Yoga or something like it for PTSD?

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dryingmywings

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I have PTSD and OCD from childhood abuse. There are a lot of coping mechanisms out there but I ran through my entire list yesterday and still felt incredible anxiety.

With that background, I have heard great successes in relieving anxiety through yoga. The Catholic position seems to be that the positions in and of themselves are not prayers, just as kneeling, folding hands, or bowing heads are not prayers. The spirituality (eg yoking to gods, considering oneself a god, or embracing energies), however, is problematic and opens one up to evil.

Is there any kind of yoga that is focused on the positions and stress-relief but not the spirituality? If we could steal trees for Christmas, dressing up for All Hallows Eve, and the name Easter from fertility goddesses, is there not some hope for yoga?
 
dryingmywings said:
I have PTSD and OCD from childhood abuse. There are a lot of coping mechanisms out there but I ran through my entire list yesterday and still felt incredible anxiety.

With that background, I have heard great successes in relieving anxiety through yoga. The Catholic position seems to be that the positions in and of themselves are not prayers, just as kneeling, folding hands, or bowing heads are not prayers. The spirituality (eg yoking to gods, considering oneself a god, or embracing energies), however, is problematic and opens one up to evil.

Is there any kind of yoga that is focused on the positions and stress-relief but not the spirituality? If we could steal trees for Christmas, dressing up for All Hallows Eve, and the name Easter from fertility goddesses, is there not some hope for yoga?
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Just do the stretches and the exercises and don’t worry that it might be considered yoga. Pilates is similar, but with more focus on stretching and toning instead of relaxing. When you do deep breathing, pray some traditional prayers, such as the Hail Mary. Many people do that and aren’t even aware that the positions and relaxing are what some would call yoga. People make more out of exercises and positions than they need to.
 
I don’t know much about yoga, but I find Qigong helpful. It gets rid of my asthma and I find that it gets rid of my anxiety enough when I give presentations that I don’t shake (which was always my big problem.) The Eight Pieces of Brocade is a great place to start and it was developed to improve the health of soldiers so you don’t need to worry about it being a religious practice. It isn’t one. 👍 I have no idea if it would help with PTSD, but it is relaxing and easy to do. (The one I suggested is.)

God bless!
 
dryingmywings said:
I have PTSD and OCD from childhood abuse. There are a lot of coping mechanisms out there but I ran through my entire list yesterday and still felt incredible anxiety.

With that background, I have heard great successes in relieving anxiety through yoga. The Catholic position seems to be that the positions in and of themselves are not prayers, just as kneeling, folding hands, or bowing heads are not prayers. The spirituality (eg yoking to gods, considering oneself a god, or embracing energies), however, is problematic and opens one up to evil.

Is there any kind of yoga that is focused on the positions and stress-relief but not the spirituality? If we could steal trees for Christmas, dressing up for All Hallows Eve, and the name Easter from fertility goddesses, is there not some hope for yoga?
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Pilates is very ‘core’ centered…maybe that would help?
Sometimes, I have heard, that running or exertion can bring that stress relief/endorphin release that helps with anxiety…

Just some random thoughts…
 
dryingmywings said:
Is there any kind of yoga that is focused on the positions and stress-relief but not the spirituality? If we could steal trees for Christmas, dressing up for All Hallows Eve, and the name Easter from fertility goddesses, is there not some hope for yoga?
Click to expand...
FriendlyFace said:
I don’t know much about yoga, but I find Qigong helpful. It gets rid of my asthma and I find that it gets rid of my anxiety enough when I give presentations that I don’t shake (which was always my big problem.) The Eight Pieces of Brocade is a great place to start and it was developed to improve the health of soldiers so you don’t need to worry about it being a religious practice. It isn’t one. 👍 I have no idea if it would help with PTSD, but it is relaxing and easy to do. (The one I suggested is.)

God bless!
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Tai Chi, as well. I know anxiety and PTSD well, unfortunately, so I understand in part that aspect of your life. Tai Chi has worked for many; I mention it because of Friendly’s friendly advice of Qigong; also a good idea. My husband got me on track with the Tai Chi. What ultimately helps me is talk therapy, Eastern meditation practices and mild medication therapy, in that order. I mention Eastern because I took from that the mechanics of it, which includes calming breathing exercises; and not the philosophy behind it. Well, actually, I did but for my education, not for the practice of it. And there are many yoga classes out there that will teach the breathing and the poses without teaching the other aspect. They may state the derivation for understanding the whys and hows, but only for basic understanding, not for undermining your already firm faith. I am a Christian who will do anything to get rid of or deal with this fear, but I will NEVER stop being a Christian!!! Ain’t gonna happen!!!

God Bless and hang in there, please. Anxiety is a tough, tough thing with which to live.
:console:
 
empantarhei said:
Tai Chi, as well. I know anxiety and PTSD well, unfortunately, so I understand in part that aspect of your life. Tai Chi has worked for many; I mention it because of Friendly’s friendly advice of Qigong; also a good idea. My husband got me on track with the Tai Chi.

God Bless and hang in there, please. Anxiety is a tough, tough thing with which to live.
:console:
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Tai Chi is good too, though I haven’t had much experience with it. 👍 I hope you find relief for your anxiety and PTSD. :hug1:
 
FriendlyFace said:
Tai Chi is good too, though I haven’t had much experience with it. 👍 I hope you find relief for your anxiety and PTSD. :hug1:
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Thank you and bless you. It is and probably always will be an ongoing process. I thank God I can at least sleep now…:sleep:
 
Yoga is a series of movements designed to relax you, build up flexibility, and strength.

Tai Chi is another exercise in relaxing you and building up peace.

I know what you mean about PTSD and OCD. I found it helped to overcome PTSD by re-living stressful moments, feeling the anxiety then, and reshaping my perceptions and my emotional response to the moment. We’re obviously meant to feel something in reaction to everything - sometimes we go into a tough moment and our emotions freeze up or go into overdrive, and mentally we suppress it. I’m not a doctor, but it seems to me, that the days or weeks or months or years that we experiencing trauma and the cause of our present, periodic anxieties are going to continue to haunt us until we confront them.

I reflect upon a past moment of abuse, I experience anger and revulsion of my abuser. I experience anger, form a definite opinion of the guy (he was a slime), and I commend him to God. Sometimes, it seems the guy haunts me, and I felt anxiety, then anger, then annoyance, and then quiet disappointment against the guy who so obviously failed his end. I pray for him. I don’t have to like him; but I acknowledge there’s hope for his redemption and frankly ask that the guy suffer now for what he did, so that in doing so, he might incline his head toward God.

What I did worked well for me, because I didn’t like PTSD. It was like a bully that threatened to come out of the woodworks to kick me down into a pit of anxiety or depression.

“Eternal forgetfulness, of evil deeds past, Lord, I pray eternal forgetfulness” (based on the Byzantine prayer for the faithful departed “Eternal memory.”
 
red85 said:
I pray for him. I don’t have to like him; but I acknowledge there’s hope for his redemption and frankly ask that the guy suffer now for what he did, so that in doing so, he might incline his head toward God.
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gotcha on that though I forgot to think of it that way. I don’t like returning unkindness with unkindness, but maybe a bit of the same medicine would indeed bring about that inclination. But admittedly, I sometimes wish, and then ask for forgiveness, that the cause of my anxiety endure what I endured. (Gross negligence medically.) See how he likes it. Not nice, but understandable.
 
Friendlyface and h(name removed by moderator)forlife, I will have to look into those. Thank you for the suggestions.

empantarhei I’m sorry you can relate to the anxiety. I found a yoga class that looks safe. They have a free day, so I’m going to test that out. I also found a tai chi place, so I’ll call them and see how that one works too. I’m with ya. I’m definitely a Christian first, but if this solution falls within that parameter, I’m sure going to give it a go. Thank you for the support. You hang in there too.

red85, I had to smile at the eternal forgetfulness prayer. I had stuffed the abuse in a “forget this” file until it all fell open in my mind. Thanks for the explanations of Tai Chi and Yoga. It’s good to hear they can be non-threatening and safe. 🙂 Your method of dealing with the anger is very neat. I’m sorry you can relate too, but I hope you find lots of healing and peace.

Safe hugs to all, if ok. :hug3:
 
I like yoga for the stretching and strength, but am uncomfortable with the spiritual tone that some gym classes can take. There is a website called www.myyogaonline.com that is $10/month and has loads of classes of all different types of yoga and pilates. They offer a free 25 days before you join, and might be worth checking out for you.
 
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