Yoga In A Nutshell For Mental Health Healing

One of my blogs is about trauma-informed yoga & here I will share a very broad overview of yoga. It is important to know that the word yoga means to yoke, to join, or union. This uniting can be between body, mind, & spirit; it can be of body & breath; or it can be individual consciousness to Divine consciousness. When most people in Western cultures think about yoga, they think about a person contorted into a pretzel with a sunset behind them. That's just one aspect of one branch of one school of yoga! Not to overwhelm you, but there are 6 main paths or lineages (some say 4 & those are indicated with an asterick):

1. Bhakti (Practicing devotion to God/Source/Higher Power)*

2. Jnana (Knowledge and wisdom, self-inquiry, and studying sacred texts)*

3. Karma (Selfless action and service to others)*

4. Hatha (Ha=sun, Tha=moon, focus on masculine and feminine, left and right sides of the body, postures, alignment)

5. Tantra (Not just about sex, but rather about inner power and connecting to divine power within)

6. Raja (the royal path encompassing mind, body, and spirit)*

   
   

Within Raja, there are 8 limbs: Yamas (moral principles), Niyamas (self-discipline), Asanas (postures), Pranayama (breath expansion), Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (enlightenment)​.

My 200 hour yoga teacher training followed the royal path and within those 8 limbs, I have discovered nada yoga-union with relationship to sound & yoga nidra. Nidra means sleep, so yogic sleep, where the yogi simply lies down and receives a guided meditation through breath and body sensing, a journey that mirrors the process of sleep and explores all of the koshas, or layers of ourselves (body, mind, emotions, energetic/breath, personality/wisdom, heart consciousness, and then the spark of awareness that witnesses it all). [See Yoga Nidra blog]

                                    In yoga we remind ourselves that we are not our thoughts,

                                    not our emotions, not our bodily sensations, and not even

                                    our experiences, but we are pure consciousness.

I am passionate about sharing all of the ways that yoga can not only help mitigate pain & suffering, but also bolster ease & wellness. Yoga is so much more about the physical shapes. It is restorative practices that help the nervous system shift from sympathetic flight/fight to parasympathetic rest & digest. It is about cultivating body awareness & supporting the mind-body-spirit connection. It is about learning to listen differently, cultivating nonjudgment about oneself & the world, about learning to love yourself, your body, your body, your mind, & returning home to your spirit.

So I use all that I can within the yogic world that I am competent in to help facilitate your own connection back to yourself: I am trained in iRest Yoga Nidra level 1, which is used in the VAs across the country for PTSD treatment; I use sound baths where the healing sounds of the crystal and metal bowls, bells and gongs bring about theta brian waves, accessing the healing power of neurobiology; I even use some asanas to attune to the rhythm of regulation, slow and mindful movements with plenty of choices; yin yoga where the shapes are held for several minutes and we use our breath to help the fascia (connective tissue) move & the energy flow (the issues are in the tissues); I use that limb of raja yoga called pranayama, which is often translated as breath control, but really prana is life-force-energy & ayama means expansion. When we engage in these breathing exercises, we are literally expanding our life force energy! So just show up for a skills group, I have everything you will need. Just wear comfy clothes & bring layers, a water bottle, maybe a journal, & an open mind/heart:)