Traumatic Stress: A Yogic Perspective

According to yoga, adverse effects of inter-generational & childhood trauma, as well as post traumatic stress can be best explained by examining our human experiences through the five layers of our body. These five layers are called koshas and make up what is known as the subtle body.

The physical layer (the body), is called the Annamaya kosha, sometimes referred to as the “food body” as it’s made up of all the food we eat. It’s the most dense or coarse energetic layer. The physical body can be thought of as the final result of a series of vibrational condensations – and the manifestation of all the layers that came before it, including the emotional, mental and causal bodies. The Annamaya kosha (physical body) reminds us that we are constantly digesting life’s experiences. Trauma can lend a clue as to why many of us come up against inflammatory diseases, experience aches & pains and even serious illness. Could it be that unprocessed or undigested trauma could be causing health problems?

Then, at the deepest layer of our consciousness is the Anandamaya kosha, or the bliss body, known as the home of our true nature and pure consciousness itself. What’s held at the subtle or causal level of the bliss body affects all the bodies (or layers) and will move an individual in a particular way. All of our human experiences move in, through, and out of this body / mind complex. The koshas, also called sheaths, help us understand that we are energetic beings having a human experience, rather than a human being having energetic experiences.

The Koshas (or subtle body)

Why does this matter and what does it have to do with traumautic stress?

There are times, especially when we are children, when our human experiences move in to our body / mind complex – but, due to our innocence and ignorance, they get stuck – and instead of moving through and out, we mistakenly draw conclusions on how these experiences relate to the self. Much like attachment or core wounds, these conclusions can easily become impressions held (or frozen) at the level of the other bodies (or koshas). This in turn, greatly affects the bliss body, clouding our perceptions and delaying spiritual growth.

This concept helped me to understand generational trauma and addiction, too.

In meditation practice we allow thoughts to come and go without expectation or attachment. When we practice regular mediation, the nervous system finds release. I believe we can (eventually) heal ourselves from the effects of “stuck” trauma, in all the bodies.

How do we know we are doing meditation right?

Meditation is meant to be an effortless rest that allows us to move in, through, and out of the body / mind complex – without expectations. We’re all so different and while it’s good to recognize progress in our meditation, it isn’t the goal. The goal in meditation is to be comfortable and to favour a mantra or the breath (if that’s the style of meditation you’re practicing) and to take it easy. In other words, we don’t struggle.

Indications of correct meditation are generally discovered outside of the meditation itself. This might include include finding more resilience, noticing our relationships improve, or perhaps we find our work more rewarding. We tend notice that we become less reactive outside of meditation. What used to bother us is of less concern, and we can observe our own behaviours. This becomes an important piece for people with childhood trauma.

In time and with practice, a traumatized brain “re-wires” itself as new neural pathways are established. The good news for the trauma injured, is that we can and do grow a new neural network. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and adapt due to experiences. This can involve functional changes due to brain damage (trauma) or structural changes due to learning something new or thinking the thoughts that support the development of new, healthy habits. In turn, the nervous system finally calms down and regulates itself. From here, we receive “a new body” that responds more intuitively, creatively and effectively to the inevitable stresses of the human experience.

Meditation can make us more discerning. Knowing our inner-most self can help us to appreciate life’s progressions in an all inclusive, natural and refined way.

If meditation interests you and you’d like to learn more, please contact me through email.

If you are unsure if you have trauma, you can learn more about adverse childhood experiences or ACE scores here.

Children exposed to ongoing violence / addiction in the home tend to think differently. They often hang on to mental impressions and conclusions that may not be accurate, contributing to their dis-empowerment, loss of agency and self worth. Unresolved, this fracturing can play out through out life and become an underlying cause of dysfunction and disease. Meditation can help facilitate a return to wholeness.

Thankfully, there’s a much better understanding of generational trauma and the adverse health effects caused by unresolved trauma.We know now, that cycles of inter-generational trauma quite often repeat, leading to some of the most difficult and disabling health conditions we see today.

On a personal note, I’m sure the ill health conditions that I experienced when I was a young woman were directly related to unresolved childhood trauma. My intention now is to raise awareness and help other survivors understand that the devastating effects of unresolved trauma and grief can be healed. We do get better. My sincere hope is that this subject does NOT apply to you. But, if sharing some of my experience resonates with you, please know, you are not alone.