Page 323 - Total War on PTSD

tour. You deserve to practice in a place that feels safe and brings you calm, and most of all, relief from your symptoms.
Sometimes there is a disconnect with what the Pilates method is and what people think it is. Pilates is a dynamic way to exercise, and since it focuses on breath, can be a useful tool in managing mental health issues, especially depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Pilates was initially interesting to me because I thought it was challenging, especially for the abdominals. The practice became much more than that to me after really digging into it. Breathing deeply and evenly helps me manage my anxiety, and the challenge of the exercises keeps me interested and motivated. I was able to connect my body with my breath and feel a relief from my anxiety; for me Pilates is a meditative practice in that way. Because of the breath/body connection I immediately felt refreshed, because for that hour of the Pilates class, I couldn’t be anxious. I had to concentrate too hard to allow my thoughts to race. Additionally, and more long-term, my mental and physical strength grew, and I started to trust myself more and more. The trust was a new and freeing experience.
I finally realized that the cause for my trauma was the loss of trust in myself. It was immediate and felt permanent. After the trauma of the miscarriage, I lost any remaining trust I had; I felt that my body and mind were completely broken. I found myself thinking, “For goodness sakes, my body couldn’t even grow a child, something my body was made to do!” The feelings of hopelessness at that time were overwhelming. This time of my life may have been the lowest but in hindsight, I am grateful for it. The experience showed me that I needed to change in order to get better. It drove me to seek help and to eventually understand that I was not broken, and the shame I had been carrying for more than a decade had been a burden I was willing to shed. It is a burden none of us should bear, but we have to work through it. We cannot change the past.
Other methods of exercise helped as a distraction, teaching exercise helped sometimes, but other times made my anxiety worse. Pilates has been the most comprehensive solution to manage my PTSD and re-build the trust I had lost in myself. If you haven’t
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