How can limbic system therapy help resolve trauma?

 

How can limbic system therapy help resolve trauma?

Instead of focusing on understanding and reasoning, limbic system therapy targets the automatic reactions, dispositions, and interpretations shaped by trauma. By rewiring these automatic perceptions through deep experiential encounters, the brain can be transformed.

Can yoga heal trauma?

Across the studies included in this review, the main effects that a yoga practice had on participants with psychological trauma were increased self-compassion, feeling more centred, improved coping skills, a better mind–body relationship, and enhanced relationships with others.

Yoga can be effective for treating developmental disorders and treating the limbic system can be effective for trauma and reduce pain.

Where is trauma stored in the body in yoga?

You may have heard that “hip openers” in yoga unlock our emotions. And after recognizing that the psoas stores trauma in this way, it's not hard to see why. Gentle hip opening yoga poses are a soothing and effective way to release tension from the psoas muscles.

Where is trauma stored in the body in yoga?

You may have heard that “hip openers” in yoga unlock our emotions. And after recognizing that the psoas stores trauma in this way, it's not hard to see why. Gentle hip opening yoga poses are a soothing and effective way to release tension from the psoas muscles.

The Psoas Muscle: How it Holds onto Trauma and How to Let it Go, with Yoga

*Note to reader: In reading and hearing about trauma there is the potential to be triggered. Please take care of yourself. Not this article nor a yoga practice are replacements for a one-on-one relationship with a licensed mental health professional. Please visit www.psychologytoday.com to find a licensed professional in your area.*

The Psoas Muscle, also referred to as The Muscle of the Soul, holds onto traumatic experiences on a cellular level. Releasing it with the right yoga poses can help the body process through and release trauma responses that have been locked within for years.

Psoas, so huh?

I’ve seen many a scrunched up face and look of confusion when I’ve mentioned the psoas at trainings and talks. Let’s all get on the same page and start with what the heck the psoas (pronounced, so-as), is.

First off, we have two of them. The psoas are muscles that originate at the 12th thoracic vertebrae (mid-back) and the 5th lumbar vertebrae (low back) on either side, run through either side of the pelvis, and insert at either side of the lesser trochanter of the femur (inner thigh bone at the hip).  No other muscles in our body connect our torso to our legs- the psoas have a big responsibility! Their responsibility includes:

*Flexing the hip joint- think about the action of bending one knee toward the chest; think about the action that occurs at the front of the hip when riding a bike, or walking up stairs

*Flexing the torso- think, bending forward to pick something up off the ground

*Stabilizing our spine- think, sitting with good posture or standing upright

The psoas muscles are also our deepest core muscles! We truly need our psoas for day-to-day functioning. A tense, restricted, tight, or neglected psoas can’t do its job and other muscles like the back and shoulders work overtime to compensate. This leads to low back pain, shoulder and upper back pain, pelvic pain, and overactive quadriceps muscles. The psoas also have a role in our breathing, as they attach to the diaphragm via connective tissue.

….coming up I’ll talk about how we can release a stressed and constricted psoas, but first, let’s look at it’s relationship to trauma.

How the psoas relates to sexual trauma:

This is where it gets interesting. As the psoas is responsible for keeping us upright, a necessity of our very nature and way of life, the psoas become the protector of our center of gravity at the very core of our being. The psoas are linked to our reptilian brain- the oldest part of our brain that consists of the brain stem and the spinal cord. The reptilian brain  relates to our primitive selves.

The psoas muscles embody our survival instincts and primal urges and

could well be called the fight or flight muscles of the human anatomy.

During traumatic experiences, as the nervous system (which includes the brain) receives the threatening information that the body is being attacked, the body goes into high-alert and the psoas muscles tighten and contract as a means of defense and protection. During sexual trauma in particular, the psoas is highly compromised, forced to comply with the physical and emotional strain willed against it. 

While tense shoulders or sore feet may benefit from a hot bath soak or rest, the psoas is more complex.

Each new triggering event (these can be events that are merely stressful and not fully traumatizing) creates additional tension as the psoas remembers what it learned during the original traumatic event: when my body is attacked, I must harden my shell to protect it.

Psoas pain is not generally localized to the hip area. We typically experience the pain that results from a contracted psoas indirectly, meaning it isn’t your psoas that hurts, but rather adjacent areas such as the shoulders, upper back, or lower back. Women with sexual trauma and a contracted psoas may experience pain during intercourse as a result of the psoas’ conditioned, high-alert state.

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Samuel
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