[Hunny]

Hi, All:

Just wondering if anyone here has had an experience that they wish to share at this centre or in conjunction with this centre or if their T's have had any experience with it?

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=115976




Thanks,
Hunny

[Kiya]

Hunny, i have not - but I know van der Kolk is the most prominent researcher of our time. It doesn't look like something I will be able to look at tho.

[Hunny]

Thanks Kiya,

thanks for your response, it would take some time as it does look like an indepth site, but extremely well laid out. I am particularly interested in the the yoga aspect during a session:


Yoga: For Peace of Body and Mind

This manual is for clinicians who want to bring a little yoga into the therapy context. It describes some simple techniques and teaching suggestions that help the therapist facilitate an accessible yoga experience for their clients right in the office. In addition to some basic techniques that the therapist can teach the client (stable seated posture and basic breathing techniques), there is a more indepth section (spinal twist, core strength, hip opener and forward bend) intended for therapist self-care and for clients who want a more thorough at-home yoga practice. We have also created an audio CD to accompany the more detailed practice which can be purchased for and distributed to clients. All of the yoga described in "Yoga: For Peace of Body and Mind" is chair-based to make the material as accessible and as practical as possible.

The Yoga Manual and CDs can be purchased online or by regular mail. Listed below are product prices plus shipping & handling costs for U.S.P.S. Priority Mail, both domestic (USA) and internation

Joanie

[Kiya]

Interview with Dr. van der Kolk on yoga for PTSD

Integral Yoga Magazine (IYM): How did you get
interested in Yoga for the treatment of PTSD?

Bessel van der Kolk (BvdK)

: I began my own practice six

years ago. I was looking for a way for people to regulate
the core arousal system in the brain and feel safe inside
their bodies. My interest came from doing research that
discovered how trauma affects the brain. Yoga turned
out to be a way to get people to safely feel their physical
sensations and to develop a quiet practice of stillness.
Lots of Yoga sites claimed that Yoga could change basic
brain functions, but that was based on intuition, not
scientific investigation. So I decided to see if Yoga can
positively affect the core regulatory mechanism in the
brain. Some trauma-sensitive people can feel frightfully
unsafe experiencing the sensations that are evoked by
certain asanas. What most people do not realize is that
trauma is not the story of something awful that happened
in the past, but the residue of imprints left behind in
people’s sensory and hormonal systems. Traumatized people
often are terrified of the sensations in their own bodies.
Most trauma-sensitive people need some form of bodyoriented
psychotherapy or bodywork to regain a sense of
safety in their bodies.

IYM

: How does extreme stress affect brain function?

BvdK

: Neuroimaging studies of human beings in highly

emotional states reveal that intense emotions, such as
anger, fear or sadness, cause increased activity in brain
regions related to fear and self-preservation and reduced
activity in the brain regions related to feeling fully present.
People with PTSD lose their way in the world. Their
bodies continue to live in an internal environment of
the trauma. We all are biologically and neurologically
programmed to deal with emergencies, but time stops in
people who suffer from PTSD. That makes it hard to take
pleasure in the present because the body keeps replaying
the past. If you practice Yoga and can develop a body
that is strong and feels comfortable, this can contribute
substantially to help you to come into the here and now
rather than staying stuck in the past.

IYM

: What is the main challenge for the trauma sensitive?

BvdK

: The challenge is to learn how to tolerate feelings

and sensations by increasing the capacity for interoception
or sitting with yourself, noticing what’s going on inside—
the basic principle of meditation. They need to learn how
to modulate arousal. Trauma-sensitive people have their
sense of time thrown off and think something will last
forever. Their challenge is to learn how to notice what is
happening and how things can and will shift, rather than
running away or turning to alcohol or drugs to self-medicate.

IYM

: You have said that those with chronically

overwhelming emotions lose their capacity to use emotions
as guides for effective action.

BvdK

: The function of emotion is e-motion, to engage

in action. If you are afraid, you want to move away from
the object of fear. If you become angry, you feel as if you
want to engage or get physical with whomever is making
you angry. If you love someone, you want to make some
movement toward that person. That is the purpose of
emotion—to propel us toward action. When you are
traumatized your motion is paralyzed. A victim of violence
almost invariably has been trapped, pinned down or unable
to move. Later, if there is a perceived threat, the body
reacts as if it has to move but it once again feels helpless
and paralyzed, prevented from being able to act effectively.
All the chemicals are released to engage in action but the
body doesn’t know how to move. Their challenge is that
after confrontation with physical helplessness, it is essential
to engage in taking effective action.

IYM

: What about self-care challenges?

BvdK

: The rational brain is the crowning glory of human

beings. It is there to help us to engage in the world, but
it is not very good in helping us take care of ourselves.
In other words, the rational mind, while able to organize
feelings and impulses, is not well equipped to

abolish

emotions, thoughts and impulses. People with PTSD,
usually are out of touch with their physical sensations,
and, as a consequence, they have trouble taking care of
themselves. On the other end of the brain, the reptilian
part is not good in quieting and taking care of the mind.
However, when that system is harnessed the mind gets
clearer, it’s easier to regain perspective on one’s life. It is
surprising that, in contrast to Asian and African cultures,
western traditions hardly pay any attention to the
cultivation of techniques to quiet ourselves—we have been
urged to “better living through chemistry.”
Special Section I: Yoga & the Emotional Body
Y

o g a a n d P o s t - T r a u m a t i c S t r e s s D i s o r d e r

An Interview with Bessel van der Kolk, MD
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk is considered one of the world’s leading authorities on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He
has pioneered the use of Yoga as a therapy that is helping these individuals to work through their PTSD and regain a sense of
mastery. He discusses mind-body connections in trauma, how Yoga works and precautions for teaching trauma-sensitive Yoga students.
13
IYM

: Have Western psychotherapies failed to address this?

BvdK

: Western psychotherapy has hardly paid any

attention to the experience and interpretation of disturbed
physical sensations and action patterns. Yoga is one of
the Asian traditions that clearly help reintegrate body and
mind. For someone to heal from PTSD, one must learn
how to control bodily reflexes. PTSD causes memory to
be stored at a sensory level—in the body. Yoga offers a way
to reprogram automatic physical responses. Mindfulness,
learning to become a careful observer of the ebb and flow
of internal experience, and noticing whatever thoughts,
feelings, body sensations and impulses emerge are
important components in healing PTSD.

IYM

: How does Yoga do that?

BvdK

: Yoga helps regulate emotional and physiological

states. It allows the body to regain its natural movement
and teaches the use of breath for self-regulation. What is
beautiful about Yoga is that it teaches us—and this is a
critical point for those who feel trapped in their memory
sensations—that things come to an end. While doing
certain asanas, uncomfortable sensations may be evoked.
But, by keeping time as they stay in a posture for a limited
amount of time, they get to observe that discomfort can
be tolerated until they shift into a different posture. The
process of being in a safe space and staying with whatever
sensations emerge and seeing how they come to an end is
a positive imprinting process. Yoga helps them befriend their
bodies that have betrayed them by failing to guarantee safety.
Another important aspect of Yoga is utilizing the breath.
It’s very striking that there’s nothing in western culture
that teaches us that we can learn to master our own
physiology— solutions always come from outside, starting
with relationships, and if those fail, alcohol or drugs.
Yoga teaches us that there are things we can do to change
our brainstem arousal system, our sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous systems and to quiet the brain.

IYM

: Is meditation okay for those with PTSD?

BvdK

: The Dalai Lama and Yoga masters like Swami

Satchidananda have made meditation almost mainstream.
The neurobiology of meditation—that the brain can grow
new cells and reshape itself—is becoming better known
and finding its way into mental health services. If we
meditate regularly, this can modulate the fear center and
help us be more focused. However, if you are traumatized,
being in silence is often terrifying. Memory of trauma is
stored, so when you are stilled, demons come out. Those
with PTSD should first learn to regulate their physiology with
breath, postures and relaxation and work toward meditation.

IYM

: Do you have any advice for Yoga teachers who work

with trauma-sensitive students?

BvdK

: When we practice Yoga, we open ourselves up and

psychological imprints are activated. Yoga teachers need
to be aware that material will come up during class and
they need to be prepared at all times to help people to
calm down their bodies, by working work with the breath
and quieting poses. Teachers should create a safe space
in the class, keep the focus on the breath and the flow
of the asanas. It is best to refrain from excessive talking,
explaining or preaching during the class—the job of the
Yoga teacher is to help people to feel safe in every aspect of
their self-experience.
We have a trauma-sensitive Yoga program and a nationwide
trauma Yoga teacher training course. Dave Emerson helps
teachers understand how people get triggered and how
to teach them to focus on self-regulation. We tell Yoga
teachers to make no physical adjustments without carefully
checking first with people. Some poses like

Balasana

(child’s pose) can be very sensitive. We don’t avoid these,
but it’s important that trauma-sensitive students are taught
by teachers who are skilled in facilitating self-regulation
techniques and who can help people use

pranayama and

movement to stay relaxed and in the present moment.

Bessel A. van der Kolk MD has been a clinician, researcher
and teacher in the area of posttraumatic stress since the
1970s. He has done pioneering work on the neuroscience of
trauma, its impact on development, thinking, feeling and body
sensations.

www.traumacenter.org.

For all inquiries about Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Teacher
Training, please contact David Emerson, E-RYT at (617)
232-1303, ext. 222, or demerson@traumacenter.org

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk

[Hunny]

Kiya,

This was quite a read. Thanks for posting it. I will be doing some more research into this.

Hunny



.

[Miri]

Originally Posted by Hunny

Hi, All:

Just wondering if anyone here has had an experience that they wish to share at this centre or in conjunction with this centre or if their T's have had any experience with it?

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=115976





Thanks,
Hunny

Answer to question - no - but Bessel has been my hero for years now, have read tons of his stuff. We have him to thank for putting some medical "reality" to body memories.
(I have a picture of him taped above my computer - hero worship - makes me feel validated in my experience)
I trust everything he says, but that's just me. By coincidence, I've been considering a yoga class so this has arrived at just the right time - maybe not a coinidence? Thank you for posting this. Grateful.
Miri

I saw Bessel once for a consult and was not impressed. Maybe it was just personality differences. He wouldn't be as well recieved as he is without reason. What he says does make sense.

[Hunny]

Miri:

Thank you for this:

"We have him to thank for putting some medical "reality" to body memories...

... By coincidence, I've been considering a yoga class so this has arrived at just the right time - maybe not a coinidence? Thank you for posting this. Grateful"

Here is a link: to the Trauma/Yoga area of the site:

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showt...85#post1164685




h