- The experiences people have with yoga are embodied and take place in the here and now. Yoga can offer a different kind of insight than what one gains by thinking and talking about what has happened or might happen, says Kari Evelin Arellano Lorentzen.
She is working on a PhD thesis on yoga as treatment for people with complex trauma experiences from childhood.
- When people talk about their experiences of yoga as part of treatment, certain themes recur. These include a clearer sense of connection to their own body and feelings, a sense of having something they can do themselves, and a belief that further recovery is possible, says Lorentzen.
She emphasizes that yoga is not intended as a replacement for therapy and other health services, but as a possible integrated supplement.
Limited research on the topic
Kari Evelin Arellano Lorentzen has many years of experience both as a psychologist and with yoga - both as a practitioner and as a teacher.
- As a yoga therapist, I saw that many people with difficult life experiences sought out yoga because they needed something more than conventional therapy and other treatments they had often already been through, says Lorentzen. She is taking her PhD at the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo.
There has been little research on the effects of yoga for adults who struggle with complex trauma from childhood, which is the target group of Lorentzen's research.
In her thesis, she has therefore conducted a review of all international research on how this patient group has experienced yoga as a form of treatment. Five studies in particular stood out as relevant.
According to her, these studies indicated that adult patients with complex trauma experiences perceive yoga as a multifaceted and transformative process.
- On the yoga mat, they can gain new experiences and meet themselves in new ways; in everyday life, they may find new ways of coping with daily challenges; and over time, yoga can open up possibilities for personal growth and deeper change.
One of Lorentzen's informants says:
"I get to relax in a way I've never experienced before. I get to breathe freely. It's almost like I can say that I've learned to breathe. Even though I've stayed alive up until now, I haven't (…), or until I started doing yoga, I haven't been breathing normally for as long as I can remember."
Yoga
Modern yoga is an umbrella term for forms of yoga that have emerged at the intersection of Western and Indian traditions.
For many Western practitioners, yoga is primarily a form of exercise consisting of physical postures and sometimes breathing techniques and meditation. The aim is often improved physical health and mental wellbeing. Yoga promotes strength, flexibility, and mental focus.
Source: Store norske leksikon
13 personal stories
As part of her thesis, she has also carried out qualitative in-depth interviews with 13 adults with complex trauma experiences, all of whom have practised yoga as treatment. The participants were recruited from specialist health services, municipal services, and certain yoga schools that have developed therapeutic groups led by instructors with health-related or therapeutic training.
Their experiences confirm what Lorentzen found in the international studies.
- Some of those I interviewed said, among other things, that yoga reduces the pressure they feel to "use the right words" or to produce a specific type of narrative about themselves, as some have experienced in talk therapy, she says.
In yoga, one's relationship to the body, breath, and presence is central. For some, this provides, according to Lorentzen, a new gateway to feelings they previously mainly tried to avoid.
Some of her informants have been in treatment for years and have often tried various forms of therapy and care, without feeling that they have recovered sufficiently.
- Several report that yoga feels like something they can actively do themselves between sessions and after treatment has ended. They say that yoga gives them a sense of agency. The social aspect of group-based yoga can also offer new, positive relational experiences, says Lorentzen.
She emphasizes that people with complex trauma can be reluctant to approach their own bodily experiences.
- Sometimes, they are able to be present with their body and breath; other times, it becomes too overwhelming. Then it is important that the therapist adjusts the practice so that it feels manageable.
One of Lorentzen's informants says:
"After yoga I feel better. I feel calmer; I feel more balanced."
Can be confrontational
Both the international studies and Kari Evelin Arellano Lorentzen's own practice and research indicate that yoga is not just an easy or comfortable path to recovery.
- For many people, including my informants, it is difficult and confronting when yoga makes them more aware of their own bodily experiences, which might be where the trauma "sits most strongly". Danger can suddenly be felt as imminent, and the fear can be disproportionate. Some may have repressed adverse experiences or resorted to self-harm and substance use in order to keep them at a distance, says Lorentzen.
She stresses that it is important to proceed carefully and adapt the yoga practice to what each individual can tolerate and benefit from.
- It is also important to stress that yoga is not suitable for everyone at all times. People must be open to it themselves. Yoga is not something that can be forced on anyone. They must have their own desire to explore it, she says. Whether it feels useful must be evaluated along the way, as with all other forms of treatment.
One of Lorentzen's informants says:
"I've had two sessions where I've kind of broken down and had to leave."
Takes time to gain a foothold
As part of her thesis, Kari Evelin Arellano Lorentzen has also interviewed fifteen yoga therapists in Norway, all with many years of their own yoga practice, teacher training, and a health-related or basic therapeutic education.
- They describe their work as a kind of ongoing negotiation of clinical demands. On the one hand, they meet colleagues who are curious and want to collaborate; on the other hand, they encounter skepticism and sometimes outright trivialisation of yoga as a professional contribution, says Lorentzen.
Some talk about situations where they are referred patients "that no one else manages to help", without having the opportunity for professional discussion about whether yoga is appropriate. The yoga therapists also describe how they negotiate traditional yoga practice with health-professional thinking, in order to promote the possibilities of yoga for people with complex trauma experiences.
- The yoga therapists also work consciously with the balance between giving participants experiences of safety and wellbeing, and approaching what feels painful and overwhelming in a manageable way, says Lorentzen.
Both the yoga therapists and the patients she has interviewed emphasize safety as a prerequisite for being able to explore themselves and their own experiences through yoga.
- A safe space with reliable boundaries, a trustworthy yoga teacher, and a group environment characterised by care and tolerance is crucial.
One of Lorentzen's informants says:
