Page 530 - Total War on PTSD

Review” was co-authored by Kathryn Braun, professor at University of Hawaii at Manoa and Robin Cushing, Army Physician Assistant. Braun and Cushing researched the effects of Mindfulness, mind-body therapy and Yoga on Veterans diagnosed with PTSD and found a significant reduction in symptoms for all the Veterans studied who had participated in the Mindfulness, mind-body therapy and Yoga practices.
My own personal experience teaching Trauma-informed Yoga in prison and residential juvenile justice settings demonstrated the benefits of mindful movement practices with a breath awareness component. In these settings, many within the populations suffered from unresolved abuse trauma and PTSD that led them to engage in behaviors that resulted their incarceration. Trauma-informed yoga, like The Trager Approach and its Mentastics mindful movement component, focuses on greater body awareness, development of enhanced psycho-physical integration. Ensuring safety, predictability, consistency and choice, coupled with non-violent communication as well as meta- cognition techniques also facilitates favorable results. Gains were noted in the empowerment of survivors by increasing emotional resilience, decreasing impulsivity and de-escalating hyper-vigilant nervous systems.
Over the course of my career, whether as a Trager Practitioner, a Trauma-informed Yoga Instructor or working with international relief efforts in disaster areas such as Sri Lanka and Haiti or in post-conflict regions such as South Sudan and Uganda, the creation of a safe environment for those affected by PTSD has been a priority as its benefits cannot be overstated. Until they can safely experience what is true for them in the moment, with a high degree of equanimity fostered by mindful breathing and movement practices, the potential exists for persons with PTSD to be governed by their symptoms, physical or emotional.
530 of 1085