Trauma lives in the body. Not metaphorically: a documented neurophysiological reality that changes how we understand human suffering and how we accompany it. Stephen Porges’s polyvagal theory (2011) has shifted the paradigm. And yoga, when applied with trauma sensitivity, is one of the tools most coherent with that theory.
Here is how trauma works from a polyvagal perspective, why certain yoga practices regulate the autonomic nervous system in people with trauma history, and how to apply them safely. I write from training in trauma-sensitive yoga and clinical practice in grief groups.
Polyvagal theory in a few lines
The autonomic nervous system has three states (not two), according to Porges:
- Ventral vagus (modern parasympathetic): social connection, alert calm, presence. The well-being state.
- Sympathetic: fight or flight. Mobilisation against threat.
- Dorsal vagus (ancient parasympathetic): freeze, dissociation, shutdown. The response when fight or flight isn’t viable.
Trauma is, among other things, a nervous system stuck in sustained sympathetic, or worse, alternating between sympathetic and dorsal vagal without recovering ventral. The internal feeling: never quite relaxing, or completely dissociating when something activates you.
Why trauma-sensitive yoga works
Trauma-sensitive yoga — developed by Bessel van der Kolk and David Emerson at the Boston Trauma Center — works because:
- It returns control to the practitioner. Each posture is invitation, not instruction. Autonomy is therapeutic in people who lost control during trauma.
- It trains interoception gradually. Learning to notice the body from curiosity, not fear.
- It activates ventral vagus through breath and sound. Vagus-stimulating techniques help exit sustained sympathetic.
- It doesn’t require narrating what happened. Unlike verbal psychotherapy, it doesn’t ask you to tell the story for it to work.
The 5 core practices
1. Conscious self-touch
Hands on chest, on shoulders, in cross-arm hug, on forehead. Conscious tactile stimulation activates vagal neurons and produces a sense of safety. Applicable any time of activation.
2. Breath with prolonged exhale
4-6 or 4-8 (inhale 4, exhale 6 or 8). Activates the vagal brake directly.
3. Sustained sound
OM, bhramari, soft chant. Vocal vibration stimulates the vagus nerve through vocal cords and laryngeal connection. Connects with therapeutic voice work.
4. Voluntary slow movement
Cat-cow, slow shoulder circles, gentle rocking. Voluntarily chosen slow movement communicates to the nervous system “I’m safe, there’s time”.
5. Postures with abundant support
Assisted savasana with a weighted blanket (some use a 4-7 kg thick blanket providing deep pressure), bolsters under the knees, pillow under the head. Deep pressure sends proprioceptive signals that increase bodily safety.
“The body keeps the score. The body remembers. And the body is also where trauma can begin to release.”
Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score (2014)
What to absolutely avoid
- Yoga in very full or intense group classes in acute post-trauma phase.
- Activating pranayamas (kapalabhati, bhastrika, breath of fire).
- Postures generating postural vulnerability (deep pigeon, deep malasana) without prior safety work.
- Teachers who touch students without explicit conscious permission. Essential to choose a properly trained professional.
- Very loud music or dysregulating environment in class.
How to combine with psychotherapy
Trauma-sensitive yoga is complementary to psychotherapy, never substitute. The most recommended combination in clinical literature:
- Trauma-informed psychotherapy (EMDR, brainspotting, somatic experiencing) as the spine of the process.
- Trauma-sensitive yoga 1-2 times per week as bodily regulation practice.
- Daily self-administered practice of 10-15 minutes at home for maintenance.
Important: if the trauma is recent or acute, stabilisation with psychotherapy first. Yoga can enter in a later phase, when minimum baseline regulation has been restored.
In my therapeutic yoga work I integrate these practices, especially when accompanying grief (where the traumatic component is frequent). Free initial conversation.
