Last month, I was enrolled in a training that was focused on working with clients who have experienced trauma and could benefit from support of a collection of tools. As someone who has experienced various forms of trauma both in childhood and adulthood, I have benefited from the various tools that I have cultivated over the past few decades.
This latest training was through the Veteran’s Yoga Project (VYP) called Mindful Resilience for Trauma Recovery. This Mindful Resilience was designed to teach to veterans a toolbox of self regulation strategies that can be used to cope with and overcome the effects of chronic stress and post traumatic stress. But it can be used by anyone who has experienced the same.
Mindful Resilience is what VYP calls the collection of mind-body practices that we teach: Breathing, Meditation, Mindful Movement, Guided Rest, and Gratitude. These tools help us breathe easy, focus clearly, move freely, rest deeply, and remember what is working in our lives. As a result we become more resilient in the face of both ordinary and extraordinary challenges. Veterans Yoga Project’s program is a proven, mindful approach to teaching yoga to veterans and others who are struggling with posttraumatic stress and other trauma-related psychological difficulties.
I had to discover all of these tools on my own as I dealt with the challenges of long-term PTSD. I can sincerely say that I am better equipped to handle the symptoms that may still arise, yet they are not held for long given what I have acquired in knowledge and practice.
Mindful Resilience can assist with symptoms such as hyperarousal, re-experiencing, avoidance or numbing. What yoga and its related practices do is help to quiet the fight or flight activity and enables you to feel calmer and that tends to reduce re-experiencing symptoms. It helps break the cycle of stress. These practices can help to ground you in the present so you are not distracted by past or future thoughts. By learning how to observe and safely experience your own thoughts and feelings and notice them without becoming distressed or overwhelmed, you will be invited to accept then as they arise with an attitude of non-judgment. You will build strength and confidence as you learn how to calm yourself down in the moment.
The Toolbox consists of breathing practices, meditation, mindful movement connected with the breath, guided rest and gratitude.
I am currently including more of these practices in the On-Demand Library, so you can take a look for those.
If you would like to learn more about these tools and work with me, contact me through the form below.
