What is Reiki and How Does it Work?

I was introduced to Reiki about twenty year ago when my mother was receiving reiki treatments from a friend at her church in Wilton, Maine. She loved the Reiki and couldn’t believe how well it worked for alleviating the pain she experienced from rheumatoid arthritis.  I later received Reiki in a hospital setting during a typically painful biopsy. I experienced no pain during the procedure.  These experiences led me to seek Reiki attunement and training as a Holy Fire® Reiki Master.

Reiki is a form of biofield energy therapy. Other biofield energy therapies include Qigong, Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch, and Acupuncture. Reiki is applied through gentle non-invasive touch, with the practitioner laying thier hands either on (or just above) specific regions of the body.  The goal of Reiki is to assist the body's own restorative processes.  The literal translation of “Reiki”  is derived from Japanese:   “rei” meaning “universal” and “ki” meaning “life energy.” 

In the United States alone,  fifteen top academic hospitals including Duke, Yale, and John Hopkins, now offer Reiki.  Across the network of Boston hospitals at least 10 physicians receiving Reiki treatments as part of a grant from the Maynard Family Foundation went on to pursue Reiki training themselves,  something that would be unheard of 20 years ago.  Well over four thousand Reiki  treatments have been provided at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospitals in the Boston region and beyond. (Leskowitz, MD) Alongside this are a growing number of scientific studies that have demonstrated that Reiki reduces pain, anxiety, depression, and even blood pressure in patients suffering from a range of medical conditions.  For instance, one study at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut demonstrated increased overall patient satisfaction with Reiki treatments.  The findings indicated that during pregnancy Reiki improved patient sleep by 86%, reduced pain by 78%, reduced nausea by 80%, and reduced anxiety by 94%. Other studies have shown that Reiki has positive results for individuals in hospice and end-of-life transitions .

We are so used to thinking of things in solid physical terms that the idea of reiki, or some other form of “energy,” having an effect on the body sounds mystical or woo-woo even if it is electric or magnetic,  Most of us have had the direct experience of feeling stressed around a stressed person or even relaxed when we encounter a calming presence. Our nervous systems are open systems.   The mirror neuron system (MNS) in the brain actually facilitates emotional contagion— the transference of emotional states between people.  

The biofield, an electric and magnetic field,  flows in, through and around living organisms.  All biological organisms owe their very existence to electric or magnetic fields;  for example, the heart generates and electric field that regulates its rhythm.  The electric field of the heart, which an ECG measures, is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the electric field of the brain, which we measure with an EEG.   

Bioflield energy therapies like Reiki typically activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which assists the immune system and enhances the body’s natural healing processes.  Researchers have measured the biofield using gas discharge visualization (GDV) and other bioelectromagnetic techniques.  

Many people report that Reiki has helped them heal from complex emotions, insomnia, and low self-esteem, all of which are associated with early recovery.  Moreover, individuals who receive Reiki report that they benefit spiritually. Following a Reiki treatment it is not uncommon for people to report feeling more connected with themselves and others, and less attached to unhealthy habits and mental behavior patterns.

Research Publications

Reviews of eleven studies have identified the benefits for Reiki in mental health care. Holist Nurs Pract 2021 July-Aug; 35(4) 191-198

There is reasonably strong support for Reiki as a safe and gentle “complementary” therapy that activates the parasympathetic nervous system to heal body and mind. It has potential for broader use in management of chronic health conditions, and possibly in postoperative recovery. Research is needed to optimize the delivery of Reiki. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med. 2017 Oct ;22 (4):1051-1057.

Reiki has ancient roots but is uniquely suited to modern nursing practice. Relaxation, pain relief, physical healing, reduced emotional distress, and a deepened awareness of spiritual connection are among the benefits of Reiki. J NY State Nurses Assoc. 2003 Spring-Summer; 34 (1) 9-13

In a study of women who had total knee arthroplasty Reiki therapy sessions resulted in statistically significant reductions in pain. Nursing 2016 Feb; 46 (2) 17-23

Evidence suggests that Reiki therapy may be effective for pain and anxiety relief (literature review). Pain Manag Nurs 2014 Dec; 15 (4): 897-908

Reiki therapy is useful for relieving pain, decreasing anxiety/depression and improving quality of life in in several conditions. Preliminary results tend to show some positive effects of Reiki therapy for the end-of-life population. BMJ Support Palliat Care 2019 Dec, 9 (4): 434-438.

One meta-analysis revealed that Reiki was an effective approach in relieving pain. Complement Ther Clin Pract 2018 May; 31:384-387

A limited number of studies show that Reiki applied to patients with cancer has a positive effect on pain. Holst Nurs Pract 2023; 37 (5): 265-276

Complementary and alternative medicine in hospice and Palliative Care may provide limited short term benefit in patients with symptom burden. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2018 Nov; 56 (5) 781-794.e4

Some Complementary Alternative Medicine therapies (Reiki) may help reduce post-CS pain for up to 24 hours. Cochrane Databaase Syst Rev 2020 Sept 1;9(9);CD01126

Doorways

Whether it’s going outside the castle walls, entering a home, crossing into a sacred space, or stepping into a new phase of life, doorways symbolize the passage of time and the transformation that occurs as we move from one phase of life to another. Like my yoga teacher Rose pointed out this week: “Nothing lasts forever, Barb.” Yup. Yoga is one doorway I move through every day, so that I might learn to notice and embrace the truth of impermanence.

We will pass through many doorways. We may choose to go in to and out of some, while life pushes us across others, kicking and screaming. After passing over some thresholds, we can’t turn back, and are never the same again. Whether we have chosen it or not—a doorway can leave us blank and empty, wondering who we are. And what to do next, if anything.

But doorways know. They know that “I am my silence. I am not the busyness of my thoughts or the daily rhythm of my actions. I am not the stuff that constitutes my world. I am not my talk. I am not my actions. I am my silence. I am the consciousness that perceives all these things. When I go to my consciousness, to that great pool of silence that observes all the intricacies of my life, I am aware that I am me. I take a little time each day to sit in silence so that I can move outward in balance to the great clamour of living.”

May we all take a little time each day this Summer to walk through the doorways of stillness and silence. So that we might come closer to who we really are.

Mama Karma

Old Man of Storr, Isle of Skye, Scotland

I just returned from a trip to Scotland with my daughter and her partner. It was an adventurous trip for us. We hiked the Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye, dipped our faces in the fountain of youth, met a rebel designer named Claire, and learned that my affinity for wandering is highly regarded as the “Right to Roam. “ In Scotland trespassing as a concept and law do not exist. We also threw the ashes of my recently deceased brother overboard into the Loch Ness and met a ghost in the underground vaults of Edinburgh. Lots of discovery, the most meaningful of which was that regardless of our itinerary were truly happy and excited to share the experiences. We are free to “be” together, and our space is open and unconditional. I am beyond grateful that this is our relationship today. It feels like good karma.

It all brought me back to the karma I had with my mothers, and the messages and conditioning I received from them about myself — all of which were a direct result of all the messaging and conditioning they received about themselves (their karma) from their own families. My mothers became a narrative for me, a tale of two mothers, two lives, and two choices. Both of my mothers had babies out of wedlock in the 50’s and 60’s, a time when this was not well accepted by society. My adoptive mother kept her first baby and my biological mother mother did not. We all have the right to choose that which we can live with. Each to her own karma.

When we see clearly, we become aware of karma’s ripple effect and surface patterns. Some of these patterns we will notice inside ourselves. They may arise in our consciousness as a way of being, thinking, and acting in the world. We may not want to continue or pass these messages, beliefs or behaviors on to our own children, as much as there may be many things that we do hope to pass on. I love both of my mothers. I am grateful to my birth mother for providing me with with the gift of life, and I am also grateful to my adoptive mother for providing a “fiercely-lived” example of the importance of being true to oneself, come what may. Awareness of karma, or generational conditioning, has been essential to unearthing my own center. Staying open and aware has shifted my sense of myself, and I have come to believe and do something other than what I was conditioned to believe and do. Something other than what my mothers were conditioned to believe and do. So that I might learn a karmic lesson.

Isle of Skye, Scotland

If we are receptive, we will learn many karmic lessons throughout our lives. My friend Jennie Lee says we should think of life as an ongoing karma project. Her formula is simple (but not necessarily easy): Take a quiet moment in meditation and ask yourself what needs completing in your life? Once your get your answer, establish an action plan to change old patterns in order to finish the lesson. (See Spark Change, Question #54).

One question I ask myself a lot is: Am I stuck in a karmic pattern or am I forging a new path? Our conditioning very often becomes an ongoing pattern simply because we lack awareness of it. Even so, karma is not some sort of predestination theology. Take some time. Get still. No matter the lesson, we have been given the gifts of awareness, free will, courage, acceptance, compassion, forgiveness, and gratitude. We can use these gifts to our own benefit, not to mention the benefit of others. New karma is being seeded all the time. The goodness is that we can choose to redirect and recondition ourselves and our karma by acting with heart and wisdom, rather than repeating negative patterns from old conditioning.

Highland Coo, Scotland

Step inside and spend some time with yourself. Direct your attention inwardly. Ask: What is motivating me as I take action? Is it fear or love? Am I motivated by an attitude of compassion and non judgment? Am I free of resentment and assumption? Essentially: Is the energy around my action positive or negative?

We are creating karma all the time whether we are aware of it, or not. All it takes to re-condition or complete a lesson is self-awareness combined with positive intention and mindful action moment by moment. One day at a time.

Life may not be a dress rehearsal, but it is a practice.

Yoga Nidra for Recovery (and everything else)

Join us 6PM Sundays (Columbus Day through Memorial Day) at Metta Yoga Seacoast for Yin + Yoga Nidra.

Sign up at Mindbody. Questions? Contact me or Jan Allen.

What is Yoga Nidra 

Dating back to 600 BCE, the sages taught Yoga Nidra (YN), also known as “yogic sleep” and “dynamic sleep,” as a way to explore deep-rooted patterns they believed drive a person’s actions. YN was used to purify the mind, by accessing a state of conscious sleep. It was believed that YN helped to detect, explore, and  ‘loosen’ the grip and influence of limiting beliefs and their unavailing habits. The benefits of Yoga Nidra (YN) have been studied and documented across continents as a “systematic method inducing complete physical, mental, and emotional relaxation.”  (1)

Metta Yoga Seacoast Sanctuary, Salisbury MA

While the body needs the strength, flexibility and neurological benefits of asana, the mind needs YN for the release of fear based beliefs and other egoic patterns of thinking that resist acceptance of, and awareness in, the present moment.  Whatever your intention for practicing, YN is a path to greater mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellness. 

In stillness, YN pulls us beyond the desires and competitive conventions of the ego that tell us we are how we look,  what we have,  and what we do.  With regular practice, YN peels away false narratives and our culture’s habitual striving for external validation. 

A brief Medline review revealed YN as a therapeutic intervention for  insomnia; anxiety; posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and the emotional, physical, and cognitive symptoms associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS). 

How Yoga Nidra Works

During YN, students lie on their backs while being guided into a state of deep relaxation where the body goes to sleep and the mind remains awake and aware.  

Metta Yoga Seacoast Sanctuary, Salisbury MA

It all starts with Sankalpa (intention setting) and a body scan while paying attention to the breath. Students are then invited to explore their own mind and subconscious while being directed to a series of opposites and visualizations.  As the student rehearses different emotional states at rest, new neural pathways can be developed.

The progression of the experience starts while the student’s brain is in a beta, active mind, or “fight-flight” state.  The process then sinks the brain into deeper states of relaxation moving from beta through alpha and into theta, which is referred to as the “dream,” or REM state, where emotions can be processed and released.  After theta, the brain enters delta.  Delta is the most reparative state, the state of deep dreamless sleep where organs regenerate and the body can rest, restore, and heal.  And all of this happens while the student is awake and aware, although in my experience, staying awake takes practice.   What I have noticed during my own practice is that I drift between entranced states of conscious awareness and “Where am I now?” as if I could be anywhere and nowhere simultaneously.  I have developed a fascination not only with the sensations and awarenesses that arise while I am in this “state,” but also its undeniable impact on my sense of self in relation to all that is.  

Yoga Nidra for Insomnia

One of the most common complaints in early recovery is the inability to maintain a regular sleeping cycle.  The consequences of insufficient sleep and chronic insomnia are significant, and can include:

Metta Yoga Seacoast, Women’s Locker Room

• Poor memory and trouble concentrating

• Impaired work performance

• Work-related accidents

• Motor vehicle accidents

• Depression

• Heart disease, heart attack, and stroke

• Increased blood pressure

• Low libido

• Weight gain

• Diabetes

• A weakened immune system

• Increased inflammation

• Overall poor quality of life

Sleep disorders persist in the United States despite current behavioral and pharmaceutical remedies.  In 2021, a study published in the National Medical Journal of India concluded that YN is effective for alleviating chronic insomnia.  The findings showed statistically significant improvements in total sleep time and enhancement in subjective sleep quality following a regular practice of YN. (2)  Currently, an International multi-site study is underway investigating the physiological correlates of YN for sleep disorders. This study seeks to quantify the effect of YN on brainwaves, sleep onset, and the autonomic nervous system using electroencephalography(EEG), heart rate variability (HRV), and respiratory rate. (3)

Yoga Nidra for Anxiety and Stress Reduction

Many people struggle with anxiety in early recovery as the body and brain re-adjust and as new skill sets develop for everything that is changing. Reoccurrences are very common during this time because anxiety can be overwhelming as one “wakes up” to what recovery requires:  a completely new way of being and doing.  Recovery also often means that certain prescribed medications are no longer sensible options for managing emotional distress. Clinical trials have demonstrated that long-term use of anxiolytic medications (e.g., benzodiazepines) may cause,  dependence, and impair cognition and memory.

Several studies have shown that YN is an effective practice for reducing stress and anxiety.  In 2021 the American Pediatric Society declared the state of childhood mental health a national emergency, asserting that concerns had been steadily rising over the past decade, and that the coronavirus pandemic served to  exacerbate the challenges.  (4)  Just days after this declaration, a study published in ComplimentaryTherapies in Clinical Practice showed that YN was effective in significantly reducing overall stress experienced by school going adolescents.  Results also indicated that YN reduced stress in individual vital domains such as the stress of home life, school performance, teacher interaction, school uncertainty, and school and leisure conflict. (5)  The researchers concluded that because YN effectively reduced psychological stress in adolescents, it could prove beneficial if added to school curriculums.

Metta Yoga Seacoast Sanctuary, Salisbury MA

An earlier study in 2018 with adolescents, ages 13-15, was also promising. Students received 30- minute YN sessions, 3 times a week, for one month.  At the end of the study period, outcome measures demonstrated that YN improved multiple dimensions of adolescent well-being including feelings of happiness, enthusiasm, quietude, feeling more inspired and alert, active, having increased clarity of thought, increased control over anger, and an increase in self-confidence. (6)

A pilot study at Johns Hopkins that looked at YN for improving quality of life in psychiatric nurses showed benefits in perceived stress, muscle tension, and self-care. (7)

One study I found particularly interesting involved college professors comparing the effects of YN versus seated meditation on perceived stress.  This study concluded that YN tended towards greater effectiveness in reducing anxiety than seated meditation.  From the results authors hypothesized that the Savasana posture (corpse pose) in YN  may be more effective in reducing anxiety levels because it can be held with less effort than a seated meditation posture.  Another explanation suggested that because mindfulness meditation can increase irritability and agitation in the short term, it did not deliver the robust findings shown with YN.  This interpretation is consistent with a common complaint I hear from those in early recovery regarding increased anxiety when employing mindfulness meditation.  This makes sense, considering everything that is happening to a person during this very vulnerable time.  In fact, some well respected meditation teachers have even submitted that a mindfulness meditation practice is best approached when one is not in a period of crisis or increased psychosocial stress.  One of the benefits of YN, especially for those in early recovery, is that it is not necessary to concentrate. YN is a guided experience where participants simply follow the prompts intended to elicit relaxation and all its corresponding benefits.  

Yoga Nidra for Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

PMS is a blanket term that describes a cluster of symptoms brought on by a woman’s monthly menstrual cycle. These symptoms vary in intensity and duration.  The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists estimates that 85 percent of menstruating women experience at least one physical, emotional, or cognitive symptom of PMS.  

Women in early recovery are often more vulnerable to PMS because of neurotransmitter depletion from their substance use disorder. PMS can amplify painful emotions and physical symptoms already occurring as part of post acute withdrawal syndrome, which can contribute to a return to substance use.

There have been a handful of studies that have shown that YN reduces PMS-related anxiety and depression.(8,9)  The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Medical University has also demonstrated that hormone imbalances were reduced significantly when participating in YN 35-40 minutes, 5 days per week, for 6 months. (10)  

Metta Yoga Seacoast, Lobby

Yoga Nidra for PTSD

The intersection of substance use disorders and trauma is indisputable. In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts, Gabor Mate, the renowned author and Hungarian-Canadian psychiatrist writes, “Not all addictions are rooted in abuse or trauma, but I do believe they can all be traced to painful experience. A hurt is at the center of all addictive behaviors. It is present in the gambler, the Internet addict, the compulsive shopper and the workaholic. The wound may not be as deep and the ache not as excruciating, and it may even be entirely hidden—but it’s there…the effects of early stress or adverse experiences directly shape both the psychology and the neurobiology of addiction in the brain.”

YN is an effective and empirically based treatment for PTSD that is currently being administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs around the country to treat combat veterans and those with military sexual trauma (MST). 

Barbara@ Metta Yoga Seacoast, Salisbury MA

Combat veterans at a community mental health agency in San Francisco receiving YN for PTSD reported reduced rage, anxiety, and emotional reactivity, and increased feelings of relaxation, peace, self-awareness, and self-efficacy, despite challenges with mental focus, intrusive memories and other concerns. All participants reported they would have attended ongoing classes, if offered. (11)

Participants in a 10 week YN protocol for MST reported significant decreases in symptoms of PTSD as well as decreased body tension, improved quality of sleep, improved ability to handle intrusive thoughts, improved ability to manage stress, and improved feelings of joy. Participants in this study also enthusiastically endorsed the class and stating they would take it again and recommend it to others with sexual trauma. (12)

The iRest Program for Healing PTSD:  A Proven-Effective Approach to Using Yoga Nidra Meditation and Deep Relaxation Techniques to Overcome Trauma by Richard Miller PhD © 2015 

Closing Reflections

YN is an inexpensive, effective, and very accessible self-care practice that can be easily incorporated into one’s life.  A growing body of research substantiates YN's ability to alleviate insomnia, anxiety, lingering effects of traumatic experiences, and the physical and emotional discomfort associated with PMS when it is practiced consistently.  In the studies cited, the therapeutic effects of YN were observed when administered anywhere from 3-5 times per week for 30-45 minutes.  At least one study found that YN has the same autonomic nervous system (ANS) and heart rate variability (HRV) benefits whether practiced at the end of asana, or by itself. (13)  This is an important finding because many of us wouldn’t practice YN unless it was in the context of asana. 

Staying awake and aware, while also maintaining a state of deep relaxation, is not easily reached.  Simply put, YN involves a different kind of mastery than asana. (14)  This is self-evident, given the number of times I have fallen asleep during YN, especially where asana classes have been supplemented with YN at their conclusion. 

If you can’t make it to Metta on Sundays at 4,  search Yoga Nidra on your Spotify or Insight Timer accounts for a wide range of opportunities to practice.   I bookmark teachers whose voice, cadence, and design are in alignment with my intentions.  While I love the energy of in person YN, having YN available whenever I need it and in the privacy of my own home has been an important addition to my sitting meditation practice. 

~ Barbara Dugan MDiv, MLADC, RYT

Metta Yoga Seacoast Sanctuary, Salisbury MA

Notes/Sources

(1) Swami Satyananda Sraswati 

(2) Natl Med J India. 2021 May-Jun;34(3):143-150. doi: 10.25259/NMJI_63_19.Yoga Nidra practice shows improvement in sleep in patients with chronic insomnia: A randomized controlled trial. Datta K(1), Tripathi M(1), Verma M(2), Masiwal D(2), Mallick HN(3).Author information:(1)Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India.(2)Department of Sports Medicine, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India.(3)Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India.

(3) Int J Yoga Therap. 2021 Jan 1;31(1):Article_20. doi: 10.17761/2021-D-20-00004. A Closer Look at Yoga Nidra: Sleep Lab Protocol. Sharpe E(1), Lacombe A(2), Butler MP(3), Hanes D(4), Bradley R(5). Author information:(1)National University of Natural Medicine, Portland, Ore.; and State University of New York at Canton, Canton, N.Y. (2)National University of Natural Medicine, Portland, Ore.; and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Produce Microbiology Research Unit, Berkeley, Calif.(3)Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Ore.(4)National University of Natural Medicine, Portland, Ore.(5)National University of Natural Medicine, Portland, Ore.; University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, Calif.; and Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.

(4) American Academy of Pediatrics, October 19, 2021

(5) Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2021 Nov;45:101462. doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2021.101462. Epub 2021 Jul 29.Effectiveness of Yoga Nidra in reducing stress in school going adolescents: An experimental study. D'souza OL(1), Jose AE(2), Suresh S(3), Baliga MS(4).Author information:(1)Department of Psychiatric Nursing, Father Muller College of Nursing, Mangalore, Karnataka, 575002, India. Electronic address: ovine.dsouza@gmail.com.(2)Department of Psychiatric Nursing, Father Muller College of Nursing, Mangalore, Karnataka, 575002, India.(3)Department of Community Medicine, Father Muller Medical College Hospital, Mangalore, Karnataka, 575002, India. (4)Father Muller Medical Research Centre, Mangalore, Karnataka, 575002, India. Electronic address: msbaliga@gmail.com.

(6) Int J Yoga. 2018 Sep-Dec;11(3):245-248. doi: 10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_39_17.Effect of Yoga-nidra on Adolescents Well-being: A Mixed Method Study. Vaishnav BS(1), Vaishnav SB(2), Vaishnav VS(3), Varma JR(4).Author information:(1)Department of Medicine, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, Gujarat, India.(2)Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, Gujarat, India.(3)Department of Electronics, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, India.(4)Department of Psychiatry, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, Gujarat, India. CONTEXT: Adolescent well-being is a priority area for health-care interventions in the 21st century. Yoga-nidra is an ancient Indian method of enabling individuals to attain a positive state of deep physical, mental, and emotional relaxation. The practice produces a state of simultaneous relaxation and detachment resulting in inner awareness and release of stress on all planes of one's being.

(7 )Int J Yoga. 2018 Sep-Dec;11(3):245-248. doi: 10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_39_17. Effect of Yoga-nidra on Adolescents Well-being: A Mixed Method Study. Vaishnav BS(1), Vaishnav SB(2), Vaishnav VS(3), Varma JR(4). Author information:(1)Department of Medicine, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, Gujarat, India.(2)Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, Gujarat, India.(3)Department of Electronics, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, India.(4)Department of Psychiatry, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, Gujarat, India. CONTEXT: Adolescent well-being is a priority area for health-care interventions in the 21st century. Yoga-nidra is an ancient Indian method of enabling individuals to attain a positive state of deep physical, mental, and emotional relaxation. The practice produces a state of simultaneous relaxation and detachment resulting in inner awareness and release of stress on all planes of one's being.

(8)  Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2017 Aug;28:4-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2017.04.001. Epub 2017 Apr 4.Psychological effects of yoga nidra in women with menstrual disorders: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.Kim SD(1).Author information: (1)Department of Nursing, College of Health Science, Kangwon National University: 346 Hwangjo-gil, Dogye-eup, Samcheok-si, Gangwon-do 245-907, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:nu11110@kangwon.ac.kr.DOI:10.1016/j.ctcp.2017.04.001

(9 ) Int J Yoga. 2012 Jan;5(1):52-6. doi: 10.4103/0973-6131.91715. Yoga Nidra as a complementary treatment of anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with menstrual disorder. Rani K(1), Tiwari S, Singh U, Singh I, Srivastava N. Author information:(1)Department of Physiology, CSMMU, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India.

(10) J Altern Complement Med. 2013 Dec;19(12):925-9. doi: 10.1089/acm.2010.0676. Epub 2013 May 6.Impact of Yoga Nidra on menstrual abnormalities in females of reproductive age.Rani M(1), Singh U, Agrawal GG, Natu SM, Kala S, Ghildiyal A, Srivastava N.Author information: (1)1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Medical University , Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India .

(11)  Int J Yoga Therap. 2011;(21):23-37. Transforming trauma: a qualitative feasibility study of integrative restoration (iRest) yoga Nidra on combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Stankovic L(1).Author information:(1)John F. Kennedy University, Pleasant Hill, CA, USA. irest108@gmail.com

(12)  Int J Yoga Therap. 2014;24:53-62.Delivering Integrative Restoration-Yoga Nidra Meditation (iRest®) to Women with Sexual Trauma at a Veteran's Medical Center: A Pilot Study. Pence PG, Katz LS(1), Huffman C, Cojucar G.Author information:(1)9600 Veterans Drive SW, Tacoma, WA 98493.

(13)  J Altern Complement Med. 2012 Oct;18(10):953-8. doi:10.1089/acm.2011.0331. Epub 2012 Aug 6. Yoga Nidra relaxation increases heart rate variability and is unaffected by a prior bout of Hatha yoga. Markil N(1), Whitehurst M, Jacobs PL, Zoeller RF. Author information:(1)Department of Exercise Science and Health Promotion, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA.  The objective of this study was to compare the acute rate of HRV responses to YN relaxation alone vs. YN relaxation preceded by Hatha yoga.

(14)  Diedre Fay

Releasing Tension with Vinyasa Yoga

The human body stores a powerful organic and subconscious pharmacy.

Yoga activates it.

“We already know that the living body is the best pharmacy ever devised. It produces diuretics, painkillers, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, antibiotics, and indeed everything manufactured by the drug companies, but it makes them much, much better…”

~ Deepak Chopra, MD Quantum Healing

Let’s face it: We are all in recovery from something, whether we admit that to ourselves and others, or not.

If you are looking for an experience of freedom, strength, peace, self-acceptance, and growth— give Vinyasa a try.

Vinyasa Yoga (VY) is a series of physical movements with an emphasis on connecting breath and movement.

Stress is part of being alive. But some of us also experience chronic stress that accompanies trauma wounding, where the past diffuses or invades the present moment. Life stressors and trauma weaken our bodies and neurology presenting an impediment to a lighter, freer, and unburdened sense of self. VY clears the slate by going deep enough into the tissues to release stress and unconscious trauma-related tension that the body has been hanging on to all because it is trying to keep itself safe. When there has been trauma, the body needs help bringing the autonomic nervous nervous system (ANS) back into balance. As Nikki Myers (Yoga of 12 Step Recovery ) says: “The issues are in the tissues.” VY simply ignites the flow to help the release tension.

All forms of yoga and meditation increase second attention awareness. Second attention awareness is the awareness linked to presence, energy, and phenomena without any assignment of meaning, labels or thinking. Yoga develops second attention awareness because the movement of the body with the breath turns on the parasympathetic response and the ability to observe the present moment rather than get absorbed by it, as happens in a state of fear or chronic “fight-flight” patterns that accompany complex developmental trauma and single incident traumatic experiences.

The evidence base for the effectiveness of various styles of yoga in addressing trauma is extensive. Here are some resources for further reading: The Body Keeps The Score: Memory and Psychobiology of Post Traumatic Stress by Bessel van der Kolk, MD; Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga by David Emerson and Elizabeth Hopper; The Trauma Toolkit: Healing PTSD From The Inside Out by Susan Pease Banitt; and Intelligence in The Flesh by Guy Claxton.

Of course, none of this is new. Modern Western medicine has simply devised methods to empirically validate what the science of ancient yoga knew all along. Assuming that the instructor is well-versed in and practices yoga’s eight-limb path, by its very nature and purpose, all yoga is trauma sensitive. Even so, many certified yoga instructors have had additional training in trauma sensitive yoga.

Free trauma sensitive yoga classes are offered locally both in-person and virtually through YOGA IN ACTION, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to therapeutic yoga for at-risk and vulnerable populations in the Seacoast community.

Globally, thousands of licensed mental health professionals (many of whom take health insurance), coaches and yoga instructors facilitate an empirically validated, clinical intervention for complex trauma or chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) developed at the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at the Justice Resource Institute. For a Trauma Center for Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) facilitator near you, go to Find a Facilitator .

If you haven’t already, why not give VY a try in 2023? It will lift you up — and who knows— you may even make some new friends. 💜

Check out the $10 Community Classes during the month of January at Exeter Power Yoga. The trainees teaching classes throughout the month are truly dedicated to the practice, and more importantly, “leading with love.” I will be teaching too, on Sunday, January 29, 2023 at noon. Sign up through the MindBody App (or bring $10 to class). Clear the slate. Come and get on your mat with us! 💜

Also: Hot Yoga for the Alleviation of Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome, Yoga Nidra for Recovery (And Everything Else)

Bridge Beings

Fresh hush 

First light

The day waits

Undisturbed

Overhead 

Wings thrust

Loons

Singing ethereal songs of ancient longing

Summoning reverence

Awakening grace

Bridge beings

Angels of flesh

Bones and feathers 

Water and flight

Discordant

Manufactured 

Human racket 

Interrupts the natural mystical flow

A Whirring motor

A cackling replay of last night’s party

Above it all 

Holy winged creatures

Sacred vessels

Binding us

To eternity

~Barbara Dugan 21 August 2022

Lovejoy Pond Fayette, Maine

Be Your Own Light

She came as light from Light in the form of a woman.  

It was uncomfortable and frustrating at first, because she was used to shining with abandon into the darkness and there are ways that the world blocks the light. 

In the beginning, she didn’t understand the shadow and its desire for structure, hierarchy, institutions, power and control, and so she got swept up into it, believing that if she conformed and worked hard to fit in that the shadow would love her back. But the shadow didn’t know how.  The shadow had no appreciation for her light because it had become a very commanding shadow, and wanted to stay that way.  The shadow silenced her and shamed her and told her what and how she ‘should’ be.  

Eventually, her unbridled brilliance learned that shining without restriction was unacceptable.  She was afraid to shine.  She discovered that she had a dimmer, a switch she could use to make sure she did not threaten the shadow or break the shadow’s rules. But the more she used her dimmer, the more she forgot who she was and where she had come from.  She did not question the shadow’s rules, having been convinced by the shadow that the shadow was right.

This frustrated her capacity to give and receive love.  And feel much of anything, actually, that belonged to her.  And so she lost her connection to her true self.  The quality of her light had become a reflection of only that which the shadow desired.    

When she realized this, she raged, trying to fight it.  This sent her even further away from connection because her resentment torched the promise of the love she so longed to know and return to in herself.  

One day, she just took it all inside knowing that her light would burn out if she kept reflecting only to shadow.  As she reflected light to herself, she discovered many fears that the shadow had taught her.  The shadow had made its way inside and convinced her that if she didn’t capitulate and conform that she would be alone. 

But when she took her light inside, she learned she was not alone.  Because when she took the light inside, she discovered other lights breaking through to her light.  And as she became more aware of the light around her, she began to take the risk of shining wildly again.  She threw away the dimmer.  Without the dimmer, she wondered:  What if none of what the shadow had taught her about herself and others was true?   She freed her heart and her mind. And she started asking more of her own questions:  

• What if she stopped dimming her own light? What if she stopped underestimating herself?

• What if she stopped comparing herself to others?

• What if she listened to, and trusted, her own intuition more than the shadow’s lies?

• What if she recognized that life was a tool of discovery and shined on everything that happened as an opportunity to define herself as someone who does what is hers to do?

• What if she made a commitment to herself to stop confounding her desire for self-mastery with her fear of making mistakes (and what the shadow might think about them)?

• What if she stopped being so nice— and got honest— giving herself permission act and speak directly and authentically— without question, restriction, apology, or doubt —because she understood that it wouldn’t hurt anyone or make them less?  

• What if she acted courageously from the light of her own wisdom and power rather than fawning or acquiescing to shadow’s influence masquerading as love, safety and security? 

  What if?  

~Barbara Dugan 20 Feb 2022

Mokuleila Beach House, Oahu, Hawaii

Practicing Acceptance: Forest Bathing in Winter

Stratham, New Hampshire USA

It’s hard not to notice how much time we spend complaining about winter, avoiding it, or trying to escape it. (1) I’m thoroughly annoyed when a bomb cyclone pummels the East Coast and my yoga class gets cancelled. But it is also true that a raging blizzard bestows an object lesson on home, and therefore, “inside” practice; nature ordains that I stay put for a while and wait for conditions to change.

I revel in the storm watch, including impasses caused by blizzard conditions, and all the closings and cancellations. Winter storms have always excited and relaxed me at the same time. I do not see winter as a season that needs to be escaped, resisted, or endured.  I value winter, not only for its beauty, but for the natural rhythm and resting period it provides for the earth. Winter’s slower pace permits intermission, retreat, and reflection- all of which are necessary for the transformation that comes in spring.

One way to practice active acceptance and stay in the present moment during the winter months is to take up outdoor walking meditations, a practice also known as forest bathing.  Forest bathing, or Shinrin-Yoku (2), is a form of therapy developed by the Japanese.  The benefits of Shinrin-Yoku are similar to those found in a physical yoga or in a sitting meditation practice with the added benefit of being outside.

Shinrin-Yoku is an immersive experience where one soaks in the natural environment quietly, without distraction. The technique was developed to alleviate the consequences of stress.  It is well-proven that time spent in the great outdoors restores mental, physical and spiritual health.

Lovejoy Pond. Fayette, Maine, USA

Our brains need time to recharge. The demands of everyday life such as reading, social interactions, and time on electronic devices require “forced attention”, all of which result in “attention fatigue.”  As necessary and entertaining as these activities may be, they deplete our brain’s batteries.  Forest bathing allows the brain to relax and revive itself from prolonged periods of forced attention.

Phil Stieg, MD Ph.D. Chairman of Neurological Surgery and Neurosurgeon-in-Chief at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center encourages his patients to take time out in nature.  “Getting out in nature seems to relax the brain’s frontal lobes and relieve attention fatigue and stress.” (3)

Forest environments also increase human natural killer (NK) cell activity and the expression of anti-cancer proteins. (4,5,6)  Evergreens, in particular, emit high concentrations of substances that protect them from bacteria, fungi, and insects. These organic compounds are called phytoncides.  In addition to antimicrobial potency, several studies have uncovered the ability of phytoncides to increase NK cells that fight infections, cancers, and tumors in the human genome.

Stowe, Vermont USA 📸: Donata Random

Mental, physical, and spiritual benefits aside, I savor winter through daily walking meditation.  Sometimes I bring a camera to capture the beauty I see, but I have also discovered that leaving the camera (and cell phone) behind changes the quality of my attention.  Rather than engaging in the mental activity of “taking” pictures, I “turn off” the camera (and with it, my mind), creating greater receptivity to the moment.

The sharp, pale sky; towering Evergreen boughs, heavy with snowfall and the scent of balsam; the crackle and crunch under foot; tracks left by nocturnal fauna; the slide  (instead of swim) across a hardened lake—  this is the magic of winter’s jouissance.   The brilliance, density, and magnitude of the stars on arid winter nights stir otherworldly questions, summoning the numinous.  Winter is a hushed time for reverence—  a time to let the impermanence of all things, and the cyclical quality of life and seasonal renewal, sink in. ~ Barbara Dugan 2022

 1. If you aren’t a winter sport enthusiast, that is. 

2. ”Shinrin” means forest and “Yoku” signifies bathing.

3. Heid, Markham, How ‘Soft Fascination’ Helps Restore Your Tired Brain, Elemental, June 16. 2021

 4. Li Q, Morimoto K, Kobayashi M, Inagaki H, Katsumata M, Hirata Y, Hirata K, Shimizu T, Li YJ, Wakayama Y, Kawada T, Ohira T, Takayama N, Kagawa T, Miyazaki Y. "A forest bathing trip increases human natural killer activity and expression of anti-cancer proteins in female subjects." J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2008 Jan–Mar;22(1):45–55.

5.  Q Li, M Kobayashi, Y Wakayama, H Inagaki, M Katsumata, Y Hirata, K Hirata, T Shimizu, T Kawada, B J Park, T Ohira, T Kagawa, Y Miyazaki Effect of phytoncide from trees on human natural killer cell function, Int J Immunopathol  PharmacolOct-Dec 2009;22(4):951-9. doi: 10.1177/039463200902200410.

6.  Li Q, Morimoto K, Kobayashi M, Inagaki H, Katsumata M, Hirata Y, Hirata K, Suzuki H, Li YJ, Wakayama Y, Kawada T, Park BJ, Ohira T, Matsui N, Kagawa T, Miyazaki Y, Krensky AM. "Visiting a forest, but not a city, increases human natural killer activity and expression of anti-cancer proteins." Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2008 Jan–Mar;21(1):117–27.

Resources and Further Reading

The Nature Talks: www.thenaturetalks.com

Peter Wohlleben Website: https://www.peter-wohlleben.de/?set-culture=en Forrester and author of The Hidden Life of Trees ©2016, Wohlleben is a scientific pioneer who has made it his mission to testify to the importance of forests for human life.

Last child in the Woods by Richard Louv ©2006 Backed by research, Louv shows that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and a potent therapy for depression, obesity, and ADD. Louv also substantiates that education in natural settings dramatically improves skills in problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and decision making.

Wintering by Katherine May ©2020 An exquisite personal account, May uses winter as an object lesson in active acceptance.

Dreams as Messengers in Recovery

“Information will come to us in our dreams that cannot be received any other way.” *

Sleep is incredibly important for overall health and well-being.  Consumption of alcohol can negatively affect sleep, whether in the context of an alcohol use disorder or a habitual glass of wine or two. In particular, REM sleep, the part of sleep that is associated with dreaming, is highly vulnerable to these effects. and therefore our connection to the unconscious mind.

Dreams provide connection to the unconscious that can be important keys to unlocking messages that can help navigate a healing recovery journey.  The unconscious mind thrives on automatic behaviors.  Automatic behaviors, loss of control, and psychological denial are insidious aspects of attachment, and its extreme, addiction.  

In Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams ©2017, Matthew Walker, Ph.D explains that people consuming even moderate amounts of alcohol in the afternoon or evening are depriving themselves of this beneficial dream sleep. 

Alcohol dismantles sleep in three ways:

1. Alcohol is in a class of drugs called sedatives. Sedation is not sleep. 

2. Alcohol fragments sleep by releasing activating chemicals which prevent continuous sleep. Continuous sleep is necessary for the body’s restoration. By littering the night with brief awakenings that go unnoticed by the sleeper, alcohol prevents that needed repair.  

3. Alcohol suppresses dream sleep (REM). When the body metabolizes alcohol it produces by-product chemicals called aldehydes and ketones.  The aldehydes in particular will block the brain’s ability to generate REM sleep. It’s rather like the cerebral version of cardiac arrest, preventing the pulsating beat of brainwaves that otherwise power dream sleep. The electrical brainwave state one enters via alcohol is not that of natural sleep; rather, it is akin to a light form of anesthesia.

The quality of sleep and ability to enter dream sleep will be directly affected by the quantity and frequency of  alcohol consumed.  Any amount of alcohol consumed will negatively impact one’s ability to achieve restorative sleep.

If you are a person who has developed an alcohol use disorder, you will most likely have experienced chronic sleep deprivation and its consequences on your mind, body, and connection to the unconscious through dream sleep. Going for long stretches of time without dream sleep produces a tremendous build up, and backlog of, pressure to obtain REM sleep.

The good news is that once a person has detoxed physically from alcohol, meaning alcohol has cleared the body, restorative sleep returns. When REM sleep returns to the chronically sleep deprived, it is not uncommon to experience extremely intense, vivid, and disturbing dreams, the energy of which may linger in one’s thoughts and emotions. Dreamscapes can feel extremely realistic and often include “using dreams,” where the dreamer wakes up feeling all of the anxiety, guilt, and even panic of having relapsed in a dream. Because REM sleep has been continuously suppressed for a period of months or years, it is as if the brain is playing catch up and the backlog of REM floods the dreamer. 

One of the ways to think about this is that first we experience a clearing of alcohol physically, and then, as REM sleep returns, we begin to clear its effect psychologically through returned memories and dreams in REM sleep.  Dreams offer a deep psychological detox once safety has been established physically.  

A connection to what is unconscious for the recovering person is an important part of staying in recovery because so much of the obsession lives in denial. In this way, the disease progresses psychologically and spiritually, as well as physically. After all, alcohol is deeply embedded in the psyche, both collectively and individually. When we adopt a new way of life as a non-drinker, or person in recovery, it takes tremendous effort and courage to metabolize the shift socially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These shifts, however, are necessary to arrive at a new level of awareness and alignment.  In this way, we might consider that ‘using dreams’ are opportunities to experience the feelings that go along with a relapse without actually drinking or using.  This is why dreams can be such a powerful component to the recovery process, helping one access the unconscious in a beneficial way. 

What can we learn from “drinking and using dreams?” 

Dreams are highly specific but unfortunately highly susceptible to being forgotten, which is why it is essential to capture their messages in the moment. 

Upon waking from a using or drinking dream, one might notice a feeling of relief and gratitude that it that it was “just a dream.” This points to a sincere desire to maintain sobriety.  It can also help the dreamer recognize how far away from themselves they had gone as the drinking progressed over time, and where the growing edge is in their current recovery process. 

Dreams of relapse, at or near a relapse are important.  These dreams often serve as a barometer of sobriety or a warning light on one’s psychological and spiritual dashboard.  They generally occur when a person is close to relapsing or finds themselves in a situation or psychological state where they would have turned to alcohol or drugs for relief in the past.  

“The dream knows something I do not.”  **

In this way, dreams have the capacity to serve recovery practices.  For example, a newly sober woman drives by a liquor store every day without stopping.  She then dreams that she stops at this liquor store, purchases a couple bottles of wine, and then consumes one of them in her car on the way to pick up her children from daycare.  Upon awaking from the dream, the dreamer feels overwhelmed with shame about her reckless and irresponsible behavior.  

Dreams speak symbolically and therefore, can communicate several truths at once.  If this was a behavior that the woman engaged in prior to entering recovery, the dream might be a sign that while things are improving, there is unresolved shame that needs attention. The dream could also be a relief to the dreamer, and a reminder of how much improvement she is experiencing on her recovery journey.  The dreamer may also want to examine why such reckless and irresponsible behavior appeared in a dream at this particular time.  Perhaps the dream is pointing to a need for increased self-care and nurturing, or greater discipline and accountability in her recovery practices. The dreamer could ask herself:  “How am I protecting myself and my sobriety today? Or, am I protecting those who have been most affected by my drinking in the past? “ 

To mine the value of your dreams, it’s important to keep a record of them as soon as  you wake.  You may want to consider what your conscious standpoint was prior to the dream.  Dreams almost always concern issues we are not fully conscious of.  

After a drinking or using dream, ask yourself the following: 

• Am I minimizing the impact of my drinking/substance use?

• Am I overconfident or testing control?

• Is the pace of my life conducive to self-care, or is it possible that I have become too busy with distractions to pay attention to myself and my emotions?

• Is there something I am in denial or lying to myself about?

• Why am I dreaming this now?

• What does this dream require of me?

The importance of inner work for individuals in recovery cannot be underestimated. The return of REM sleep provides invaluable messages from the unconscious for deeper self-inquiry. Paying attention to the content of your dreams increases self-awareness and fuels the potential for a more deliberate and authentic life in recovery. ~ Barbara Dugan 2021

** Dreams as Angels: Feeding the Dream with our Substance, Russel A. Lockhart, 2013

The Fertile Void: How to Befriend Uncertainty

Many contemporary psychologists have adopted both the concept and language associated with the Dark Night of the Soul, an experience first described by Christian Mystics that included sustained periods of spiritual emptiness, uncertainty, and unknowing. 

Lovejoy Pond, Maine

Periods of uncertainty, unknowing, and Dark Nights are often triggered by the voids that follow any significant loss, such as a change in lifestyle, the estrangement or breakdown of an important relationship, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, a career change, children leaving home, or the diagnosis + recovery from a life-threatening illness, just to name a few. Dark Nights may leave us wondering who we are, if we matter, and if we are making an impact. Dark Nights often spark the questions: Is how I am spending my time worth my time? Is what am engaged in something that I am genuinely committed to, or even interested in?  Do I feel full? What are the parts of my life that feel like an empty ritual? How would my life change if I had nothing to prove?

We thrive on passion and meaning because without them life can feel like an empty ritual.

In her book, Magical Journey, Katrina Kenison has called these empty, questioning, and doubting phases “the fertile void.”  Fertile voids are incredibly challenging and often distressing.

To be conscious of an inner void or conflict —and to achieve authentic resolution without seeking to fill the void with numbing agents or material distractions and external validation—is uncomfortable. Even so, I would propose that leaning in to the void with patience, an open mind, and a listening heart is the way to full self -expression, unconditional love, and inner contentment.

We are so materially oriented as a culture that using external distractions to avoid the opportunity and promise of a fertile void is a readily available option. 

I call avoidance behaviors fertile void cheat codes. A fertile void cheat code is any automatic behavior (or numbing agent) used to escape the discomfort of the void. In these instances, the void cannot speak to us as we are “stuffing” it with avoidance. I am sure I am not alone when I say that I have digressed to a default fertile void cheat code more than once in my life.  Instead of consciously and courageously engaging myself and exploring  the uncertainty and all its discomfort-- I sought to caulk the hollow feeling in my heart with attachments and outside distractions.

What I have learned over and again is that caulk is sticky, never really matches, cracks, and falls out.  To truly metabolize the voids I had to learn how to to slow down, hit pause, spend time in nature, and lean inward. Sitting in quiet stillness; and waiting for the awareness and acceptance of what my heart and soul already know, but what my ego might not want to hear, has always been the way.  We all bloom in our own time.  What is your way?

“Growth and transformation occur not by changing who we are… but as we summon the courage to be who we are.  And that means bringing our own true, vulnerable, imperfect selves out of hiding and into the world.“

Magical Journey by Katrina Kenison ©2013

Questions for Reflection

• Where am I experiencing the fertile void— the dark night and unknowing— in my life, right now?

• Have I experienced other fertile voids? What happened? What changed, if anything? Do I have a fertile void cheat code? If so, what has it shown me?

• Is there someone or some thing blocking me that I need to release or forgive? (Include yourself here. I often find self-forgiveness to be the most challenging.)

“It’s not for me to judge the gifts I have to offer the world, but it is up to me to summon the courage to offer them. There are as many ways to be of use and to express our love as there are people on this earth.” Magical Journey by Katrina Kenison ©2013

From Spark Change ©2020

• How can I befriend uncertainty?

• What is life asking me to learn right now?

• What am I doing when I feel the most alive?

The only way out is through. But, as my friend Thomas Moore points out in his book Dark Night of the Soul, being stuck is part of being human, and a dark night of the soul can be a profoundly good thing. It allows for a life that once made sense, but needs reviving, to break apart and then come together in a new shape. “If the dark night is indeed a rite of passage,“ he writes, “your job is to let the transformation take place. Be sculpted, renewed, changed. You are the caterpillar becoming the butterfly. Your task is to let the change happen. Do what you can to participate in, and cautiously and artfully further the process. Discover the very point of personhood: the process of constant renewal.“ Magical Journey by Katrina Kenison ©2013

May we all carry the light that is in us

and around us

without restriction,

as we navigate our

fertile voids together.

On Motherhood

One of my very favorite people asked me, shortly after my adoptive mother, Priscilla, passed,

“How are you feeling about Mother’s Day?” 

It was an interesting question, partly because I have 2 mothers, and I am a mother myself. My natural mother released me in 1963 to another mother, unknown to her. My adoptive mother transitioned on February 14th 2021.  It was a thought provoking seed question for a happy-clappy, social media curated, Hallmark Holiday where we have come to glorify mothers simply because they are mothers, without a lot of honest attention given to the actual relationships we, as mothers, have with our children.  

The more salient question, for me, became:

How are you feeling about your mothering?

Before having my daughter, now 25, I was terrified of motherhood.  Due to my profound mother wound I engaged in therapy for five years prior to a decision with my husband to have children.  On a very deep level, I understood that I needed to metabolize all the shadow messages I received from my mothers about motherhood, or mother unconsciously, passing on the tendencies and negative messaging to my own child.  The truth is, I still did to some extent, as we all do, but I was painfully aware and accountable to it when I did.  I worked hard, and still do, not to project inner narratives on to my daughter.  

The mother-daughter relationship is complex.  As our relationship and the world around us changes, Emma and I are becoming more transparent about the ways in which our emotional lives affect (and have affected) each other.  We have become very good platforms for each other’s “process.”

When we look into the mirrors that reflect back the relationships we have with our children, we may be delighted by those things we WANT reflected back to us, simply because they make us, as mothers, feel good about our mothering. 

But what about the things we don’t want to own? 

What about the things that make us uncomfortable? 

What we fail to clear in our own beings as mothers our children will have to process. Do I, as a mother,  take full responsibility for what is mine , and leave what is up to my adult child to her?  This is the harder work of conscious mothering.

I have learned that if I engage in mothering with courage, vulnerability, and honesty, the path of motherhood becomes one of love in action.

Got Surrender? Got Yin?

Over the past 6 years, I have developed an affinity for practicing in heated environments. I love hot yoga.  And while I have definitely experienced life-changing benefits associated with an extroverted, hot, high activity “Yang practice”, I recently developed a hunger for the cool nurturing nature of Yin Yoga.

Yin is an introverted subtraction practice.

Yin offers no chatter, fast paced movements, pop music playlists, dialogue-driven repetitive sequencing, or anything else that might distract one from their thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations. Yin is a closed-eyed, still meditation where I am left to be completely unto myself, and encouraged to notice all parts of it, at every depth.  

The tendency for there to be more tranquil smiling — and less talk— after a Yin class, seems symbolic of its temperament.  Yin doesn’t push. It doesn’t compete or compare. Yin sits in silence, and waits patiently, creating deep relaxation, fluent self-acceptance, and a gentle surrender to gravity. 

Developing the art of stillness, and allowing sensations to ripple and pass has brought about an unexpected, passive reshaping for me.  Yin communicates assurance that it is possible to move away from our persona driven culture of self-promotion, and step into a steadfast orientation towards receptivity, attraction and flow.  

“Yin yoga blends teachings of two different lineages:  traditional Indian Hatha yoga and the Chinese Taoist yin yang philosophy.  The “manner of sitting” is derived from Hatha yoga, but the process of holding in stillness for an extended time (up to 5 - 10 minutes) is rooted in Chinese medicine and the meridians of energy flow, or Qi  also used in acupuncture.”  (Kassandra Reinhart, Yin Yoga: Stretch the Mindful Way, 2017)

Is it Solitude or Isolation?

Solitude comes from an attitude of self love and self-acceptance; isolation is what people do when they hate themselves. - Chris D.

Many of us are introverted individuals living in an extroverted culture.  Introversion and its corresponding social anxiety (and a tendency towards isolation and avoidance) are challenges, especially in early recovery, as we learn to navigate our social and personal lives without psychoactive substances.  

Today, with social media groups and various options online for self help,  there are many ways to connect with others on the same path. 

Introverts need solitude to recharge, but where the need for solitude crosses the line into unhealthy isolation is an important distinction. 

Isolation is often marked by a feeling of emotional emptiness and bitter loneliness.  While solitary, it is a depleting, harsh, deficiency state, marked by a sense of estrangement. 

Solitude, on the other hand, is a choice to develop inner richness, renewal and perspective.  It is a positive and constructive state of engagement with oneself. Solitude is desirable, a state of being alone where you provide yourself wonderful and sufficient company.

Solitude is something you choose.

Solitude restores.

Isolation depletes.

“The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection.” - Johann Hari

See this TedEx where Johann Hari discusses how important bonds and relationships are to recovery.

Hot Yoga for the Alleviation of Post Acute Withdrawal

There is a growing body of empirical data  that supports yoga as an ancillary treatment for recovery from mental health conditions.  One of the greatest potentials of hot yoga is its ability to alleviate the symptoms of  Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome.

Terence Gorski points out that “as a culture, we have become very familiar with the suffering and loss associated with active substance use disorder and the acute detoxification stage.  We are also quick to notice the psycho-biological symptoms associated with them. What we may not be as familiar with, and completely unprepared for, however, is the discomfort associated with Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome.”

What is Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome?

Post acute withdrawal syndrome refers to a cluster of abstinence-based symptoms that set in after a person in early recovery from a substance use disorder (or SUD)  has completed acute physical detoxification. PAW can last from weeks to several months, depending on the extent of progression and substances used.   PAW makes early recovery difficult to maintain because it is fraught with physical, emotional, and mental disturbances as the brain re-adjusts to a new state of equilibrium.

“The presence of brain dysfunction has been documented in 75-95% of the recovering individuals tested. Recent research indicates that the symptoms of post-acute withdrawal associated with alcohol/drug-related damage to the brain may contribute to many cases of relapse.”

“Everyone said I would feel better and I feel worse. I feel like I am going crazy.”

— Anonymous

Symptoms of PAW

How Hot Yoga Alleviates PAW

practice frequency reduces depression.

Sober Yogis Challenge

Depression.

Depression includes an inability to experience pleasure or joy (anhedonia);  pessimistic and/or negative thinking; irritability; and anger.

• Massachusetts General Hospital is in the middle of a comprehensive study on the effects of hot yoga on clinical depression. Preliminary results show a statistically-significant negative correlation between number of classes taken and depression symptoms.

• During an informal “Sober Yogis Challenge” study at Blaze Yoga and Pilates and  Steamhouse Yoga and Pilates, participants reported  a two-thirds reduction of depression symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory.  Those who saw the greatest symptom reduction practiced more frequently.

• Hyperthermia has been studied since the 1970’s for its positive effects on depression. Saunas have been used for centuries in northern climates to reduce the impact of seasonal depression.  Common cultural wisdom has been validated by scientific research in regards to the association between heating up the body and reducing the symptoms associated with depression.

• Limitations of current antidepressants highlight the need to identify novel treatments, such as hot yoga,  for major depressive disorder. A prior open trial found that a single session of (WBH) Whole body hyperthermia holds promise as a safe, rapid-acting antidepressant modality with a prolonged therapeutic benefit. Future studies will be conducted to identify both the optimal temperature, number and timing of treatments likely to produce the largest and longest-lasting clinical response among patients. In hot yoga, we like it and keep it hot! For the full article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, click here.

Anxiety.

67% reduction in anxiety over 8 weeks

Sober Yogis Challenge

• Yoga trains the body, through focused breath work.  This activates the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby decreasing anxiety.

• During an informal study at Blaze Yoga and Pilates and Steam House Yoga and Pilates participants in early recovery involved in an 8 week hot yoga challenge reported a 67% average reduction in anxiety on the Beck Depression Inventory.

Sleep disturbances.

Sleep disturbances in recovery include using dreams and may range from insomnia to narcolepsy to sleep apnea.  The most commonly reported problem is the inability to maintain a regular sleeping cycle. Individuals may wake several times during the night and they may not feel rested after sleep.

• Because yoga decreases tension and anxiety, it improves the capacity for restful sleep.

• Deep breathing techniques, savasana, and restorative postures in yoga strengthen the vagus nerve and decrease activation of the sympathetic nervous system, allowing the practitioner to fall asleep more easily.

• Yoga helps to stabilize production of cortisol, a primary hormonal driver in sleep disturbance.

• In one study, individuals who practiced 45 minutes of yoga three times a week for twelve weeks saw an average 31% reduction in the “stress hormone”, cortisol. Click here for more.

Inability to Process & Organize Thoughts.

In early recovery people often feel unable to solve simple problems, maintain focus on a specified task, or reason in the abstract.

• Yoga increases focus, concentration, and attention through the practice of both concentration meditation and mindfulness meditation during postures.

• The practice of yoga improves circulation in the entire body, including the brain, potentially leading to improved neurological function.

• Yoga postures improve the movement of cerebrospinal fluid, bathing the brain with biochemicals and nutrition, and facilitating the removal of wastes.

Memory Problems.

PAWS causes people to have difficulty remembering what they learn and understand. Memories can fade and it may feel like they are not moving fluidly from short-term memory to long-term memory.

• Yoga increases the movement of cerebrospinal fluid and increases blood flow to the brain.

• Practitioners engage in breathing exercises that require rhythmic breathing in a group setting. Clinical studies on rhythm therapy utilizing this method of breathing show improvements in short term memory and facial recognition.

Lack of Initiative/Motivation.

• Yoga creates a sense of wellness and self-acceptance.

• Yoga increases energy

• By making a commitment to, and participating regularly in challenging yoga classes,  individuals in early recovery experiencing PAWS start to “do” what they mistakenly believed they could not.  This generates further motivation to confront a painful and negative self-concept that developed as part of the substance use disorder.  With a regular yoga practice, self-loathing is peeled away and replaced with a sense of accomplishment and a more positive self-concept.

Increased Sensitivity to Pain.

Yoga improves the practitioner’s self-awareness of the present moment. This increases proprioception and assists in the development of  a more regulated experience of pain and injury. It also trains the practitioner to relax into a disturbance, rather than avoid it. Over time, this changes how one conceptualizes and experiences pain.

• Yoga decreases inflammation, and as such, reduces the pain associated with arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and other autoimmune diseases.

• Studies on fibromyalgia and yoga have shown more than a 50% reduction in perceived pain after initiating a yoga practice.

• Yoga improves joint mobility, muscle strength and flexibility, skeletal alignment, and increases overall health.  

• Click here to see Dr. Rhonda Patrick and Joe Rogan: hot yoga vs. “exercise” for inflammation.

Emotional Overreactions or Emotional Numbing.

A newly recovering person may experience overreactions to situations that are benign, or have no reaction to very grave situations.  This response, due to a dysregulated sympathetic system (fight/flight/freeze), is common for those in early recovery and also for those who suffer from PTSD.  Many individuals in recovery also report trauma histories, and emotional overreactions and emotional numbing are also symptoms of PTSD. People with PTSD and SUDs often feel unsafe in safe situations.  And people in recovery from SUDs and PTSD often do not have a sense of personal agency, or choice. This makes it difficult to feel comfortable in and in control of one’s body.

more yoga means less reactivity

Sober Yogis Challenge

Yoga is the practice of being present within one’s body. As the practitioner begins to feel their body, part-by-part, they also learn to feel the emotions inside the body as well.

• Yoga trains the practitioner to breathe calmly, even when uncomfortable. This allows the yogi to experience uncomfortable thoughts and emotions without triggering a fight-or-flight response, diffusing the challenging feeling.

• Across the board, yoga students report a reduction in emotional overreaction that continues to grow the longer they continue the practice.

• For yogis who have long suppressed emotions, accessing them through the body is sometimes the only way to “metabolize”  and “release” these “stuck” emotions. This is a gentle way to release “content” without having it connected to “story,” memory, experience, or self-image.

• People talk about a “yoga glow” which is a deep feeling of wellness after practice. A body that feels good is much easier to “be present” inside.

• During the informal Sober Yogis study at Blaze Yoga and Pilates and Steam House Yoga and Pilates, participants reported an average  reduction from “severe to mild” in symptoms associated with emotional lability with frequency and length of practice. Greater gains in symptom reduction were made by increasing the frequency of practice.

• The decrease in emotional lability that was reported during the Sober Yogis Challenge is seemingly typical.  At the Justice Resource Institute, a reduction in symptoms of PTSD has been formally documented in a large study on Trauma Sensitive Yoga funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.  Those who practiced yoga more frequently saw more robust symptom reduction and a number of participants lost all of their symptoms (and diagnosis) by the end of the 10 week study.  

Problems with Physical Coordination.

It is common to experience problems with balance, hand-to-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and impaired reflexes during early recovery.

• Yoga postures begin by directing awareness to the breath and the body as a whole,  and then move to more focused attention on specific areas. This allows practitioners to slowly introduce physical movement with depth and control.

• The therapeutic practice of yoga improves coordination, balance, strength, flexibility, range of motion, joint health, circulation, and fine and gross motor skills.

Feeling Unable to Cope with Stress.

A low level of stress can cause an exaggerated reaction in the brain and nervous system during early recovery. A person also might feel stressed all the time without being able to articulate why.

The combination of damage to the nervous system caused by alcohol or drugs and the psychosocial stress of coping with life without drugs or alcohol can be overwhelming.

• Yoga decreases stress, tension, and anxiety.

• Yoga increases self-acceptance.

• Yoga encourages the development of a healthy ego, the ability to see one’s self through the lens of the present moment, and see one’s self as evolving through all of life’s experience over time.

• Yoga provides community. Individuals with social connections are not only healthier, but also cope with stress more easily. For more on the importance of social connections in early recovery, click here.  

Cravings/Urges/Thoughts of Using.

Craving is a natural physiological response to substance use, and it usually continues on and off well after substance use stops, and any physical withdrawal from substances is complete.  Craving is a desire for the substance that has been withdrawn. Cravings typically last from 5 to 30 minutes. They are one of the most frequent causes of relapse, even after long periods of abstinence.  

• Yoga helps to regulate and stabilize blood sugar and blood pressure (stress response), two factors involved in producing cravings.

• The practice of yoga cultivates patience, self-control, determination, concentration, and detachment, all of which are important skills for the process of identifying craving triggers.  Triggers include internal states such as depression and anxiety, or external cues, such as “people, places, and things.” Gradually being exposed to craving situations and NOT getting high, with the help of strong support, yoga, and good planning, can work to weaken and extinguish the craving triggers.  The process of extinguishing the craving triggers associated with an SUD is called the “deactivation of craving.”

• In hot yoga the sweat-factor, or heat therapy induces a feeling of relaxation and euphoria as the heated room improves and increases circulation.  This, in combination with the therapeutic movement in the hatha series, helps the practitioner develop a healthy connection with “feeling good, ” or a new “natural high.”  

Rating PAW.

Many individuals in early recovery find it useful to rate PAW symptoms on a weekly basis.    With a regular yoga practice, one can reduce the the impact of PAW. People who rate symptoms on a scale of 1 - 10, notice that some symptoms are alleviated quickly;  while others linger and then disappear; while some may appear out of the blue, seemingly without warning. It’s important to observe, breathe, and lean into what you notice, rather than panic or avoid exploring the discomfort.  

Remember:  PAW will be experienced differently by everyone. PAW is a natural and temporary aspect of  healing from a SUD. Avoidance of distress is what kindled the SUD in the first place. Some discomfort will most assuredly be a part of any healing process, and brain changes during early recovery are disagreeable.  In yoga we move, sweat, breathe, and, “get comfortable feeling uncomfortable.” During the process we create a positive and sustainable change and increase health and wellness.

Many find it helpful to rate PAW on a scale of 1-10, weekly or monthly. Over a period of time PAW may improve (regenerative PAW); may get worse (degenerative PAW); stay the same (stable PAW), or it may come and go (intermittent PAW). Information is power and protection against relapse. If symptoms are high, get to your yoga mat for some symptom relief.

know your rating.

Detoxification

The hardest part of recovering from an SUD is clearing toxins, both physical and emotional.  In Hot Hatha Yoga, the body releases toxins and sweats out impurities. The more you sweat, the more toxins will be cleared. The liver, kidneys, lungs, and excretory organs are the most responsible for clearing toxins from the body.  The skin is the largest organ in the body, and it is our skin that excretes sweat. Sweat is comprised of water and several important minerals, and studies have also shown that sweat contains heavy metals, fat soluble toxins, and urea in the same concentrations found in human urine.  While sweat may not be a primary mover of wastes in the body, it does have the potential to reduce the detoxification burden on the liver. This is good news, as liver damage is very common for individuals with SUDs.

Vasodilation

Exercising in a heated environment causes immediate and complete vasodilation throughout the body. This process improves the ease with which the body can transport blood, waste, nutrients, and biochemicals, thereby increasing the speed of recovery and healing.

If You Want to Feel Better, GET HOT

If we support the body by increasing circulation, we simultaneously decrease the severity and duration of symptoms associated with PAW for those with SUDs.  

For those new to exercise or recovering from a lifetime of illness or injury, practicing in a heated room allows for more movement with a drastically-reduced risk of injury. This makes the practice safe and effective for people of all levels of health and wellness.

Heat Speeds Healing

It feels good to move your body.  It feels good to sweat. Completing a full-body workout like we do in Hot Yoga lends a sense of accomplishment and pride. Through a regular practice, we can rebuild our minds and bodies and set a solid foundation on which to build a new and satisfying life.

Click for Sober Yogis Media.

May 14, 2015 SoberYogis™ WMUR NH Chronicle

May 14, 2015 SoberYogis™ WMUR NH Chronicle

Acknowledgments.

Barbara Dugan, MDiv, MLADC, DOT/SAP

Cover Photo: With permission. William and Christopher Dugan

Thank you, Sara and Jaylon Curry, Co-owners of  Blaze Yoga and Hot Pilates for conceptualizing this program, and making it possible.  Special thanks to Emily McIsaac, Steam House Yoga and Pilates, who implemented this program within months of opening her studio; to Pure Action/Yoga is Medicine for giving us a format to present the findings; to Ozgur Akbas, LMFT for compiling and organizing the findings; to Kevin Hall for help with design; and most especially to all the Sober Yogis who inspire us everyday with their stories of courage and hope from the mat.  

For More on this Topic.

Terence Gorski’s Blog

Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome: A Comprehensive Guide

Dan Wagner, MSW

Detoxing after Detox:  The Perils of Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome

Jeanne Heaton

Growing Up Chaotic/Bikram and Recovery

Humble the Resistance with Jeanne Heaton

Alive, Present, and Free

"What if we eliminated the word "sober?"  I don't like that word.  Would it be a bad thing if I didn't like that word?  Why can't it be called 'Alive, Present, Free?'  The addiction is no longer what I do in with my life.  It is not in my life."  ~BC

Ever noticed how, when your heart is full (or empty), that it's hard to find the words?        Welcome to the Olympics of Healing. 

If you are feeling "Alive, Present and Free" the word "sober" may not accurately describe your experience of recovery.  Nor does it have to.  We are at liberty, and even more importantly, it is vital to recovery, to witness feelings and experiences authentically.  

Whether we are feeling “Alive, Present and Free,” or identify strongly with the word sober as the second part of “Clean and Sober,” is personal,  changes, and is something to consider on a daily basis.  The work is to stay in the present moment; breathe; practice non-avoidance of self, and let go of how we think we "should" be.  There is no "right" way to feel an experience.  It just is.  Recovery is all about learning to trust yourself, and accepting all parts of yourself and your experiences without avoidance.  So let's just relax and accept that some days we are going to feel full; and on others, we may feel absolutely gutted.  It's called life on life's terms.

If we are open, will feel joy and we will feel pain ~ and it all gets blended up together in the giant green smoothie of human emotion and experience.  We can be confident we are whole when we allow ourselves to feel it all in the mix, and not reach outside ourselves for distractions from living life on life's terms.  Here's to standing up tall in the middle of our experiences, come what may.

All experiences are just that:  experiences; not life sentences.  So, we keep practicing what we need to do to continue on the path; One Day at a Time, One Breath at a Time, One Act of Self- and Other-Love at a time.

"The question is, are you going to grow or are you going to just stay as you are out of fear, and waste your precious human life by status quo-ing instead of being willing to break the sound barrier? Break the glass ceiling, or whatever it is in your own life? Are you willing to go forward?" ~ Pema Chodron, fail fail again fail better ©2015

7 Challenges in Recovery & What We Can Do.

Self-Pity, Self Avoidance and Passivity.

"Why me?  Cure me! Fix me; don't change me!" 

Self-pity and passivity are no way to recover.  In fact, self-pity, self-avoidance, and passivity are probably the driving forces behind the progression of the disease to begin with.  There is no substitute for taking personal responsibility for our recovery.  We choose to learn by leaning into the discomfort of early recovery and increasing awareness of ourselves in such a way that we can embrace the “assignment.”

Resisting Total Abstinence.

Many people in early recovery have a difficult time with the recommendation of total abstinence.  If, for instance, they have gotten into trouble with alcohol, but not with pot, they conclude that they should only abstain from alcohol.  This is not a sound conclusion for a number of reasons.  If we want to recovery fully and become enlightened, the best decision is to abstain from all other drugs (and alcohol).

Here’s why.

 i.     Using anything else (that is not part of a prescribed addiction recovery program i.g. anti-depressant or other psychopharmacology) will set off urges to use the drug of choice.

ii.     Using other drugs to cope with life got us addicted in the first place.

iii.     Using other drugs (or consuming alcohol) will prolong cravings.

iv.     Relapse does not start when we pick up our drug of choice.  It actually starts with our thinking.

Cravings.

Cravings are a physical manifestation of the disease leaving the body.  It is a mistake to think cravings are an indication that treatment is not working OR that you have to use in order to alleviate a craving. Instead: Short-circuit the urge. 

Get out of the moment by canceling the thought instead of feeding it. Turn towards something nurturing.  Turn towards love rather than fear.  Call someone who support,s loves you and understands the disease. Get to a meeting. Get to yoga. Go to the gym. Change the thought; change the behavior; extinguish the craving.

 High Risk Set Ups.

 High Risk Set Ups are people, places, or things that are associated with alcohol or drug use.  Some examples might be:  unhealthy relationships, old hang outs, having using paraphernalia around, including favorite beer t-shirts, or steins, wine glasses—anything one associates with using.  Many people believe that they can beat this disease by themselves, by just making a simple decision not to use.  What we often forget is the power of rituals, behaviors, and feelings that were driving the use.  We need to bring these out into the open in order to identify high-risk set ups and stay away from them.  Exercise:  Construct a relapse scenario.  What could arise in your life that has the potential to set you up?

 The Idealized High.

If you find yourself idealizing or romancing a high; cut this thought off and go to the worst possible moment you can remember while using-- times when you were physically ill or in danger of hurting yourself of someone else, or times perhaps, where you actually did did cause yourself or another harm. 

Overconfidence and Testing Control.

The old thinking pattern of “I think I’ll go to the bar and play pool and see my friends—I can handle it, besides, I’ve decided not to drink and/or use anymore and I’m starting to feel really good.” is a high risk set up we need to move away from completely.  Choosing to think it is possible to be cured of this disease has led many to relapse.  Recovery requires a healthy respect for the damage this disease can do, even after one has been clean a while.  A decision not to use is a good first step, and remember, if a decision were all that was necessary to stop using nobody would need to read this.  Protect your sobriety by not sabotaging yourself in this way.

Overreacting to Slips.

If you have a slip or relapse, it is important to put on the breaks as quickly as possible.  Don’t wallow in despair, guilt and misery.  Turn towards your recovery.  Turn towards what is nurturing.  Turn towards self-compassion. Connect to goodness and don't be afraid to call on love.  Call someone who understands the disease of addiction and can help you turn yourself around.

Exercise:  If you slipped; what would you do?  Who would you call?

Adapted from Dr. Arnold Washton.  Dr Washton can be found at www.recoveryoptions.us