Trauma can be physical, mental, emotional, generational, or institutional. A traumatic experience can be acute or chronic. Examples of trauma include illness, accident, assault, neglect, natural disaster, torture, and war. But even life events that most people welcome, like childbirth, can be traumatic.
Without resolution and healing, trauma can persist in our minds as well as our bodies, which remain primed to react long after the original threat has passed.
“Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort,” writes psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk, MD, in The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. “Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signs, and in an attempt to control these processes, they often become expert at ignoring their gut feelings and in numbing awareness of what is played out inside. They learn to hide from their selves.”
A wide variety of resources are available to help people coping with trauma. Among them are modalities that integrate movement into healing practices. Intentional, trauma-informed exercise has emerged as a complementary therapy that can reestablish trust in the body.
“With any kind of trauma, trust is the biggest issue we’re working toward,” explains trauma-informed strength coach Mark Schneider, CSCS, owner of The Retreat Strength Gym in Minneapolis. “Strength is a manifestation of trust in yourself. The more you believe in what you can do, the more you can access what you can do — and the more likely you can meet and exceed limits. Trust in your own ability is paramount.”
Trauma-informed movement practices — which may include yoga, strength training, primal movement, and somatic exercises — are not intended to cure trauma. Nor is there a one-size-fits-all prescription for healing. Rather, they can help repair the effects of trauma and gradually rebuild resilience.
Learn More
For more on how movement therapy can help heal traumatic stress,
see “How Movement Therapy Can Heal Traumatic Stress.”
For a somatic-movement series to support your well-being,
go to “A Somatic Workout to Support Your Well-Being.”
Moving for Mental Health
Exercise is a powerful tool for improving mental health: It can reduce stress, relieve depression and anxiety, and be a salve for loneliness, to name a few of its benefits. Delve into the many ways movement can serve as medicine for the mind at “7 Ways Movement Benefits Mental Health,” from which this article was excerpted.
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