Using Yoga to Recover from Childhood Abuse

Yoga can be a powerful healing tool in recovering from childhood abuse. If you are a survivor of childhood abuse, you very likely spend little time living in your body. You also very likely spend little time feeling "present" in your life: You are usually either processing your past or worrying about your future. Yoga is a powerful way to reconnect with your body and learn how to stay present so you can experience your life as it happens.

Disconnection with the Body

Survivors of childhood abuse have a hard time connecting with their bodies. This is because, as abused children, they learned how to disconnect from their bodies so they could "flee" the abuse. While this skill helped the abused child to survive the abuse, it is maladaptive after the abuse has stopped. After spending a lifetime disconnected from the body, it is difficult for many abuse survivors to figure out a way to reconnect with their bodies.

Failure to Live in the Present

Survivors of childhood abuse have trouble "staying present" in their lives. Unfinished business from their childhoods, including repressed memories and emotions, repeatedly pull their focus back into the past. They also often worry about the future, rehearsing how they plan to handle future situations or fretting about situations that they cannot control.

Yoga as a Healing Tool

Yoga is a powerful way to help the abuse survivor reconnect with his body and learn how to stay in the present. Yoga meets the needs of the body, soul, and spirit, especially when it is done at home or with an instructor one-on-one.

Unfortunately, many people in the United States have turned yoga into a series of stretches for group classes, but yoga has a much more spiritual basis. Yoga is actually used in Eastern cultures to relax the mind in preparation for meditation. When yoga is practiced with the purpose of healing the spirit as well as the body, it can become a much more powerful healing tool.

Practicing yoga at home is a very personal experience. Some of the asanas (positions) can elicit emotions, which helps the abuse survivor to release repressed emotions from deep inside of himself. The deep breathing helps the abuse survivor to reconnect with his body. Focusing on the breath helps the survivor to stay present in his life.

If you are an abuse survivor who is new to yoga, do not be surprised if your body feels "weird" afterward. Abuse survivors who carry a lot of tension in their bodies can be taken aback by how their bodies feel when that tension is released.

Yoga is for Everyone

You do not have to be in good physical shape or flexible to practice yoga. Yoga is very gentle, and as you practice it, you will find your body becoming more flexible over a period of time. When practiced correctly, yoga is soothing and relaxing.

You can find a good book on yoga for beginners at your local bookstore. Look for a book that incorporates the spiritual elements of yoga. Buy yourself a yoga mat and a CD with soothing music. While many people who practice yoga choose to listen to New Age music, you can choose any genre of music that you find relaxing.

Consider burning a vanilla-scented candle while you practice yoga. The scent of vanilla calms the startle reflex and can help you to relax further.

If you are recovering from childhood abuse, you will explore many coping tools to help you process your past and focus on the present. Adding yoga to your coping toolbox is a powerful way to build momentum toward a healthier you.