Yes, living with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can be very challenging. Panic attacks, full body reactions, nightmares, sweaty hands, trouble sleeping, muscle pain, flashbacks to distinct memories, and more can make work and family life very difficult. When you try to sleep, all you see is your abuser. Then, when you are at work, all you can do is think of your past. I incorporate my extensive, holistic PTSD training yoga therapy training into my family counseling practice. When it comes to healing from PTSD, it can take time, months or years. To add, holistic therapy for trauma in Niantic, Connecticut can help you feel calm, safe, and confident even when you have flashbacks. And, each time you practice yoga therapy in a session, you take an active role in right brain and left brain stimulation healing your mind, body, and spirit.
If you have been through trauma, sexual abuse, childhood trauma, loss, or an abusive relationship, I would love to help you heal holistically through therapy for trauma in Niantic, Connecticut.
Right and Left Brain Stimulation In Yoga Therapy: Specialized therapy for trauma in Niantic, Connecticut
This helps to rewire your brain to experience the memory in a new positive way, without the pain that was once attached. To supplement, each person’s experiences life and sees information uniquely based on their personal experiences, context of their upbringing, life, and values. Hence, there is no wrong and no right way to do yoga therapy. Together, we adapt it for you and your child, adolescent, or teen.
Safe For Children and Teens Too!
We work together to gently care for all of you, your whole self, helping you to feel safe and confident in your abilities. Then, we work to let go of the anxiety, worry, and fear through yoga therapy.
What does yoga therapy look like?
Yoga therapy for PTSD is an opportunity to practice self-acceptance and compassionate healing. Sets of light exercises and physical movements linked with conscious breathing. Then, we processes together. Sessions are continued until the memory or feeling becomes less severe and is associated with wellness and empowering beliefs. At times, multiple sessions are required for the therapist to understand the nature of the issue and to decide if yoga therapy is an appropriate treatment.
I am glad that you are here! Let’s do this together! Call for your free 15 minute consultation to help heal PTSD (860) 451-9364.
Remember, you have come to the right place for this holistic and highly effective therapy. For instance, yoga therapy might look like a brief, guided meditation at the end of our session to close. For another session, you may ask to use your session that day for Yoga Nidra, restorative practice.
Yoga Therapy Fact: Did You Know?
Forty-five minutes of Yoga Nidra compares to eight hours of REM sleep! Keep reading below about why yoga therapy is so beneficial.
Therapy for PTSD in Niantic, CT
When working together, a typical therapeutic plan is three to ten sessions performed weekly or every other week interchangeably with traditional talk therapy. Yoga therapy may be used in addition to standard “talk” therapy. For instance, I may be your primary or secondary therapist as I am highly skilled in yoga therapy. It can be used with a separate therapist, as an adjacent, supplemental component of your overall therapeutic success, or as a treatment by itself.
The Need To Go Beyond Talking For Effective Mind-Body Healing
Traumatizing events can have a variety of physical effects of your body. These physical symptoms are often overlooked as your body’s normal trauma response. They can be complex leading to decreased immune function (you feel sick all the time), unknown pain, digestive issues (stomach aches), headaches, and problems concentrating. Even ADHD!
A Background About Trauma
When we talk about going to “the source” and beyond the symptom, the process is gentle, compassionate, and nurturing. Trauma can come in many forms, shapes and sizes. Society does an injustice to trauma victims as only some forms of trauma are validated and ritualized openly. Sexual abuse is considered a big “T” trauma, because more legal ramifications are involved, whereas being bullied on the playground may be considered little “t” trauma, but both can be equally distressing and everlasting for the survivor.
Your Beginning, Childhood Trauma, and Sexual Abuse
Start by thinking back to your earliest memory from your childhood. Present day feelings and triggers are often times an old imprint speaking up. For instance, say, Jimmy, a child who is five years old is abused by a parent and life continues on for him. For another child trauma may look like losing a parent suddenly and unexpectedly.
Trauma blueprint: therapy for trauma in Niantic, Connecticut
The physical shock and harm is short-term, but is held within the body long-term. First, the experience of abuse creates a trauma blueprint or video recording in and on the body on all levels. Even years after the experience has passed and Jimmy, from the above example has grown up and now has a family of his own. Any touch that passes over this old blueprint of trauma can trigger a host of emotions. When these old parts of himself surface, his family and family are greatly benefited to also work with a trauma-sensitive therapist.
Survival Mode and Your Immune System: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Retreat
Most of the time children go into survival mode when they experience trauma. Instead of the mind-body connection remaining unified, in order to survive, the brain is intelligent and thinks of something wonderful instead. This is called disassociating, which is such an organically intelligent action for self-protection and positive coping skill in the midst of trauma, but becomes a negative coping skill once you are free and safe from trauma.
Freeing Your Body From Trauma: holistic art in therapy for trauma in Niantic, Connecticut
Since the traumatic experience is so intense to take in at the time and so upsetting, the child’s mind automatically leaves their body. However, the memory of the trauma is stored in the muscles, nervous system, organs, tissues, and mind. People are often diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD because of these distressing events.
Old Therapies: The Problem & Why They Don’t Work
Many ineffective, old-mindset therapists hold the perspective that in order to heal, a person must retell every detail their trauma story over and over again. This approach often re-traumatizes the victim leading to Complex-PTSD. I allow you to lead and give the space to share only as much as they are comfortable with at your own time.
- People with PTSD were 23 times more likely to develop depression.
- People with PTSD had higher levels of sympathetic nervous system activation. (Think freeze, retreat, fight, flight).
- After six months, 45% of people with PTSD remained significantly symptomatic (meaning treatment didn’t do anything and the treatment didn’t treat the root cause).
Essential aspects to healing and beginning your recovery are learning ways, coping skills, and present-moment/present-mind techniques to calm down, foster resilience, and self-regulate.
The Need for Compassionate Yoga Therapy for Mind, Body, and Spirit
When a person experiences trauma, their nervous system automatically shifts from a calm, relaxed state to a hyper-aroused state, like a person always on the lookout for the worst fearing it will happen at any moment. When trauma to your body happens over and over, the relaxation response within you known as the parasympathetic nervous system, forgets how to work or turn back on. Learning to relax after trauma is like learning to ride a bike for the first time or re-learning how to walk again, so it is important to be compassionate with yourself along the way.
Evidence-Based Research
More recently, evidence-based research by Emmerson, van der Kolk, Streeter, and many others have shown that yoga practices including meditation, relaxation, conscious breathing, physical postures, and the spiritual connection can reduce autonomic sympathetic activation, relax muscle tension, and lower blood pressure, improve neuroendocrine and hormonal activity, uplift mood, and increase quality of life.
Parasympathetic Nervous System
Yoga helps to soothe the physical discomfort of living in your body that was violated. As you work with your therapist, emotional aspects of returning to live in your body may arise. Healing means being open to changing your physical blueprint, as well as your mental attitude about the events. This may be one of the most difficult parts of the process. Seeing the past an old chapter, something that helped you become the amazing being you are today, is vital for moving forward. Through yoga therapy, healing is possible.
Uplift Your Mood Through Holistic Therapy for Trauma Healing in Niantic, Connecticut
After only eight weeks of a 75-minute weekly yoga class, all aspects of PTSD improved for participants including as uplifted mood was seen, a decrease in low mood days was significant, and an increase in self-awareness was reported. Yoga therapy is a very gentle vehicle for your evolution and transformation for a life of healing relaxation.
What is Yoga Nidra? Deep Sleep, Restorative, Relaxing, and Calming Beyond Imaginable
Yoga nidra is known as a deep, divine, conscious, and restorative sleep. A regular practice is a healthy habit that rests, nourishes, and renews the body, mind, and spirit. In addition to traditional talk therapy, yoga nidra can be interwoven. I began offering it as an opportunity to help my clients process and release much of their accumulated stress and tension that was causing physical pain and mental fogginess.
Holistic therapy for trauma in Niantic, Connecticut with Katie Ziskind
All you do is lay down, listen to my voice guiding you, and receive the positive-psychology-focused benefits. I gently speak to the layers of your being beginning with a body scan meditation. This technique is to unwind your worries, heal wounds within and build healthy relationships, and rejuvenate your body, mind, and spirit. Lots of pillows and blankets are used to help you feel cozy and supported. Know that all feelings are welcome when you practice yoga nidra. This a caring, supportive, gentle experience, just for you.
Creative, artsy, holistic, empowering therapy for trauma in Niantic, Connecticut
With clients who are seen weekly, we talk about if you have an interest. Then, we pick an upcoming session to do yoga nidra. We begin by using use one, 45 minute session a month to guide you into a 30-40 minute yoga nidra.
Benefits of seeking regular therapy for trauma in Niantic, Connecticut
- Experience a deep release of muscular, mental, and emotional relaxation and peace.
- Sooth your autonomic nervous system and bring your parasympathetic nervous system back in balance.
- Construct new neuropath ways in your brain, which lead to healthy habits, choices, and routines.
- Increase quality and amount of sleep you get each night.
- Improve creativity and functioning of your whole brain.
- Enhance your mental focus and attention span.
- Reduce any suffering from chronic pain by building your mind-body connections.
- Create more ease, presence, and peace of mind in your daily life.
- Decrease your impulsive, emotional reactions such as anger or aggression, especially when connected to past trauma and PTSD.
Call/Text Wisdom Within Counseling for a phone consultation for PTSD therapy 860-451-9364
Your Valuable Tools
Yoga Nidra is a spiritual tool for all people to incorporate regularly into their self-care routines for deep relaxation and self-awareness. Classes, CD’s, and YouTube are great for this. Once you feel comfortable with the practice, you may have such positive emotions about it, that you want to share it with another person. You can incorporate it with your clients (in any profession) or with your loved ones at home. Sometimes, children enjoy yoga nidra before bed. In time, I can teach you how to do this for your child’s relaxation.
A Soothing, Safe Tone of Voice
When you are guiding a loved one, take the time to find a soothing, calm, and even tone of voice. Even when searching for a yoga nidra recording and practice on YouTube, the voice of the guide make a difference. Various yoga nidra classes are taught throughout the state of Connecticut and there are many available recordings online, see my Free Info page here for my favorites.
About Katie Ziskind, the author, holistic specialist in trauma therapy in Niantic, Connecticut
Written by Katie Ziskind, LMFT, RYT500. At Wisdom Within Counseling, in Niantic, CT I help challenged children develop social skills and teens heal from trauma. My mission is to help boost self-confidence for life-long wellness. I integrate evidenced-based experiential therapies for a highly effective mixed methods approach integrating art, yoga, music, and animal therapy groups- so children and teens can build positive skills and live a life they LOVE! Read more at WisdomWithinCt.com.
