Ancient Spiritual Practices That Help Heal Trauma Today
For many of us, spirituality is a way to connect with a force that’s greater than ourselves. However, spiritual practices can also be profound sources of healing for the soul, mind, and body.
In life, past trauma can linger physically in our bodies, India Today reports. However, through ancient wellness techniques we can release trauma — allowing us to let go of what no longer serves us and finally heal.
Releasing Trauma Through Yoga
Trauma is felt and reprocessed through the body. One ancient technique that can lead to healing trauma is yoga. This is because yoga allows people to feel all their body sensations. “It’s a gentle, safe way for people to befriend their bodies, where the trauma of the past is stored,” Bessel van der Kolk, a psychiatrist and the author of “The Body Keeps the Score,” tells India Today.
Peter Levine, who pioneered the concept of somatic experiencing, says that stress that accumulates over time can cause a range of chronic pain and disorders. However, yoga poses provide the potential for healing. “Yoga is our first access into the felt sense of the body, and staying with strong sensation, which is key to healing by releasing old trauma imprints,” says Levine.
Meditation as a Healing Practice
Another spiritual practice that can help heal trauma is meditation, according to a blog on Mindworks. Meditation is a valuable tool for helping us observe our thoughts and emotions. Through the practice, we learn not to be defined by our thoughts and feelings, and recognize that not all our thoughts are true or deserve a response.
By applying these same principles to trauma we’ve experienced, we can free ourselves by approaching expressions of trauma in the body and mind with compassion and curiosity instead of reacting impulsively or suffering as a result of the trauma. However, it’s important to use trauma-informed meditation, which paves the way for healing without pain or re-traumatization.
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The Transformative Power of the Breath
The transformative ability of the breath has been known for thousands of years, BBC reports. Ancient cultures used patterns of the breath to heal the body and the mind. However, breathwork practitioners are also now using the power of the breath to heal today.
Deborah Maddison, a breathwork teacher, tells the BBC the exercises can “release old patterns of stress, tension, anxiety, trauma, and pain.” “The breathing has the effect of slowing down the mind, the thinking brain, and enables our awareness to be more in what we might call the emotional brain, the limbic system,” she added. “This has the effect of bringing up stuff from the past, maybe things we haven’t processed; stressful events, traumatic childhoods, even right back to our birth experience.”
There are a variety of breathwork techniques, according to the Cleveland Clinic. One of the exercises that may be helpful for people with trauma is Holotropic breathing. The technique involves fast and controlled breathing patterns to allow people to enter a dream-like state that can improve mental health including helping people cope with depression, anxiety, and chronic stress.
Healing modalities of the past may be the key to a better future for people around the world in the modern day. Through tapping into ancient techniques, people may be able to heal trauma and live healthier and freer lives.
