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By Sangeetha Saran It is important to remember one of the primary purposes of yoga. Yogic practices tend to reduce suffering - Although the goal is to end all suffering. This is the reason why we still see so many therapeutic yoga teacher trainings to this day. Any type of trauma can be treated through yogic practices. Life has many different traumas but it's important to know that through trauma we learn of ourselves and grow as individuals. Tackling traumas with yoga, including injury as well as mental trauma, such as the loss of a loved one can speed us on our way to a healthy and happy life. Yoga does help one become more grounded in all areas of their life. It pushes us to notice and appreciate our strengths and our weakness and gain self-acceptance. The feeling of overcoming a traumatic event in life and conquering it breeds a strength and confidence in ourselves that no one can take away.

By Jenny Park A new niche in the field of Yoga instruction is working with trauma survivors. Since trauma survivors often experience residual physiological effects from a traumatic experience, body based healing modalities are becoming more and more important for therapists, counselors and other practitioners who work with trauma survivors. The practice of Yoga asanas, breathing exercises and meditation techniques offers healing practitioners a wide range of therapeutic tools for this population.

By Faye Martins The regular practice of sitting Yoga asanas can help trauma survivors to relax and release deeply held muscular and emotional tension. Trauma survivors often experience a rigid sense of holding in order to prevent themselves from remembering the painful experiences they have been through and to protect themselves from further pain and trauma. This holding or freezing is a basic instinctual reaction during a terrifying and painful situation.

By Bhavan Kumar One of the key elements to using Yoga as a therapeutic tool to heal traumatic memories is to remember to breath throughout your Yoga practice. If you forget to breath, you are still somatizing and freezing the feelings, memories and emotions in your muscle tissues. Somatization is often an unconscious protective mechanism for many trauma survivors. Unfortunately, it keeps the traumatic memories just below a conscious level and perpetually recycling in the mind and heart of a trauma survivor. Yogic pranayama exercises that teach you how to breath fully and deeply are very important for trauma survivors. Intermediate pranayama exercises that purify and energize the entire body/mind system are also very effective tools for releasing traumatic memories.

By Bhavan Kumar Those who survive a traumatic experience are subjected to a long and difficult journey through life and the process of recovery. Whether this trauma is related to an accident, a war-related injury, emotional or physical abuse, or multiple important losses in life, it can be difficult to overcome. Additionally, it requires time and effort to put one's past in its place. Patients who have suffered from some form of physical or psychological trauma can benefit greatly from practicing yoga on a regular basis during their recovery process. Yoga has enormous healing benefits for both physical and psychological injuries, and many people find that they can effectively utilize the art of yoga to reclaim not only their body, but also their mind.

By Bhavan Kumar Those who survive a traumatic experience are subjected to a long and difficult journey through life and the process of recovery. Whether this trauma is related to an accident, a war-related injury, emotional or physical abuse, or multiple important losses in life, it can be difficult to overcome. Additionally, it requires time and effort to put one's past in its place. Patients who have suffered from some form of physical or psychological trauma can benefit greatly from practicing yoga on a regular basis during their recovery process. Yoga has enormous healing benefits for both physical and psychological injuries, and many people find that they can effectively utilize the art of yoga to reclaim not only their body, but also their mind.

Muscle tearing, bone fractures, lacerations, bruising, and edema are common physical manifestations of trauma. This type of damage causes pain and discomfort, but yoga can be used to relieve both of these unpleasant sensations. The artful stretching involved in yoga improves blood flow to the skeletal muscle in the body, resulting in better oxygenation of the tissues and more flexibility in the muscles. Yoga promotes healing through improved circulation; muscle pain is relieved by this.

Since researchers have made a recent discovery that the brain has the capacity to form new neural connections throughout life, however, traditional medicine has become more open to the idea that the mind can be trained to react in positive ways to changes or trauma. There are now many programs that offer "brain training," but Yoga is the oldest and most proven.

By Faye Martins Have you had a student ask, "Will Yoga help fibromyalgia." Although fibromyalgia is a common disorder, its cause remains a mystery. Symptoms may begin after physical or emotional trauma, stress, or illness; but its onset may also be gradual with unknown triggers. Researchers think that it results when the body amplifies pain signals to the brain, causing conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, depression, and tension headaches.

Some pranayama exercises are stimulating and other breathing techniques are balancing and calming. Nadi Shodhana pranayama is known as an...

One of the key elements to using Yoga as a therapeutic tool to heal traumatic memories is to remember practice pranayama throughout your Yoga practice.

By Bhavan Kumar Many Gurus focus on educating interns abut the holistic health and maintenance of the spine during the course of a yoga instructor training program. The central nervous system, spine and alignment of the skeletal body are always discussed at some point during a yoga teacher training course. Some lecturers will discuss the many causes of spinal pain. Herniated discs are unfortunately a common cause of pain within the spine. In some cases, trauma to the spine causes a tear in the outer ring of the disc and in turn, the softer center portion will push out past it and cause horrible pain. The condition can occur anywhere along the spine from the neck to the tailbone.

By Faye Martins What can Yoga do for chronic back pain? From a point of pure speculation, it might be a fair guess to assume that 10% of the world's population is affected by back pain. However, let's look at the statistics in just one country. Back pain is something that impacts more than 31 million Americans in a year's time, according to the American Chiropractic Association, and a study conducted in 2010 called the Global Burden of Disease, which determined that lower back pain is a leading cause for missed days at work. The majority of cases noted in this study were not caused by infections or disorders, whether metabolic or degenerative, but rather by mechanical problems like severe physical trauma.

By Sangeetha Saran All of us go through times when we feel overwhelmed by the trauma, stress, or loss in our lives. What makes one person persevere and overcome obstacles while another gives up at the first hint of failure? Many Yoga classes are filled with students who are developing the inner strength to deal with stress. Chances are that it is not the stressful circumstances, but the way we react to them and the solutions we discover that determine the outcome. While each of us is born with certain personality traits, we can learn from Yoga and meditation to be more resilient by embracing new opportunities, being open to challenges, and learning from our mistakes.

By Kathryn Boland Do you teach in settings where higher-ups frown upon, perhaps even prohibit, physical cueing? Do you sometimes struggle to find alternate ways to help your students achieve safe and optimally beneficial postures? Such cases will be increasingly common in settings like hospitals, mental health care institutions, memory care units, jails, and substance abuse rehabilitation sites. In these settings, physical cueing may very well trigger students who have experienced trauma, or be misunderstood by those in compromised mental states.

By Sangeetha Saran It is important to remember one of the primary purposes of yoga. Yogic practices tend to reduce suffering - Although the goal is to end all suffering. This is the reason why we still see so many therapeutic yoga teacher trainings to this day.

By Faye Martins What can Yoga do for chronic back pain? From a point of pure speculation, it might be a fair guess to assume that 10% of the world's population is affected by back pain. However, let's look at the statistics in just one country. Back pain is something that impacts more than 31 million Americans in a year's time, according to the American Chiropractic Association, and a study conducted in 2010 called the Global Burden of Disease, which determined that lower back pain is a leading cause for missed days at work. The majority of cases noted in this study were not caused by infections or disorders, whether metabolic or degenerative, but rather by mechanical problems like severe physical trauma.

By Kimaya Singh How can yoga poses relieve back injuries? A back injury or severe back pain can be extremely debilitating and take the joy out of life. One of the best ways to strengthen your back and get out of pain is to establish a simple, gentle, and regular yoga training routine. Back pain can comes from a wide range of causes such as trauma, strain, sprain, osteoporosis, herniated disc or discs, scoliosis (lateral curvature of the spine), sciatica, or osteoarthritis, to name a few.

By Faye Martins What can Yoga do for chronic back pain? From a point of pure speculation, it might be a fair guess to assume that 10% of the world's population is affected by back pain. However, let's look at the statistics in just one country. Back pain is something that impacts more than 31 million Americans in a year's time, according to the American Chiropractic Association, and a study conducted in 2010 called the Global Burden of Disease, which determined that lower back pain is a leading cause for missed days at work. The majority of cases noted in this study were not caused by infections or disorders, whether metabolic or degenerative, but rather by mechanical problems like severe physical trauma.

The connective tissues in the body often hold surgical trauma and emotional bracing. Yin Yoga postures are very effective for releasing some of this deeply held fear and tension, by undoing the physical constriction in the body and washing away some of the anxious thoughts in the mind, in a safe and effective manner. The deep sense of relaxation and release that comes from a practice of Yin Yoga will help to further support you during your cancer recovery process, which is understandably a very challenging and difficult time for most Yoga practitioners.