trainer actively sharing yoga in the military and veteran communities (warriorsatease.org); Kathryn L. Braun, who also holds a PhD in Public Health (Community-Based and Translational Research) and Social and Behavioral Health Sciences from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (manoa.hawaii.edu); and Susan Alden, a graduate of the United States Military Academy who has been teaching yoga and practicing healing arts within the military community for eighteen years (kripalu.org), there was a correlation of increased wellness from practicing yoga and its effects on veterans with PTSD. This study used sought to understand the benefits, barriers, and motivations about why veterans continue to practice trauma-sensitive yoga. In a different, but related study titled, “Trauma Sensitive Yoga as a Complementary Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Qualitative Descriptive Analysis,” the authors Jennifer West, Belle Liang and Joseph Spinazzola explains that “the mindfulness-based intervention of hatha yoga shows promise as a complementary treatment, and focuses on personal growth in addition to symptom reductions” (West, Liang, Spinazzola). In the study done by Cushing, Braun and Alden, five participants out of nine who completed a six-week trauma-sensitive yoga intervention designed especially for veterans cited experiencing benefits such as mental stillness, body awareness, and social connection. This goes back to the concept of veterans returning from tumultuous experiences in combat and having to immediately reassimilate into a changed society. By consistently practicing trauma-informed yoga in an environment that feels safe and encourages participants to explore their bodies and awareness of breath, physicality and how to sooth the mind, veterans can successfully overcome many of the tribulations of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
However, people like Hala Khouri, author of “Trauma Informed Yoga is People Informed Yoga,” argue that perhaps the benefits of trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive yoga may not be as effective as they are perceived to be. Like many aspects of a capitalistic society that start to gain public interest and general uptake, Khouri claims that trauma-informed yoga is a fad and becoming overused and underappreciated. However, she goes on to say that all practices of yoga should be taught with a trauma-sensitive intent as opposed to being specifically geared towards one group of people that practice yoga. Khouri claims,
Everyone has experienced some sort of trauma, big or small, as well as general stress, and both can impact our ability to self-regulate…we are all impacted by stress and trauma. In fact, we are shaped by life’s challenges, and the impact of these challenges (Khouri).
While trauma-informed yoga may now be a widely practice approach and thus the true intentions and outcomes are diminished because of how popular it has become, trauma informed yoga, when done properly and thoroughly can be a spectacular way to understand the mind and its connection to the body and help people that suffer from PTSD come closer to achieving a continuous sense of health and wellness.
Suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder can be one of the most strenuous disorders to endure. Always being ‘on alert’ and constantly having flashbacks to serious trauma can be immeasurably psychologically damaging. Approaching this disorder holistically, such as practicing yoga consistently is one of the leading treatments in society today.