Rewriting the Rewritten Nervous System
Healing PTSD Through Yogic Practice
When we consider how a regular Yoga practice can improve an individual’s range of motion, most would consider the greatest anatomical factor involved to be an increased flexibility of the muscles, joints, and connective tissue. However, in individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), limited range of motion is often linked to a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is a part of the peripheral (outside of the brain) nervous system and is composed of a collection of neurons that receive information from the environment and other parts of the body and regulates the activity of multiple organs (such as the stomach, heart, and lungs) accordingly. The ANS consists of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which contains neurons that prepare the body to react to some stimuli in the environment (also known as the “fight or flight” stress response), and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which contains neurons that regulate bodily functions during rest (Kandola). According to the Polyvagal theory, the PNS is divided further into the ventral vagal complex (VVC) and the dorsal vagal complex (DVC). The VVC functions to allow for rest, restoration, and social engagement. The DVC initiates the “freeze” stress response, allowing an individual to shut down during situations that are deemed to be unsafe (Pentz).
Within individuals with PTSD, the nervous system has become conditioned to exist in a perpetual state of fear or hypervigilance due to a traumatic experience from their past. During the traumatic event, the SNS was triggered to release stress hormones such as cortisol, quickly shutting down some bodily functions to allow others the necessary energy to try to fight or to flee the situation. In a regulated nervous system, the PNS is able to relax the body after the incident using hormones that slow down the bodily processes that had been hastened by the SNS. However, a traumatic event can “push the nervous system outside its ability to regulate itself” (Pederson).
The event causes a few different trauma responses. In the first, the SNS becomes overactive, the fight or flight response is perpetually engaged, and the individual experiences hyperarousal. Symptoms of hyperarousal include irritability, becoming aggressive or angry, sweating, tenseness, becoming paranoid or hypervigilant, having trouble focusing, difficulty sleeping, and trouble controlling the bladder. In the second, the VVC becomes underactivated, the body cannot rest or restore and social functioning is impaired. Symptoms of this include trouble relaxing or being still, higher blood pressure, increased breathing and heart rate, digestive troubles, and difficulty with social engagement such as maintaining eye contact. In the third, the DVC becomes spontaneously activated, entering the freeze response or going into a hypoarousal state during unnecessary occasions. This response causes symptoms known to depression, such as feeling cold, numb, empty or heavy in the body, stiffness, fatigue, brain fog, decreased heart rate, difficulty breathing, a sense of dread or hopelessness, lack of motivation, inability to make decisions, withdrawal from others, and disconnection with the body (Pentz).
Regardless of the trauma responses at play, levels of the stress hormones such as cortisol are altered significantly in individuals with PTSD. The adrenal glands, which produce stress hormones, in those with high cortisol levels for extended periods of time can become depleted and lead to an increase in the hormone that causes sensitivity to pain, prolactin, as well as tension in the muscles and joints (PTSD UK). These factors could negatively impact a person’s range of motion and flexibility. During an asana that stretches the muscles of the body, the “stretch tolerance” reflex, a safety implement for avoiding pain, is activated (Sanelli). This reflex may be more easily triggered in those with PTSD due to their increased sensitivity to pain, preventing them from moving as deeply into postures as their bodies may be capable of.
Research has suggested that flexibility is heavily reliant on the ability of the ANS to move from a sympathetic state to a parasympathetic state. Otherwise known as the “rest and digest” system, the PNS functions to increase flexibility through relaxing muscles, fascia and other connective tissues, easing the breath, releasing endorphins, increasing blood flow, and reducing both physical and psychological stress levels (Sanelli). However, an individual with a hyperactive SNS and an underactive VVC due to PTSD could experience difficulty reaching this state of relaxed flexibility.
On top of this, many individuals with PTSD experience a disassociation or disconnection from their bodies. During a traumatic experience, “[i]f fight-or-flight is not a viable option or if fight-or-flight becomes inactive due to the body feeling overwhelmed, the freeze response is activated” according to Sabina Mauro, PsyD, a specialist in trauma therapy in Yardley, Pennsylvania. During the “freeze” state, the connection between the brain and the body becomes severed, essentially “playing dead” to survive the situation. This disassociation can be long lasting and easily triggered long after the traumatic experience has ended (Gillette).
A regular Yoga practice can be incredibly beneficial for individuals with PTSD. According to Swami Rama, “The science of pranayama is thus intimately connected with the autonomic nervous system and brings its functions under conscious control through the mastery of the breath, which requires taking conscious control of the diaphragm… It is for this reason that control of the breath constitutes an obvious starting point toward attainment of control over the functioning of the autonomic nervous system.” During pranayama, the diaphragm stimulates the vagal nerve, encouraging the nervous system into a parasympathetic state (Sanelli). In a Yoga practice the focus is on experiencing the present moment, bringing awareness to the breath, and feeling grounded while in a pose. This awareness interrupts the dysregulation of the nervous system; as one learns to bring their awareness back to the present moment when their mind slips into thinking about past events they learn to self-regulate. Somatic practices that work to establish a mind-body connection, such as Yoga, are beneficial for individuals that have disassociated from their bodies due to trauma, encouraging the practice of breath work, body scans, and meditation that brings awareness to how the body feels and what its needs are (Pentz).
However, for these benefits to be experienced, it is important to recognize when the nervous system is triggered into a trauma-response. During practice, always stop a pose if it feels triggering and move into a pose that feels safe or sit cross-legged and focus on breathwork or grounding. Practice with instructors that feel safe, or at home with videos or an app, and clearly state your choice to be touched or physically assisted or not. One’s Yoga practice is in one’s own hands and the journey inward through somatic exercise can be as slow and as gentle as needed to reach the deep, inner wounds within an individual with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. If ”[t]rauma can actually change the structure and function of the brain”, so too could a regular Yoga practice (Gillette).
Works Cited
Gillette, Hope. “Trauma-Related Dissociation: Symptoms, Treatment, Coping, and More.” Psych Central, 3 Aug. 2021, psychcentral.com/pro/coping-with-trauma-through-dissociation#the-role-of-trauma.
Kandola, Aaron. “Autonomic Nervous System: What It Is and How It Works.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 26 June 2023, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327450#function.
Pederson, Lane. “Parasympathetic Nervous System & Trauma: Mental Health Systems.” MHS, 2 Mar. 2024, www.mhs-dbt.com/blog/parasympathetic-nervous-system-and-trauma/.
Pentz, Carliann. “Yoga and Mental Health, the Science of Trauma Recovery and the Brain.” Virtual Therapy Clinic, 26 July 2023, www.virtualtherapyclinic.com/blog/yoga-and-mental-health-the-science-of-trauma-recovery-and-the-brain.
Sanelli, Renee. “Yoga, Flexibility and the Nervous System.” Three Trees Yoga, 16 Apr. 2024, www.threetreesyoga.com/yoga-flexibility-and-the-nervous-system/.
Swami Rama. “Pranayama and the Autonomic Nervous System.” Himalayan Institute Online, 22 June 2022, himalayaninstitute.org/online/pranayama-and-the-autonomic-nervous-system/.
“Unexpected Physical Symptoms of PTSD.” PTSD UK, www.ptsduk.org/10-unexpected-physical-symptoms-of-ptsd/. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.