The standard run-of-the-mill yoga class is structured in a way that is not always comfortable or accessible for people with trauma in their systems.
To better understand this, let’s look at some of the most common symptoms of trauma, how they can show up in a yoga class, and how you can make simple adjustments to better accommodate your students when teaching a trauma-informed yoga class, private lesson, or workshop.
Hyperarousal is our autonomic nervous system’s hairpin response to an event or stimuli. The level of response in hyperarousal can seem out of place for the circumstances, for example, hitting something when hearing a sudden noise. The response is wired to either help you fight, flee, freeze, or fawn.
The fight/flight/freeze/fawn response is intelligent and intended to be helpful. It’s when the overactive hyperarousal response comes in that it becomes less helpful. Let’s do a teeny anatomy lesson for some context:
As humans evolved, we developed a limbic system (aka lizard brain) that all other animals have as well… including lizards. This system is evolutionarily very old and at a very basic level is in charge of memory and emotion, as well as controlling autonomic responses triggered by emotion.
We also developed an autonomic nervous system (aka mammalian brain) that all other mammals have… and not lizards. This system is evolutionarily newer than the limbic system and at a very basic level is in charge of keeping us safe.
Both of these parts of the nervous system are automatic, meaning we don’t have to think to make them work – they just work. They are programmed to receive a stimulus and respond to it in our best interest, namely, keeping us alive.
However, when the nervous system interprets something as dangerous (e.g. bear) when it’s actually not dangerous (e.g. someone dropped a water bottle), the response can be the same because it’s automatic.
Fight: This is usually the first choice of response. Your brain identifies something as dangerous, so it prepares your body to fight. Here’s where tight shoulders, clenched jaw, tunnel vision, stopped digestion and reproductive functions, tight hips, and increased heart rate come in. If you need to fight a bear, it’s extremely helpful.
Flight: If your brain assesses a situation to be dangerous and fighting is not an option, it will prepare your body to run. Similar to “fight,” we’ll get tight muscles, focused vision, paused digestive and reproductive functions, increased heart rate, and often tension in the legs and hip flexors. Again, if you need to run from a bear, very helpful.
Freeze: If fighting and fleeing are not options, your brain will offer a freeze response. Evolutionarily, this was most helpful for those who were not as strong or fast as the opponent, and those who had children with them (one theory is that this is why more women experience “freeze”). If there is a bear and you can quickly hide in a bush or play dead, helpful.
Fawn: This is likely a more modern adaptation of danger-to-safety, as it entails avoiding conflict. In an extremely hypothetical evolutionarily situation, it might be complimenting the bear on her protectiveness of her family and explaining that you, too, have children you care for greatly and why don’t we go our separate ways but first take these berries with you as a sign of goodwill and also you’re a very beautiful bear. Probably not super helpful for a bear encounter, but makes more sense in a domestic situation.
Okay, let’s look a little closer at “fight” for now.
One of the most common modern ways to observe hyperarousal is road rage. Something objectively small happens – say, a driver cuts your off on the highway. A nervous system not storing trauma will signal for an auto-response from the body, like hitting the brakes, honking the horn, drawing shoulders upward, and clenching the jaw. Then once the danger passes, all of that will release. Ideally.
In a body that is storing trauma, the auto-response will happen the same, but then will often get stuck there. Now we have a driver who has braked, honked, become tense, and instead of releasing when the danger passes, it keeps escalating. Maybe they’re tailing the car, or yelling, or throwing things out the window.
In this example we see a very helpful automatic response from the body (fight response) in perceived danger (unpredictable car) getting amped up to a place that’s unhelpful and likely unsafe.
Knowing this, you have the opportunity to teach your students tools that can help them in hyperarousal, and deal with it in a helpful way if it comes up in your class.
- Remember, hyperarousal is a normal response to trauma and at its root is intended to be helpful. Teaching about the nervous system functions can help release some of the shame that surrounds responses like hyperarousal.
- Once we’re clear of the shame spiral, now we can talk about how to work with hyperarousal when it comes up. Simple, structured breathing is a great way to move through hyperarousal. Inhale four counts, exhale four counts. Keep going.
- Shaking is another great way to move hyperarousal, specifically the anger/fight response.
- Long-term, desensitizing to hyperarousal is a gift to your students. Practices like yoga nidra can help with desensitization.
- Notice if there is anything in the room that could trigger hyperarousal. Usually sudden, loud, or unexpected noises are good triggers, like a metal water bottle dropping, someone snapping a yoga mat, or a student wandering into the wrong room.
- If someone experiences hyperarousal in your class, ask permission to walk them through a breathing exercise or movement and have the whole group participate. Check in to see how the regulating practices are going for the person and the class.
Up next: Triggers