THE HEALING POWERS OF BREATHING TECHNIQUES AND BREATH AWARENESS
How trauma shapes our life
Traumata can be caused by physical as well as emotional incidents. The causes are manifold as our life stories are unique and can cause maladaptive stress responses throughout the life. Our subconscious mind tries to protect us and causes us to react in an unwanted and uncontrolled manner. That causes overall insecurity and constant subtle stress in body and mind. Creativity, inspiration, problem solving, clear thinking and personal development are impaired. Defence systems are keeping us safe but also isolated and non-accessible towards fulfillment and living our potential. Furthermore, it restricts the healing processes in our body. Our lives become stressful and unhappy.
The subconscious programming
Why do we not heal when we realize that we experience trauma related stress responses? Our intellectual understanding is processed in a different area of our brain than the survival methods our life has taught us. While we may understand what is happening, the survival mode activates without our consent to protect us from potential harm. It is the subconscious mind that has to unlearn and process incoming information differently. To silence the unwanted program, we have to access the subtle regions of ourselves. The realm where all the forgotten events of our life are stored, our believes and conditionings.
How to break free from Trauma with Yogic techniques and Pranayama Trainings
To reset the nervous system some crucial steps are needed. How to step by step enter the subconscious mind has been known for thousands of years. All over the world traditions and cultures have developed techniques to expand awareness and gain control of mental and physical processes. These methods lead to revelations about ourselves and often cause spontaneous healing. The deep insights that we gain through the practices change our thinking, our experiences, our emotional state and can heal all the suffering that always stems from illusions. Spiritual advancement and overall health are deeply connected. Yogic approaches like Yoga Nidra and Meditation are well known and have been studied in various medical and psychological applications. The effectiveness of these practices is proven and help millions of people around the world today.
Pranayama - The Foundation for Self Healing
All Yogic practices use the breath as an anker point of awareness and self-regulation. To apply the ancient methods in the right way, you will always work with your breath. Abdominal breathing and establishing the Yogic qualities of the breath (healthy breathing) are crucial to reap the benefits of the sacred techniques. Whether in Hatha Yoga or in Yoga Nidra, you will work with your breath awareness and regulate your nervous system through the right breathing. Without breath awareness, Asanas are mere physical exercises. Establish healthy breathing and break free from inner boundaries.
Trauma in the body
Not only the mind carries information, also our body tissues store memories and programs. Stuck energy and unprocessed information cause blocks in our subtle energy system (Nadi system) as well as in our nerves, blood vessels and muscles. We can access these programs via the body. As we change the habitus, the mind changes its habits. To release trauma through physical exercises, body and mind have to be synchronized. The easiest way to achieve that is through the breath. When we calm our breath, the mind will react accordingly and we gain access to the subtle information that lingers in the back of our head. We enter a state of flow and deep relaxation of the nervous system. Here, we can access our stored programs through physical movement, tension can be released and undernourished regions are brought back to life. This is the magic of traditional Hatha Yoga, Qi Gong, Thai Chi and other spiritual practices.
Healing trauma with Pranayama
As the body-mind bridge, our breath can be used to alter hormone levels, nervous activity, blood circulation, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, blood pressure, heart rate and most importantly: our mental state! Pranayama is an essential part of Yogic practices. It cleans body and mind and quickly alters our brainwaves and all accompanying body functions. Physical (environmental toxins) and subtle information (trauma, belief systems, mal-identification, hindering thoughts) are processed and cleaned out. From detoxification to holistic healing, Pranayama knows many applications for specific needs. To advance spiritually, pacifying trauma and other harmful programs is essential and part of any dedicated Sadhana (spiritual practice). Getting rid of trauma is one of the crucial steps towards holistic health.
Caution!
To use Pranayama as a trauma healing tool, please work with caution and diligence. The ancient practices are powerful and we have to expand our capacity to face our hidden programs and memories. When you are ready to heal, Pranayama can be the most powerful instrument on your path of self-transformation!
Yoga Nidra and the breath as a trauma healing method
The science of Yoga Nidra (Yogic sleep) opens up the world of energies, information fields and epigenetic. Through complete relaxation we can enter the different layers of ourselves and release stuck information. With awareness we dive deep into the states of mind which usually are only achieved in meditation or during the deep, memoryless sleeping phases. Insights, memories and programs ascent from the depths of our subconscious mind and are brought to light, to our awareness. Here, the information can get processed and released: spontaneous healing and revelations are common in Yoga Nidra. To enter the sacred state of the lucid sleep we have to work with our breath. Through deep relaxed breathing we can descent into the subconscious realm and nourish our system as a whole during Yoga Nidra.