When Being In Your Body Feels Uncomfortable: On Yoga and Learning to Listen When the Body Speaks

The practice of Yoga can place us in a rather direct conversation with our bodies. You may notice that one side moves differently from the other. A pose may reveal limitations you weren't expecting. A room full of bodies may invite comparison. Clothing may suddenly feel too tight, too revealing, or simply uncomfortable.

Or perhaps you have spent years believing that exercise is punishment for gaining weight rather than an opportunity to care for yourself. These reactions deserve curiosity rather than shame.

Research suggests yoga may support greater body appreciation and satisfaction over time. But getting there may involve confronting some uncomfortable beliefs about your body first. This is where therapy and a different approach to yoga can help.

Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Invites You to See Things Differently

Sometimes yoga classes can be quite directive…with direct instructions on how to pose and when to move and very little room to explore or go at your own pace. Trauma-sensitive yoga is different, it doesn't assume that deeper, harder, or more uncomfortable movement is better. Instead, there is an emphasis on choice.

Rather than, “Now, close your eyes,” you decide whether your eyes remain open.

Rather than forcing yourself into a pose, you notice what movement feels available to you today.

Rather than someone telling you what you should feel, you are invited to notice what you are experiencing. You get to practice connecting with that feeling rather than avoiding it or shaming yourself for having a different experience than your neighbor on the mat next to you. As a therapist this is a yoga style I can get behind.

That is because Trauma-sensitive yoga specifically emphasizes 4 things: interoception, choice-making, invitational language, and noncoercion. You are encouraged to connect with sensations in your body in a different way and have the autonomy to make choices about when you move and how long you hold a pose. In class you are being invited rather than being told what to do. Allowing space for you to fully experience yourself in the moment is kind of the point. In addition, trauma sensitive yoga's emphasis on experiencing the body from the inside—what the body feels like and what the body can do—rather than focusing primarily on how the body looks – is the secret to how it affects body image in a positive way. Did I mention it is backed by decades of research?

While the research supports this approach and validates the experience of many who came to yoga on their own, Yoga is best understood as a complement to established trauma and anxiety treatment rather than a replacement for it.

Yoga and Therapy: Grow with the Flow

As a complement to therapy for anxiety and depression or PTSD symptoms, yoga gives you an opportunity to practice some of what you are learning in therapy through the body.

Anxiety is not only experienced through our thoughts; it can show up as muscle tension, changes in breathing, restlessness, a racing heart, or that familiar feeling of being unsettled. Through movement, breath, and mindful attention, yoga provides opportunities to notice these sensations and practice responding to them differently. Skills we may talk about in therapy—slowing down, grounding, noticing without immediately reacting, tolerating uncomfortable sensations, and recognizing when your body is becoming activated—can be practiced on the yoga mat. The goal isn't to gain perfect control over your body or make anxiety disappear. It is to develop a greater sense of choice in how you respond when anxiety shows up, and perhaps greater trust that an uncomfortable sensation does not always mean something is wrong.

If yoga, exercise, meditation, or another wellness practice has been recommended to help with your anxiety, depression, or burnout and you find yourself repeatedly avoiding it, consider bringing that experience into therapy. Not so your therapist can convince you to do yoga, but so you can become curious together.

In therapy there is more room to explore the questions you might be willing to ask yourself:

What am I afraid I might feel?

What happens when I slow down?

What do I notice when I pay attention to my body?

What have I learned to believe about my body?

Maybe after reading this, you still believe yoga isn't for you, and that’s ok there are many paths toward wellness. But if you are curious whether your resistance is telling you something worth understanding better, consider discussing it in therapy.

As we firmly enter fall, consider this an invitation not necessarily to master a pose, become more flexible, or even call yourself a yogi. Maybe your practice begins much earlier than that. Perhaps it begins by becoming curious about what it feels like to live inside your own body—and discover, slowly and on your own terms, that you are allowed to have a different relationship with it. If you are ready to learn more, reach out to us at 872-529-1982 for a FREE 15 minute consultation call or email admin@chicagopsych.org to see how we can help!