For many of us, this week leading up to the election is full of stress and anticipation. I know my heart is on edge. I hope the Biden/Harris ticket wins by a landslide and the democrats take over the senate. I started reading a book for my upcoming yoga teacher training in Ghana that talks about trauma. This has become an area of increased interest for me, not just because of my personal experiences, but because of the profound trauma our nation is currently experiencing. We have a new supreme court justice, the third appointed by a president who never won the popular vote. Out of the nine sitting justices, only four were appointed by presidents who won the popular vote, and “45” has more justices on the court than any other president, although he is undoubtedly the most damaging president in recent history. This is unjust, and injustice is trauma. Racism is trauma. Sexism is trauma. Violence is trauma. Hate is trauma. There is more than enough trauma to go around.
In the book, My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathways to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies, Resmaa Menakem makes the point that trauma is experienced in the body, not in the mind. In yoga we often say emotions are stored in the body. When I’ve been asked about the impact my yoga practice has had on my life, I often say, “Changing the position of my body changes my emotions.” Menakem’s work shines light on my words. It’s not just a feeling I had. It’s physical, mechanical, scientific. Changing the position of the body alters feelings. If you’ve ever been in extended child’s pose with your knees wide on the floor, hips pressed back to your heels, forehead against the ground and arms extended overhead, you know it is also a position of worship. You know that in this position you may feel rested and engaged, but you may also feel intense gratitude and release.
In Tuning in to New Potentials, Dr. Joe Dispenza says, “Thoughts are the language of the brain and feelings are the language of the body… Thoughts are electric, and feelings are magnetic… When you change how you think and how you feel, you broadcast a whole new electromagnetic signature.” If this is all true, the practice of yoga has the potential to change our electromagnetic signature, impacting not only how we feel, but how the world responds to us.
It seems everywhere I turn, I’m faced with this reality. Our bodies are not just the sum of their parts. Trauma affects our thoughts and feelings and is stored in the body. We emit an electromagnetic frequency based on thoughts and feelings, and we can change both through the practice of yoga. It can help to heal trauma in all its many forms.
As we approach the upcoming election week, I encourage you to find ways to move your body into healing postures, whether you actually attend a yoga class, follow along with a free class on YouTube, or simply find your way into a grounding posture like child’s pose.
Changing the position of your body can change your emotions for the better.
I wish you Freedom, Alignment and Effortless Abundance!
Trish
P.S. The photo is me in child’s pose. I’ll be hosting Mental Nectar: Current Conversations & Magic Meditations on Wednesday, November 4. I’m sure there will be plenty to discuss. Follow my YouTube page for my most recent episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ax2RUOiL-EU6aMQxQyQQA And, stay tuned for my new book, releasing on November 11, 12 Steps to Mind-Blowing Happiness: A Journal of Insights, Quotes & Questions to Juice Up Your Journey. Learn more at http://mindblowinghappiness.com
