Shanti Blog

Triggers and emotive responses:

It’s not unusual to feel emotions coming up in yoga classes that you don’t usually feel, or don’t expect. 

A trigger can be described stimulus that may cause someone an emotional or physical response or worsen symptoms of mental illness. 

Techniques used in Yoga can sometimes bring up some deep emotive responses. 

I’ve cried in yoga classes. Had overwhelming emotional responses. It can come up unexpectedly and the unknown feeling can make me feel uncomfortable, especially in a room of people that I don’t really know. 

Yoga incorporates mindfulness practices and invites students to practice self-reflection. This can evoke painful feelings or memories, sometimes associated with traumatic events.

It’s very important you feel safe in these circumstances. 

Therefore, group classes are not always suitable for people in active addiction to substances or people struggling with severe mental illness, as both the practice and response to the practice can trigger a worsened mental state.

Every class is very different, many yoga teachers have a plethora of trainings and experiences bringing their own unique offering to a class or session.

If you are on a healing journey with yoga, it’s important you feel comfortable and safe in the classes you choose.  Be sure to keep reading for some guidance if you ever do feel triggered. 
 

Yoga Therapy:

Yoga supports our peace of mind, stress reduction and mental clarity.  On a physical level it improves our bodily functions, supports healing and the practices are proven to tone major organs, keeping us as healthy as we can be. 

The breathing techniques, we call Pranayama can reduce physiological arousal and calm the nervous system, which help manage symptoms of anxiety, hypervigilance, and hyperarousal commonly associated with trauma.

It’s accessible and a truly practice for everyone, with the correct support mechanisms in place when used for therapeutic purposes. 

Yoga Therapy as a practice, blends the ancient wisdom of yoga with modern, evidence-based practices. It’s person-centered and tailors’ interventions to needs of the individual.

Yoga as a therapy has its foundations in the Koshas framework which explains the human experience as five interconnected layers:  Physical, energetic, mental/emotional, wisdom/intuition, and spiritual/connectedness. All these aspects of self-contribute to well-being.

A trauma informed yoga class focuses on creating a supportive environment tailored to the needs of the students in the class.  In a trauma informed yoga class safety and choice is paramount.  The teacher or studio will strive to accommodate the diverse experiences and range of often complex needs of the students. Classes will be smaller in size and much slower in content. Activity will gently introduce mindfulness to promote and work towards self-awareness, alongside practices to develop resilience and promoting healing.

At Shanti Bee we are a trauma aware space. We host trauma informed classes as part of our Steady Souls program.

While we can’t promise to illuminate all triggers, as who can. We will do all we can to minimize them and hold an inclusive, safe and empowering space.

We are a supportive and inclusive community. We hold this space so that our members can practice with others who may have similar experiences supporting their healing journey. 

What if I’m triggered?

Trauma can show up in your body, during a class, or after a session. Understanding that it is a response and part of a process which you are doing to support your healing is important. 

Breathe

If you experience sensations or emotions arising in your body that feel overwhelming or distressing, or perhaps you can’t connect to how it makes you feel, pause from the practice and take several deep breaths. Taking an equal inhale and exhale is a great way of regulating, inhale for 5, exhale for 5. 

Breathing deeply can help activate the body’s relaxation response and create a sense of grounding.

Check-in 

Take a moment to check in with yourself. If you’re able to can you observe the physical sensations, emotions, or thoughts that arise without reaction. We’ve written some thoughts on the importance of checking in you can read here.

Modifications 

If certain poses or movements are triggering a physical or emotional response, can you modify your practice?  It’s nice to find movements that suit you and if you are not sure, your teacher should have a few modifications up there sleeve in case of this situation. 

Remember that you can choose to opt out any time you like and take a child’s pose, for example or simply take a break and focus on gentle movements and breathwork in a comfortable seated position, eyes can be closed or open. 
Closed eyes is nice as it removes any external stimuli. 

Self-compassion

Be gentle with yourself. We are human and we have boundaries – some which we know about and others which we find out about along the way. 

Prioritizing yourself is the best place you can be in.

Let others know

Letting the teacher know, or talking to a therapist, friend or family member about it can help. Guidance comes in all shapes and sizes. 

Benefits:

• Catch symptoms before they get worse
Early intervention is often the key to effective treatment. Checking in will allow you to see any symptoms. If you journal your check ins, it will act as a great tool for seeing how much you’ve improved, or perhaps sometimes declined and noting these times can prevent it becoming unmanageable.

• Build emotional awareness
Asking ourselves how we feel about things such as events in our life or themes circulating in our community, can help us to gain insight into our emotional patterns and behaviors which leads to healthier coping strategies.

We have a term ‘Samskaras’ in yoga – this term describes the subtle impressions of our past actions, or the imprints left on the mind by past experiences. When our habitual patterns become so ingrained that they alter our body chemistry, it can be called addiction. When they become strong enough to alter our thinking process, we call it “samskara.” It’s like a deep groove in our mind patterns.

Remember though, just as habits are formed through repetition, they can also be transformed with conscious effort and awareness.

Yoga teaches us that through awareness and practice, samskaras can be shifted, helping us cultivate new, healthier responses. Checking in on a regular basis, we become increasingly aware of our own patterns, learn responses and triggers that affect us day to day.

• Build Long-Term Coping Skills
Checking in in a therapeutic context isn’t just about addressing problems; it’s about building long-term emotional resilience.
Whether you’re navigating relationships, work pressure, or on a path of personal growth, consciously checking in with yourself can go a long way in supporting wellbeing.

What does it look like?

Even when life is relatively calm, we are still processing emotions. Checking in, is always useful – as a proactive means of wellbeing and as a reactive tool for healing and transformation.

• 1:1 talking therapy is one of the best resources for checking in, providing a held, consistent space and professional space. Therapy sessions are a proactive way of understanding yourself and the world we live in and can be extremely helpful in helping us build an emotional toolkit to navigate life’s ups and downs with more ease.
Yoga classes, 1:1 holistic therapies, immersive workshops or retreat weekends can help us find clarity, focus and ‘head space’ that we need to create a suitable environment for checking in with ourselves. In classes we are often guided to observe, feel or connect to our ‘self’, while the movement and breathing exercises help us release tension held in the body.

• Mindful practice in group or 1:1 class support us in observing the coming of thoughts and emotions without becoming lost or stuck in their narratives. The practice of witnessing, without reaction creates a space for conscious response rather than reactive or learnt conditioning.

• Sound Therapy like mantra – a sacred sound, singing, gongs and bowls help break through layers of our emotions, or we could say disperses stuck energy helping us own the space again.
Chanting sacred sounds or mantras creates resonance within the mind, loosening the grip of deeply embedded imprints which helps foster a sense of inner shanti.

• Journaling is a written tool for self-reflection, and it gives us a tangible means of bringing patterns to the surface, allowing for a conscious measure, or observation.

Checking in is a great thing to make a habit with – but don’t be disheartened if you don’t have a regular practice, or if you slip out of doing it often.

It’s a very intuitive practice – tools we can pick up, when life hands us a reason too.

The hard thing of course is committing the time to it.