I recently saw an article in the Huffington Post about how yoga teachers should have an understanding of trauma. The fact that yoga teachers must understand mental health is an indication of the profound importance of yoga in our lives.
Everyone has a story. Everyone has had hardships. As a yoga teacher, I dont know what each person has had to go through in order to get to yoga class today.
Stuff comes up in yoga class because every experience we have is either held or processed by the body, not just trauma. {Tweet this} Thats why crying occurs in yoga class and is totally okay. Its the body processing something that needs to be processed. The mind may not even know what the crying is about and thats okay too. It means that other parts of our being, outside of our intellect, are handling the situation.
Being a yoga teacher not only requires knowledge of postures, Sanskrit, or what yoga mat is the least slippery, but we must also have a strong sense of compassion and empathy. We must let go of ego and expectation. Otherwise, we can do damage.
As yoga teachers, we have an opportunity to bring value into the world. We must understand the importance of yoga and its impact on mental health. We can guide people through the process of handling the emotions that arise with gentleness, patience, and compassion for themselves.
When the teacher steps aside and makes space for whatever arises, the yoga practice is an opportunity for each person to live their out own story in their own way.
As a yoga teacher, if I impose an expectation that participants should have a certain kind of experience at a particular moment, I am not teaching yoga; instead, I am being guided by my own ego and this has nothing to do with the lives of the people on the mat in my classes.
THE IMPORTANCE OF YOGA TO OUR MENTAL HEALTH
When it comes to people dealing with emotion and trauma, here are some things Ive seen happen in yoga classes:
1) People being puzzled by their own emotions and bodies. They are not sure what they are feeling and they want to understand what it is and why its happening. Why do I cry? Why do I feel exhausted? Why do I lose my focus? Why am I cranky?
I suggest that we let go of the search for why and instead try to allow the body time and space to process the emotion in its own way. The body processes our experiences much the same way our daily lives are transmuted in our dreams. {Tweet this} It is beyond intellect and it can come to a satisfactory conclusion without any involvement of the intellect.
There are parts of our beings that work things out on their own. Its a kind of mojo that is not quantifiable but when we allow it to act on its own it can lead to satisfaction, contentment, security, and joy.
2) A woman trying yoga for the first time bursts out crying during Savasana . Her adult son was there and reached out to comfort her. I put a hand on her shoulder then silently waited a moment. She said she didnt understand why she was crying. I told her stuff comes up in yoga sometimes. Things have been stored there for perhaps a long time.
I didnt ask her, Whats wrong? I felt that was the incorrect question for a number of reasons. Crying means something is being processed and this is a helpful thingthe emotional energy is not remaining in the flesh to be held and remain stagnant. {Tweet this} Crying doesnt mean someone is doing something wrong. Also, in that moment, she didnt know why she was crying, so she could not have explained what was going on.
Plus, the details are really none of my business. I told her she could have the yoga room for as long as she wanted. She and her son remained there after class was finished.
3) People trying to control their bodies in yoga class in a rigid way. For people who are uncertain and have insecurities or anxiety, a sense of security is gained by controlling what is happening around them. The world seems less dangerous when they have a sense of control over themselves and their surroundings. There may be a fear of letting go. I believe this is okay too.
As a yoga teacher, during classes, I encourage people to let go and relax. However, I realize that a sense of safety and containment is equally important. People will let go on their own timeits not up to me to force it on them.
YOGA IS UNION WHETHER WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF IT OR NOT
Yoga is not just a specific kind of class that happens in a particular kind of room on a special kind of mat. Yoga is an experience of union the disparate parts of our being becoming fused and re-establishing their equilibrium. This fusion arises when we are ready for it and open to it.
The union is also a transformative experience. There may be some pain as the metamorphosis progresses and rebalancing occurs, but in the end it can lead to a sense of groundedness and a sense of security that is infused with joyful freedom.
When we let go of the expectation that the joy will arrive at a certain time, we find even more freedom.
The more I teach and write about it, the more I come to see the importance of yoga to our emotional health.