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…

In the ‘Yoga Sutras’, Patanjali divides the practice of Yoga into eight stages known as the ‘Eight Limbs of Yoga’. The first of these stages is ‘Yama’, meaning abstinence. He describes the existence of five Yamas: ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (continence), and aparigraha (non-greed). These Yamas act as a moral code for Yoga practitioners, and serve as a guide to Yoga instructors for maintaining a trusting and ethical relationship with their students. Ahimsa translates to non-violence, or non-harming. This Yama can be explained simply enough as “do no harm”, but it is open to greater understanding when we consider in what ways we can be harmful. According…

“Yoga is a journey of contemplation and self-discovery on the path to personal enlightenment” (Ambrosini 4). The Chakra, or Energy, system of our subtle bodies serves as a map during this journey, helping us to recognize where we are not in alignment with our highest Self and aiding us to discover that alignment.  Within each chakra is both a power and a lesson. When the chakra, translated to “spinning wheel” (Ferretti and Editors), is open and flowing we can experience its power. When it is closed, blocked, or misaligned we can experience its lesson. According to Dr. Caroline Myss, author and medical intuitive, “[e]ach of the seven levels of power…