A yoga student of mine recently came to me after class seeking some help for a friend. She shared with me that her friend was going through some challenges in life and was looking for ways to help with the healing process (anxiety & panic attacks were at the forefront).
Now, while I'm a firm believer that literally EVERYONE could benefit from some kind of yoga in their life, it may not necessarily be what helps to heal in a particular moment. I'm not a psychologist (not even close), but through my yoga, meditation, and reiki trainings, and personal experience, I believe that a huge part of the healing process is preparedness to face big emotions.
But I thought yoga was just a workout? And won't exercise help me feel better anyways?
To some, yoga may be just a workout; but asana (the physical practice of yoga - the various poses/ flows) is really just ONE of the eight limbs of yoga. When practiced consistently, yes, the exercise aspect of asana will make you feel better - maybe short term, hopefully long term! (I mean, everyone needs to be moving their body in some meaningful capacity every day for longevity purposes).
But feeling better doesn't necessarily mean past or current traumas are HEALED. So if we're looking for true healing, we need to dive a little deeper than just having an asana practice.
** If you are really struggling through your healing process, please seek professional support/ treatment.
Let's talk briefly about YOGA, MEDITATION, REIKI, AND SOUND HEALING.
What do all of these practices/ experiences have in common? ENERGY! We are consciously moving energy ourselves or we are open to allow energy to move through and around us.
So why would these kinds of things help in the healing process? Let's take anxiety, for example, from an Ayurvedic lens. Anxiety is a vata imbalance (as I'm writing this, I'm realizing I should have a brief blog about Ayurveda... Ayurveda 101 anyone?). With a vata imbalance, we can keep the following in mind as we work towards healing through yoga, meditation, reiki, and/ or sound healing:
Yoga: restorative or yin practices will be most beneficial. We want to work on slowing ourselves down and calming the mind
Meditation: start with shorter meditations that may lead to longer ones over time. If pranayama is part of the meditation, then be sure to use cooling or neutral breaths like alternate nostril breathing. Avoid heat building breaths like breath of fire as this can induce more anxiety in some cases.
Reiki: go into your sessions with an open mind and know that it will probably take several sessions to feel like super substantial progress may be made
Sound healing: similar to reiki, allow yourself to be open to the journey
Keep in mind, that these suggestions were from the Ayurvedic lens of having a vata imbalance (anxiety). Different modalities will be better suited depending on the kind of healing process and personal preferences.
So let's come to our main question...
Does yoga REALLY help heal?
I would answer with a resounding YES! But I also want to acknowledge some things we may encounter or need awareness around:
Overcoming the fear of confronting big emotions through the healing process is one of the first steps on this kind of journey. Yes, yoga and meditation can be quite gentle and make us feel good in the immediate; but for deeper healing, we will need to be prepared to face challenging emotions.
Any healing process is a journey and may take time. There will be bumps along the way, but for true healing to happen we need to allow space for the time needed.
Your support system is also incredibly important! This could consist of friends, family, therapists, new yoga peeps... anyone who you feel you can go to on hard days and celebrate with on the exciting days.
I wish you all the best on your healing journey, and I hope that you are able to find some relief in yoga. If not for yourself, then for a friend! Sometimes one of the most helpful things is to be on that journey with a friend - so if you would like to try a yoga class, invite a friend to go with you (and vice versa).
If you have any questions about yoga, meditation, reiki, or sound healing, let's connect!
Instagram: @moreyoga_please
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