Managing symptoms of CPTSD can be difficult, especially since medications have such a low success rate and the symptoms are so pervasive. Trying to regulate ourselves and manage our various symptoms leads to self-isolation, which often keeps us stationary indoors. Because of physical trauma, many who live with CPTSD feel uncomfortable and disconnected from their bodies. These realities often cause people with CPTSD to ignore taking proper care of their bodies and socializing, which are both important components in healing from trauma.
There is a lot of advice floating around about practicing mindfulness and how meditation can help anxiety. For those who experience these symptoms, there is sometimes no worse advice than to meditate. Perhaps at a later stage in healing, mindfulness meditation (where a person focuses on mantras) works, but in my experience, there is nothing worse than having to sit still in silence while you’re feeling anxious and dysregulated.
After struggling with emotional dysregulation, flashbacks, and panic attacks that led me to self-isolate and not exercise, I decided to try yoga. I had been watching my boyfriend practice yoga for a while, and at first, I admittedly thought it was weird. However, he kept telling me how much benefit he found from it, and I was desperate for change, so I decided to give it a try.
I began doing yoga with my boyfriend by following a yoga instructor on YouTube that he had been following for a while, Adriene Mishler, who runs a channel called Yoga with Adriene. She has a variety of videos geared towards meeting people wherever they are in their yoga experience level, and she has a number of videos for anxiety and depression, which are common symptoms in many mental disorders including PTSD and CPTSD.
Yoga with Adriene is not the only good yoga instructor on YouTube or other streaming platforms, simply the one I like to follow the most. Sometimes we explore other instructors, but I haven’t found any others that work better for me.
The Benefits of Yoga for CPTSD
As I said earlier, though psychiatric medication is still considered the first line of treatment for PTSD, there is a low rate of success in their use (55%), and it is worth noting that the VA no longer recommends these medications as the first line of treatment. There are a wide variety of therapeutic treatments that have been researched and used for treatment of PTSD, and yoga is one that has been shown to improve symptoms.
Yoga focuses on breathwork and mindfulness while a person moves through various poses. According to this study published in 2024, these main components of yoga may help with self-regulation immediately and if used consistently over time. In my experience, the combination of guided activity with mindfulness produces the benefits of mindfulness meditation without the danger of your mind running off into flashbacks, as many have found is the case with mindfulness meditation and PTSD or other anxiety disorders.
There are also various types of breathing practiced in yoga, but one exercise that I have found to be very helpful and transportable is Alternate Nostril Breathing, which I learned from Yoga with Adriene in this video. I say it is “transportable” because I have found that I can be discreet and do it anywhere when I feel I’m becoming dysregulated or a panic attack is coming on.
The other benefits of yoga are, of course, increased flexibility, strength, and cardio exercise. There are different levels of yoga, and if someone wants to sweat there is yoga for that. If a person wants to relax, there is yoga for that. A yoga mat helps, but it isn’t required.
Where to Practice Yoga Safely
Yoga can be practiced anywhere that you have space, and you don’t need to go to the gym or a special studio. Because there are so many free videos by so many yoga instructors available online, there is no need to pay an instructor. I prefer to practice at home where I don’t feel self-conscious. I am also not going to lie, but if you do yoga right, it will make you fart. There will also be times when you will lose your balance, and you have to be careful not to fall in a way that hurts yourself.
Conclusion: Yoga as a Healing Tool for Trauma
Yoga is a very valuable tool for combating symptoms of PTSD such as anxiety, flashbacks, and depression. It has been shown to be more effective than psychotropic drugs over time, and it also has many health benefits.
A note on the use of CPTSD and PTSD: Since CPTSD (Complex post traumatic stress disorder) is not yet an accepted disorder by the AMA, a lot of literature is regarding PTSD (Post traumatic Stress Disorder). Because these disorders are so similar, much of the advise and treatments can be interchanged though there are marked differences on the two especially regarding the onset and length of the disorders.
Thank you for reading this weeks article! I would love to hear of your experiences in managing your symptoms or with Yoga! Comment below or find me on social media!
Did you like what you read?
The Diary Of A Flopping Fish and any posts or articles published on Diaryofafloppingfish.com are not reviewed by a therapist or medical or mental health professional. Resources are cited and opinion is opinion. No advice or opinions in any articles replace professional advice from a doctor, therapist, or any other kind of health professional. The author is not a licensed professional of any kind.
Diary of a Flopping Fish 
Leave a comment