Forgiveness (Kshama)

by Ram

Tree of Forgiveness by Edward Burne-Jones

Years ago, my wife and I faced a couple of traumatic experiences that could have severely disrupted our lives had we chosen to let them. When, where and how the emotions attached to the negative experience will surface depends on each individual. In our case, we were faced with several situations on an ongoing basis that constantly brought back those negative events. Like many others who face traumatic experiences, we had the choice of:

• approaching a psychiatrist/psychologist
• seeking a counselor
• enrolling in a support group
• choosing to do nothing

While we were not keen in sharing our personal experiences with others in the society, we did not wish to sink/drown in our sorrows, either. Even before we could consider a suitable option, we left Minnesota and made a major move to Marin County, CA. Several life-changing events enveloped us since our move to California. One among them was living in the vicinity of several yoga studios. Thus, we both enrolled in one of the leading yoga studios and, additionally, I chose to seek out Ayurveda while my wife moved into the area of Pranic Healing.

Yoga, meditation, pranayama, Ayurveda, and Pranic Healing may be different schools of learning but they all shared several basic underlying principles, including the aspect of focus (dharana) and the overlaying of painful memories with positive feelings and experiences. Thus, through these practices, we both came closer to transforming our negative experiences. Our daily practices of methods drawn from the above-mentioned sciences helped to lessen the impact of the harrowing events. They made these horrible experiences less intense, and we experienced less frequent flashbacks. But despite bringing in all of the above-mentioned practices into our lives, we were not able to completely alleviate the traumatic experiences. At the very far corner of our minds, we continued to harbor the negativity albeit at a low threshold. 

Then, a few years ago through the practice of self-study (svadhyaya), we came across a couple of original scriptures, including the Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Gorakshanatha and Yoga Yajnyavalkya Samhita. Both these texts describe ten yamas (including the five that I wrote about on this blog) that serve as moral guidelines to lead a conscious, honest, and ethical life. The fifth of the ten yamas mentioned in these scriptures is kshama, which is translated as forgiveness, forbearance, patience, or pardon. As my wife and I delved deeper into this concept, we realized the power of forgiveness. We started cultivating this quality and using it very often in our lives. And guess what? Over the years, forgiving actually helped us to erase that little speck of negativity that was deeply rooted in the far corner of our brains and brought us to a more “present state.” We could completely mitigate our past horrible experiences through the act of forgiveness, and gone was the sorrow, sadness, and flashbacks. The harrowing events disappeared completely; it was as if the nerves associated with these experiences had either withdrawn completely or had died down.

We understood that since the biggest obstacle to connecting with our true selves was hatred or bitterness. Forgiving the individuals who injured our minds and upset our emotional balance helped us to let go of the underlying emotions. Let me clarify that by forgiving, we were neither accepting nor forgetting the facts. Forgiveness also doesn't mean we were overlooking/excusing the behavior or that we were correcting the wrong. Forgiveness only meant that we needed to free ourselves from the traumatic past and move on with those events cleared from our lives. Some of you may criticize that forgiveness may have been a free gift to those who hurt us, however, it brought enormous benefits to my wife and me. In order to forgive completely, we committed all our energy to the process (tapas), engaged in self-inquiry and introspection (svadhyaya), and cultivated a mind that saw divinity in all sentient beings (ishvara pranidhana). (See The Second Branch of Yoga: The Niyamas for more information on the niyamas in general, including tapas, svadhyaya, and ishvara pranidhana.)

How did this transformation happen? Well, according to recent research studies, if you forgive and let go, you are likely to enjoy lower blood pressure, a stronger immune system, and a drop in the stress hormones circulating in your blood. Additionally, other physical symptoms, including unexplained body pains, digestive issues, and migraine headaches, may disappear. At the emotional level, forgiving and letting go helps to curb anger, bitterness, resentment, depression, and other negative emotions. It also allows you to recall amiably the true though painful parts without the baggage of expletives running through your mind that stirs up hatred, tension, and tears. According to scientists at the Stanford University Forgiveness Project, “harboring unforgiveness comes at an emotional and a physiological cost. Cultivating forgiveness may cut these costs." 

Recent research on the health benefits of forgiveness also shows that people who can make this mental shift may benefit yet in another way they didn’t anticipate—namely, living longer. In a study aptly entitled Forgive to Live, Luther College psychologist Loren Toussaint and colleagues investigated the relationship between forgiveness and lifespan in a U.S.-wide sample of 1500 adults aged 66 and older. The study, published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, tested the benefits of forgiveness to longevity. The study followed the subjects for three years to allow the researchers to determine whether forgiveness influenced health and mortality. After controlling for various parameters, including religion, social class, and health-related behaviors, the single parameter that greatly predicted mortality was the act of forgiveness. People who were averse to forgiving died early compared to people who were keen in forgiving. The people who refused to forgive continued to harbor resentment and grudges that affected their overall health. 

It is known that continually nursing negative feelings keeps stress levels high, and chronic stress is known to trigger early aging and death. Overall, forgiveness is linked to important aspects of physical and mental health. All the physical and psychological benefits that come with just that one act could be key in predicting a longer and healthy life. Is there someone you need to forgive? Let that be the best gift you give yourself this year.

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Emotional Memory is Malleable

by Ram

Inhabited Painting by Helena Almeida*

The human brain consists of about one billion neurons. Each neuron connects to about 1,000 other neurons, totaling an unimaginable trillion connections. Neurons combine with each one and help lay down many memories at a time. Furthermore, emotions associated with a memory are stored in a different area of the brain than the content of the memory itself. While we do not know the storage capacity and the size of memory space in our brains, certain memories involve more details and take up more space. Other memories that are not worth remembering or that are forgotten are cleared up by the brain through a process called neuronal rewiring, thus freeing up more memory space.

A layman would define memory as objects, colors, sizes, and shapes or more complex emotional feelings like fear, worry, anxiety, joy, happiness, anger, and so on. While memories may seem a complex combination of objective information, neuroscientists see them as electrochemical signals that are exchanged between nerves; or simply put, information in the form of electrochemical signals that arise in a nerve from one specific area of the brain to another nerve in the same area or a different part of the brain which together encode everything that we associate with a memory.

Recently, we here at Yoga for Healthy Aging had some very stimulating exchanges on the topic of trauma, which triggered a lot of interesting discussion. Lives get severely disrupted following a traumatic experience and when, where and how the memory associated with the negative experience will surface depends on each individual. While most people recover from traumatic events, many do not, and they continue to experience constant fear, worry, anxiety and/or depression. Until recently, neuroscientists believed long-lasting traumatic events created non-pliable neuronal wiring that fired off these memory events randomly upon exposure to some stimulus. So the question that these scientists have been asking all along is: can traumatic memories be erased, wiped out, or overlaid with favorable events so that the person is free from periodic recurrences of traumatic experiences?

The answer is yes, and in a seminal paper recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Bidirectional switch of the valence associated with a hippocampal contextual memory engram, neuroscientists led by a noble laureate concluded that emotional/traumatic memories are malleable, meaning that they can be manipulated such that these unfavorable memories can be turned into more favorable ones. Using state-of-the-art techniques, these scientists were able to show in mice the areas of the brain that created both positive and negative memories and how these memories areas could be switched around. In addition to identifying the nerve cells that lit up after favorable or unfavorable experiences, these scientists also showed that the negative emotional memory got relived as though it was happening all over again. But when the mice that had been exposed to a shocking experience received a favorable experience, it stripped the painful and negative feelings associated with the previous traumatic memory, suggesting that new positive information attached to an unfavorable memory event may help to diffuse its negative impact.

According to these researchers, while negative and unfavorable memories may not fade away, they can be replaced, overlaid or changed by new and contrasting experiences. Emotional valence—which is a measure of good feelings (appetitive behavior) or bad feelings (aversive behavior)—is not rigid. And, based on the studies done on these mice, circumstances/events/places that were scary, unpleasant, or upsetting could become happy, safe, or warm. In the above mentioned study, as the mice got exposed to repeated favorable experiences, their neuronal connections involved with the negative events got overlaid by newer and positive connections, tilting the balance of emotional valence towards appetitive behavior. The hope was that in due course the neuronal connections responsible for firing off the negative events would shrink or be lost.

Although the neuroscientist’s work was with rodents, it may be possible to make an effective therapy for humans that focuses on positive feelings to overlay painful memories and transforms the negative experience (see Friday Q&A: Trauma Resurfacing, Crying in Class and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Yoga to the Rescue). What do I mean by “transforming negative experience”? Surely the traumatic memory does not go away—or does it? According to the authors of the above-mentioned study, transformation would mean using methods/ways to lessen the impact of the harrowing event and transform it to something less traumatic. So this “transformation” would make the memory less intense to help prevent those frequent flashbacks. Cognitive neuroscientists have also discovered that in response to the stress of recalling trauma, the brain also releases “feel good” chemicals, akin to a compensatory mechanism. These calming neurochemicals that help to deal with the stress and trauma may be the brain’s answer to fighting off the traumatic memory. So whenever we feel the traumatic memory arising, we could resort to methods that will stimulate the body to flood the brain with feel-good neurochemicals.

So what suitable remedial procedures exist for humans suffering from long-standing traumatic memories, such as those involved in PTSD? In addition to psychotherapy, group therapy, and neuro-medications, yoga practices, such as asanas, pranayama, meditation, self-inquiry and yoga nidra, may help to transform any negative experience. Through these methods it is hoped that the individual may come to terms with or accept the traumatic event, allowing him or her to build self-confidence and become stronger in both body and mind. This way, not only does the individual remain connected to his or her inner self, it also keeps the person in the present moment. 

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Trauma Resurfacing in the Body, Part 3

by Nina

Meditating Together by Melina Meza

Three years ago when Baxter, Brad, and I started this blog, I was hoping that it would not only be a place where we could share some of our own knowledge about yoga, aging, and yoga for healthy aging, but that we would be able to engage in some interesting discussions with our readers as well. After all, we all have so much to learn from each other. In a way, perhaps because many of readers weren’t that comfortable using the comments section—or perhaps we just didn’t have enough readers in the early days—that “discussion” part of our blog never really took off. However, I’m very pleased that recently we have been getting some really interesting comments (see Friday Q&A: Trauma Resurfacing, Crying in Class, Part 2 ) and that some very stimulating exchanges have been taking place. And one particular topic, trauma resurfacing in the body, has triggered a lot of interesting discussion. Just the other day a reader wrote to me privately with some very interesting comments and suggestions related to the two posts Friday Q&A: Trauma Resurfacing, Crying in Class and Friday Q&A: Trauma Resurfacing, Crying in Class, Part 2. I found the comments so important, that I asked the reader for (and received) permission to post the email on our blog. So today, our main post will be written by this reader, who prefers to remain anonymous. (All of you should know that if you write to me privately or leave an anonymous comment, I will do everything possible to protect your anonymity if that is what you prefer.)

After this reader’s comments, I will provide an additional note from myself to clarify something that I believe the reader misunderstood. We corresponded about this misunderstanding and the reader also approved the content of my note. I’m only including the note because I believe that this clarification would be helpful for all our readers.

Email from Our Reader 

First, thanks to you and Baxter for addressing these concerns so thoroughly and providing resources. Having seasoned teachers like you take this seriously is very meaningful and reassuring.

I have only one qualm with what the two of you pulled together. I think you may run the risk of over-pathologizing emotional issues. They are really no different from physical ones, especially if they begin in the physical. Here is what I think is appropriate, from a student’s perspective (which I know is different than yours and you are free to disagree with me):

1. First, we all acknowledge yoga can kick up difficult emotions for people. So ideally teachers should get a tiny bit of training in this area. For example, Mental Health First Aid is a program that gives people tools to be helpful, while also setting boundaries. The training is not intensive and is designed for non-professionals. The result for yoga teachers would be something close to an intervention in class like Baxter described. But an explicit focus as part of teacher training would offer new teachers some scientifically grounded information, a couple concrete tools, and would de-stigmatize the emotional aspects of the practice—which is very empowering for both teachers and students.  

2. Second, if a student approaches you after class, here is what would have helped me (I am lucky to have gotten some of this). Please recall I was a beginning student at the time. More seasoned students might not need this. 

3. A bit of sympathy and an acknowledgement that it took courage to trust you with this information (the amount of shame associated with certain kinds of trauma cannot be overstated). 

4. Validation that, yes, yoga can surface strong emotions and memories. The student is not crazy. This happens, a lot and for different reasons.   

5. Empowerment —Reiterate that :  

• the student is welcome in your class 
• class is a safe place
• the student can retreat to child's pose (or whatever helps) whenever he or she likes during future classes 
• as the student learns his or her triggers (which can take time), the student should feel free to modify or ask for help with modifications from you. For me, I learned it was using a strap in bridge and other poses that was triggering me. So it was no straps for a long time.

6. Offer more resources if the student asks or you think they would be helpful. It is preferred that these recommendations are specific, not 'find a therapist,' but 'this is the name of a yoga teacher who specializes in things like this.'

In reflecting on this aspect of my yoga practice, it occurs to me that we spend a lot of time talking about our edges in class. And for me—after a lot of confusion and ups and downs—these memories simply turn out to be an unconventional kind of edge. Holding it in that space has allowed yoga to do its good work. And I am profoundly grateful for that.

Thanks again for all your thoughtful responses and for being willing to dig deeper into this topic.

Note from Nina

So many of those suggestions are excellent, don’t you think? And I love what the reader said about how the memories “simply turn out to be an unconventional kind of edge” and that “Holding it in that space has allowed yoga to do its good work.”

I would say, however, that I don't feel Baxter and I “over-pathologized” emotions that arise during yoga. What we meant was a person could be crying for ANY reason. For example, though some kind of trauma could be resurfacing, crying could also be the result of something more mundane, such as the person broke up with their lover, their cat is sick, the teacher read a poem that was so beautiful it brought tears to their eyes, or even they just feel relieved to be at yoga class after a stressful day—whatever. That's why the teacher shouldn't make assumptions about the reason for crying and try to comfort the person with words (which would also disturb the class in general and draw attention to the person in question). And, of course, if the student approaches the teacher before or after or before class to explain why there will be (or was) crying, it is completely appropriate to express sympathy and compassion in general, and for the teacher to reassure the student that it is not uncommon and that the class is a safe space. And if the student’s situation is serious, such as depression, anxiety, trauma resurfacing, and so on, it might be kinder to ask gently, “Are you seeing a professional about this?” because if the answer is yes, then you could just let them know this is a good idea and that yoga can be an excellent supplement to therapy. And if the answer is no, you could gently suggest, “Perhaps you should consider doing so. If you like, I can find some recommendations for you.”

I would also like to say that I hope this blog is a safe space where we can respectfully discuss controversial topics. So speak up, everyone! You can do this either in the comments section of our blog (see How to Comment) or on our Facebook page.  I moderate all the comments but I always publish anything legitimate, even if the reader disagrees with our postings. The only comments that I delete are those I believe to be spam. And you can always write any of us privately via the Contact Us page. 

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Friday Q&A: Trauma Resurfacing, Crying in Class, Part 2

Morning Glories by Melina Meza

Last week when Baxter and I wrote our post Friday Q&A: Trauma Resurfacing, Crying in Class, we felt a bit like we were going out on a limb. Finding the right way to talk about trauma resurfacing during yoga practice was a delicate process, especially because neither of us has had the experience ourselves. And we also wanted to be as diplomatic as possible in discussing the role yoga teachers should play (and not play) when a student cries during classes. So we were very pleased to receive some positive comments about our post. In fact, Baxter found the comments on the blog site so insightful that he asked me to share them with you, our readers. Of course, some of you may read the comments sections of our posts and will have already seen one or both of these comments. But for those who read the original post early or those of you who don’t read the comments, I'm including them below. We are so grateful that these readers took the time to contribute their own thoughts about this important topic. Thank you, Kate and Mary!

—Nina

"Thank you for this post; I think lots of teachers will benefit as I've seen little written about it. This line of Baxter's really resonated with how I feel on the topic: "I try not to pacify or console, or imply that I know what they are going through, but continue to cultivate a safe environment for them to experience their full practice." Creating a safe space for the more intense moments of the practice to be digested is key, and I believe is often what enables them to come up for people in class in the first place. I find it useful to let students know that when practicing yoga over a series of years almost every emotion available will be experienced to some degree and that crying from sadness or any other emotion can be a healthy and useful way to process those emotions or experiences that arise. I wonder if saying even that much goes outside scope of practice, but nonetheless it's been beneficial for students who have cried in class to hear and understand so they don't feel there is something wrong with their practice or something that needs fixing. 
Nina, thank you for the resources for better supporting those working with a history of trauma. The front body protected poses are excellent reminders." —Kate

"Thank you for this important post. I think we will be seeing much more about the benefits of a yoga practice for trauma survivors. I can highly recommend the book by Emerson and Hopper, and the training through the Trauma Center at JRI. As an adjunct to talk therapy, I believe yoga is a powerful ally in the treatment of trauma, and hope that more people will become aware of its benefits. In those cases, making sure that the student is already actively in therapy is vital, so that what comes up in yoga class can be processed safely with a trusted professional. In my experience so far, your advice about child's pose (and front body protecting positions) is spot on – although, naturally any pose could trigger emotions and memories, as each individual's experience is unique. As the original commenter stated, I agree that there are likely many more trauma survivors in our classes than we realize, and although there is no way of knowing the reason for the spontaneous tears in class, I think it's a gift for any practitioner to be in an environment where experiencing and expressing emotions is welcomed and not judged – something that all yoga teachers can strive to provide." —Mary

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Friday Q&A: Trauma Resurfacing, Crying in Class

We recently received this comment on Ram’s post about trauma (see Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Yoga to the Rescue).

Q: This is a very important topic. I have always been pretty surprised that my yoga teachers (many of whom are simply excellent) seem oblivious to the trauma students bring into their studios. I was mistreated as a
 child and when I began a yoga practice, I was unprepared for how yoga resurfaced issues that I had long thought were put to rest. But there I was -- breaking out into tears in bridge pose in the middle of class for no apparent reason. I could not find anything (or anyone, though I was not exactly willing to shout my needs from the mountaintop) that could help me understand what was happening. My teacher at the time was sympathetic, but stumped. I have since learned from friends who were sexually assaulted that yoga kicked issues up for them, too. It took me a while to understand somatic memory and to find ways to use yoga as a source of healing. I wish I could have found some help with that since I was so new to yoga and did not really have a sense of how to proceed. Is there any effort to make this part of most training programs? Are there guides or reading materials for us to learn from? Often, when I go into a new class, I count the students and do a rough estimate of the survivors of child abuse and sexual assault (knowing the stats and assuming a random sample of the US population is present). The number is never zero. 

A: I’m so sorry to hear about the difficulties that you, our commenter, have experienced, both in terms of the original abuse and then later having the experiences resurface in your yoga class. And I’m very glad your teacher was sympathetic and that—eventually—you found ways to use yoga as a source of healing. But one thing for you to realize is that it is quite common for yoga students to cry during class (especially during backbends) for any number of reasons. So while you suspected that you were crying due to traumas resurfacing during practice, a yoga teacher could not possibly know that from your tears alone (see Baxter’s comments below about crying during class). And unless you are studying with a yoga teacher who is also a trained therapist or has taken a special training program to work with students recovering from trauma, it is actually not appropriate for an ordinary yoga teacher to try to help you with these issues.

In my training, in fact, I was specifically instructed not to try to comfort or take care a crying student. This may sound harsh but the reasoning is that, first, you can’t know why the student is crying and, second, you do not have the training to be counseling a student about emotional issues because you are not a therapist. (This is equivalent to the yoga teacher’s situation with students who have physical problems. Because we are not doctors, we should not be diagnosing and treating medical conditions in our students, but should refer them to experts for help.) At most, we were told, we could offer a more comforting yoga pose to do.

For example, once while I was assisting Rodney Yee in a backbend workshop (backbends are known for triggering tears) a student began to cry. He told me to quietly offer the student a bolster and ask her whether she wanted to set up in Supported Child’s Pose, which she did. And that seemed to help calm her. So, in general, as a teacher who is not specially trained to help students who have survived trauma or abuse, I’d say that if you start crying in a yoga pose and you feel comfortable enough to continue on, you could just allow yourself to cry. But if you do not want to continue in the pose, you should come out and take a pose that feels more comfortable to you, possibly a pose where your front body is protected (the opposite of a backbend) whether that is Supported Child’s pose, a Supported Forward Bend, or even Crocodile Pose (Makrasana) where you lie on the floor on your belly. If these types of poses don’t offer comfort, perhaps try a simple seated pose or any other pose your intuition tells you will work for—whatever feels best. And if you were to come to me after class and share with me the reason for your crying, I would recommend that you see a therapist or an expert on trauma for advice.

Supported Child's Pose

A Supported Forward Bend

Crocodile Pose

Because none of our staff members here at Yoga for Healthy Aging have expertise in that area, we won’t be responding to your comment with specific advice about the issues you raised. However, fortunately for all of us, there are some therapists and experts who do use yoga and meditation to help patients who are survivors of sexual abuse and other forms of trauma. One that was recommended to me by a reliable source (thank you, Jarvis Chen!) is Bessel van der Kolk, MD, founder of the Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute in Brookline, MA. Here is an interview with him www.traumacenter.org. 

This quote from that interview is particularly relevant for us: 

“Yoga teachers need to be aware that material will come up during class and they need to be prepared at all times to help people to calm down their bodies, by working with the breath and quieting poses. Teachers should create a safe space in the class, keep the focus on the breath and the flow of the asanas. It is best to refrain from excessive talking, explaining or preaching during the class—the job of the Yoga teacher is to help people to feel safe in every aspect of their self-experience.”

Some of van der Kolk’s associates have actually written a book on the topic Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga by David Emerson and Elizabeth Hopper, PhD. And David Emerson, director of yoga services at the Trauma Center, has a forthcoming book called Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy (see www.traumasensitiveyoga.com).

I noticed that  Emerson will be teaching a workshop on this topic in October 2014 at Kripalu (see http://kripalu.org/program/view/TSYT-142) and that the Trauma Center provides Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Teacher Training (contact demerson@traumacenter.org).

So that’s a few resources to get you—and anyone else who is concerned about this issue—started.

Now here’s something more from Baxter about how a yoga teacher should handle the general situation of a student crying in class. 

—Nina 

A: I clearly remember, during my teacher training days, the first time one of my fellow students began to cry in class. I mean, really cry loudly. I was simultaneously confused (was she in pain?) and worried about her (should I console her?). Her crying began during a restorative pose—something like Child’s pose—and it ultimately lasted a minute or two. The teacher did not directly address the crying, which was also quite curious. After class, the student shared with some of us that she was actively processing some long-standing grief and that we might expect more of such crying in the future. She had discussed it with the teacher previously, and so they had an understanding of what was happening. These crying episodes went on intermittently for months afterwards.

I also recall the first time I experienced tears during practice, also while doing Child’s pose (Balasana) in my home practice. I don’t recall the thought or feeling that preceded the tears rolling, but they sure came out. There was some sadness associated with the act of crying, but also a kind of liberation of emotion that felt quite good.

In my classes, I will occasionally notice someone crying, usually during the cool down period of class or in Savasana. But I have also seen this happen at the start of class during sitting meditation, too. If the tears are quiet, I usually observe as unobtrusively as I can, what is happening, and rarely feel the need to directly check in with the student. These are almost always regular students of mine, so I have experience working with them already and feel pretty confident that they will check in with me later if necessary. But, like Nina, I tend to focus on maintaining the practice space for all of the students and not intruding on the crying episode.

On rare occasion, if there is louder crying, as quietly as I can, I will approach the student and ask if they need anything from me. I try not to pacify or console, or imply that I know what they are going through, but continue to cultivate a safe environment for them to experience their full practice. In fact, there is no way for me to know exactly what the student is experiencing in that moment, and in some ways, it is not really my business.

As yoga teachers, we are not trained to address the emotional health of our students, as psychologists are. If a student were to approach me with questions about how to deal with difficult emotions, I would refer them to a trained therapist who can appropriately work with them. At the same time, I also can acknowledge to myself that their ongoing yoga practice may help support any work they may choose to do around emotional well-being. But ultimately, it is important to know and acknowledge the limits of my expertise as a yoga instructor and to convey that in a kind and clear way.

—Baxter

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Forbes Magazine Gives Yoga a Thumb$ Up

by Baxter

View From Above by Melina Meza

I love it when capitalist magazines find something good to say about yoga, even if it is how it is making someone lots of money. But in this case, Forbes says yoga might save the US trillions of dollars in lost productivity for our economy. How so, you ask? Why, for a start, by reducing the dropout rate from high schools in this country, rates that shockingly range from 30% in most places to over 50% in our urban “war zones.” (I call them war zones because of the continual violent backdrop that these children are subjected to day in and day out; where just walking to and from school, let alone being in school, is a constant cause for anxiety and worry about getting hurt or killed.)

What was a delight to see is one of the featured yoga experts quoted frequently in the article, BK Bose, in whose Niroga Institute in Berkeley, CA, I have had the great pleasure of teaching for the past several years. Bose, who started his career as a software engineer in the high tech industry in Silicon Valley, has more recently focused his work on bringing yoga to under-served communities, and training teachers to work with these special populations. These include classes at the Alameda County Juvenile Hall, low-income public schools and low-income senior centers, to name just a few. His work, as with most small operations around the country, is done as a non-profit venture. Even on its smaller scale, the results of the yoga classes are significant.

And after all, if we can influence the health of our youngest at an early age, that should lead to a longer, healthier life as they age (and, of course, many of our readers have school-aged children). The key underlying factor that Bose identifies as the culprit in so many of the challenges our young face is chronic stress. We have written on many occasions about the ways in which yoga can help us deal with stress. But what about in our kids, and in the growing number of kids that have to deal with gangs, substance abuse, and crime in their neighborhoods? This adds a whole new twist on doing straight up mindfulness techniques. These techniques can work quite well for children who don’t have the kinds of violent communities that Bose’s programs work with, as you will see below.

For me, as I read the article, I found one concept that comes from mind-body research defined in a new way that I could relate to from my own yoga teaching.  I often refer to the mind’s background chatter as “monkey mind” or “restless mind,” and the tendency is for this kind of thinking to have a background feeling of anxiety or stress associated with it. The following paragraph from the Forbes article talks about what mindfulness practices do to the brain, including the new phraseology “default mode network (DMN)” which I find confirming of my own observations:  

“In 2011, a Harvard study showed that mindfulness is linked to increased gray matter density in certain cortical areas, including the prefrontal cortex and regions involved in self-referential thoughts and emotion regulation. There seems to be a strong connection between mindfulness and the brain machinery involved in self-regulation. Other work has shown mindfulness to be linked to relative de-activation of the default mode network (DMN), the brain system that’s active during mind-wandering and self-referential “worry” thoughts, which are generally stressful in nature.”

Mindfulness practices, then, help us change the way we are thinking, or at least the way we are focusing our minds, which changes our stress response. For a young person, this might equate to changed behavior, in which he or she has more control over emotional reactions that might lead to trouble. Bose, however, notes that in his students who live in violent communities and are more often directly or indirectly victims of trauma, mindfulness is not going to work.  As the article points out:

“This is all well and good, Bose adds, but there’s an obvious caveat. When they’re in the midst of stress and trauma, few kids have the ability to sit still enough to take part in a sitting practice. “If you’re not ready to sit in classroom,” says Bose, “you’re not ready to do sitting meditation. If you have drugs and gangs and violence all around you, you simply can’t sit still. Teachers tell us that they often yell at kids 100 times a day to sit and pay attention. It doesn’t work. And to ask them to do this in the context of meditation can have a worse-than-neutral effect – it could be disastrous.”

He says that you have to go beyond mind-body research to trauma research, which tells us that physical activity can help the brain deal with stress and trauma.

“Trauma research tell us that we hold trauma in our bodies… Neuroscience says mindfulness; trauma research says movement. All of the sudden you’ve got moving meditation or mindfulness in motion. Mindfulness alone isn’t going to cut it for these kids.”

Even for adults who carry a lot of anxious energy stored up in their bodies, we here at Yoga for Healthy Aging have advocated for the necessity of movement practices, sometimes more vigorous yoga styles, as an initial stage in leading to deeper relaxation and stress reduction in your daily practice. Turns out to be true for kids with trauma, too.

The take-away from this Forbes exposure of yoga to a larger audience in the US and for us yogis here as well is that it may prove invaluable to teach young and old alike to do yoga, combining active asana and quieter mindfulness practices for maximum benefit. And that it would be a good idea to change policy on a national level to fund such ventures, so everyone at least has access to trying yoga, to see if it works for them. What an interesting, and possibly wonderful, world that could be! 

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