The bottom-up approach to healing
Trauma is not just an event that happened in the past; it is a physiological state that continues to live in the present. When a person experiences trauma, the nervous system gets stuck in a state of hyperarousal (fight or flight) or hypoarousal (freeze or collapse). This dysregulation occurs in the primitive, non-verbal parts of the brain and the physical tissues of the body.
You cannot simply think your way out of a physiological response. To heal trauma, you must send signals of safety from the body up to the brain. This is the essence of a bottom-up approach. Therapeutic yoga provides a structured, safe environment to change the body's physical state, which in turn changes the brain's perception of danger.
Reclaiming the body
One of the most profound effects of trauma is a sense of disconnection from the physical body. To survive an overwhelming experience, the mind often dissociates from the body. After the trauma, the body may feel like an unsafe place, leading to numbness, chronic pain, or a reluctance to feel physical sensations.
Yoga gently invites you back into your body. Through precise alignment and mindful movement, you begin to map your internal landscape. You learn to track sensations—the stretch of a muscle, the expansion of the ribs during an inhale—without being overwhelmed by them. This process, called interoception, is a critical step in reclaiming ownership of your physical self.
"Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life, where you do not feel like you are constantly trying to fit broken pieces together." — B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life
The role of the nervous system in yoga
In therapeutic Iyengar yoga, we use specific shapes and breathing techniques to directly manipulate the nervous system. If the nervous system is stuck in fight or flight (anxiety, hypervigilance), we use forward extensions and longer exhales to mechanically stimulate the vagus nerve and initiate the parasympathetic (rest and digest) response.
If the nervous system is stuck in freeze (depression, lethargy, dissociation), we use gentle backbends and standing poses to safely mobilize energy and bring the system back online without triggering panic. The goal is not just to relax, but to restore flexibility to the nervous system so it can respond appropriately to the present moment.