What Yoga and Fifty Shades of Grey Have in Common.

Imagine you’re on your mat, arms and legs akimbo in the vulnerable position of Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) as the teacher inappropriately commands, “Now, just spread your legs wide . . . Wider.” You follow. Ignoring the sense of unease in your body. Next, they bark “Lift your butt.” You do as your told. But apparently it wasn’t enough. The teacher sidles up behind you and without asking places their palms on your buttocks pushing your pelvis skywards. You flinch. Then they transition the class to Crescent (Anjaneyasana) and ask you to “Push in deeper”. You try, but for some reason the resistance in your hip intensifies. Painfully you push through.

There’s some eyebrow-raising respite as they tell you to “Bend over,” bringing you into Forward Fold (Uttanasana), before taking the standing pose to the next level with the contorting, challenging knot of Eagle (Garudasana). Eventually, the teacher asks you to “Untie yourself” and “Lie down.” With relief, you do. But the knot seems to shift into your belly. When they finally take you into Corpse Pose (Shavasana) and ask you to “Give it up and surrender,” it’s a struggle. Your eyes keep popping open, you feel a little wired, relaxation a far off possibility, and you’re about as surrendered as Road Runner when Wile Coyote’s got him dangling over a cliff edge, terror pulsing through his veins.

You’d expect to hear this kind of language in Fifty Shades of Grey but not in a yoga class, yet sadly, these are all cues I’ve heard real teachers give in class — despite Yoga Alliance’s Code of Conduct which states that registered teachers will “avoid words and actions that constitute sexual harassment.” Such phrases, which have subtle connotations and reference to sexual acts, violence or assault, words that an abuser could well have used during a past attack on your student, could easily trigger and potentially re-traumatize anyone with a history of physical, emotional or sexual abuse. And, placing your hands on any body without asking or seeking consent is a guaranteed way to activate a trauma flashback for survivors, particularly when they’re in a vulnerable, forward facing position and you approach them from behind.

The biggest challenge for teachers is that it’s hard to see when a student is triggered or having a trauma flashback because it’s happening on a physiological and emotional level. Their nervous system is definitely not relaxing — the penultimate goal of a yoga class — but rather, it’s doing the opposite. Instead, students experience restlessness, tightness in their body, increased heart rate, anxiety, numbness, intense muscle constriction, particularly in the psoas or hips, mental restlessness and even physical pain. Emotionally students may show some visible signs, such as becoming tearful, angry or simply dissociating and checking-out from part or all of their body. Sadly, these undesirable effects can last way beyond the 60 to 90 minutes spent in the studio, particularly for those with PTSD or CPTSD, commonly undiagnosed conditions for those with a history of sustained abuse from a parent or partner.

Most of us don’t understand how trauma makes our students feel uncomfortable in their bodies, seriously impairing their ability to relax, respond and receive. We don’t understand how the vagal nerve constricts, restricting the capacity to state verbal boundaries, or speak up when something feels wrong or unacceptable. And, how this causes contraction of the psoas muscle, creating tightness, and numbness in the hips, lower back, abdominal pain, a tight jaw or frequent migraines because the psoas has been working overtime, often for a lifetime, in an attempt to protect the body when no-one else could.

In this post #MeToo era, where we’ve collectively gained a deeper understanding of the vast number of victims to sexual abuse, let alone those who’ve been exposed to the trauma of being smacked, beaten or other violence and acts of domestic assault. According to a recent World Health Organization report, worldwide 25% of children are physically abused, with 1 girl out of every 5, and 1 boy out of 13 also experiencing sexual abuse during childhood. While the United Nations report that 35% of adult women have experienced either physical or sexual violence with an intimate partner at some point in their lives, yet in some national studies this increases to 70%. Yet, potentially this is only the tip of the iceberg, as many adults normalize their abuse, or have no recall, particularly when it occurs in early childhood as the developing brain’s inability to deal with such intense experience means it gets blocked from our memory banks.

Of one thing we can be sure. Many, if not the majority of students walking into yoga classes or retreats harbor unresolved trauma in their bodies. So, as teachers, we have to ask ourselves; how prepared are we to do deal with this? How do we help establish a ‘felt sense of safety’ so students can feel truly comfortable opening up to the practice? Do we understand how our language or touch can trigger painful flashbacks — physiologically, physically or emotionally? Can we tailor classes to give the kind of healing choice that didn’t happen when these traumas occurred? Do we know how to spot signs of dissociation and help relieve suffering by helping them find their resources and ground to get them back in their body when we do? Are we able to craft a class using neutral and invitational language that will help students soften and release, rather than constrict and tighten? Most would probably have to answer No. Yet, is it really our fault? Surprisingly, the curriculum for yoga teacher training’s rarely cover the topic of trauma. Consequently, most yoga teachers have no idea of the impact that accidents, surgery, physical or sexual abuse have on the nervous system, fostering a perpetual state of fight/flight or freeze, which leads to dissociation from ourselves and specific body parts. So, what are we yogi’s to do?

Start by avoiding anything that you’d find in Fifty Shades of Grey and check out Part 2 of this article – coming soon –  The 7 Ways Yoga Teachers Can Make Their Classes More Trauma-Informed

Gemini Adams, E-RYT, C-TREP – is a trauma specialist, yoga teacher and award-winning author who is passionate about unraveling the shadowy ‘stuff’ that sits behind our suffering to bring relief and restore an authentic state of well-being to mind, body, heart and soul.  A somatic therapist and advanced TRE® practitioner, she draws on 20 years of study in the healing arts. She is the creator of Womb * Sense — a fusion of yoga, sensual movement and somatic therapy — designed to help women heal from trauma and abuse, which she’s taught to thousands of women worldwide.

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