I didn’t know that Yoga was such a place to suffer. My preconceived notion of it was that it was a place to stretch and relax—it’s not. Yoga is hard for me. As a big, tall and admittedly inflexible guy, yoga kicks my butt. Yet, I find myself continuing to go while also encouraging many of my clientele and friends to join me. According to Bessel Van Der Kolk’s landmark book on Trauma, The Body Keeps the Score, yoga can be more efficacious in the healing process for trauma than any medication we’ve studied in the context of treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Yoga isn’t just for people with PTSD though; in fact, you do not need to have a mental health diagnosis to benefit from yoga and I’d say that yoga studios actually need to lean into the trauma piece more to bring out the trauma community.  Yoga comes in many forms and variations. Some classes lead you through positions at a quick tempo resulting in a more cardiovascular workout while other classes Read more [...]