Trauma is an experience or situation that is often both emotionally painful and distressing, and leaves an enduring impression on the person experiencing it.  We all experience painful and distressing events in life. But what makes one experience a trauma, and another not is dependent on a wide variety of parameters. 

The way of interaction among people has changed in the last 50 years. While the generation of our grandparents hardly left their towns and usually interacted with a manageable amount of people, we meet new people every day, be it through travelling, the Internet or our globalized work fields. We connect with colleagues over Facebook/Google Plus and might befriend hundreds or even thousands of people over social media platforms. Communication has become more indirect and chatting more prominent than face-to-face talk. Qualities like empathy or care can be expressed in a chat window. We can put a like-button to show appreciation. If we see something we dislike or don’t feel like engaging with another person, we can simply disconnect.

Our modern era is airy and Vata dominant. It is fast, superficial, quickly changing and able to spread ideas in a millisecond. If we give in to the speed, we can get increasingly agitated and overwhelmed. Cellphones, Internet and television increase Vata in the system. Nervousness, anxiety, worry and restlessness are indicators of a Vata aggravated society. Therefore we might question more often how to react to communication so that we can keep calm.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the clinical implications of a close collaboration between a psychotherapist and yoga therapist and the application of their respective therapeutic techniques in the treatment of trauma.

‘Asastra sastracikitsa’ is how the legendary Yogi T Krishnamacharya defined the process of Yoga Therapy. Literally translated this means that Yoga Therapy is akin to surgery without surgical instruments. The grand master Krishnamacharya was a pioneer of not just creating a renaissance in the field of Yoga practice, but also has been one of the foremost authorities on reviving the ancient art of Yoga Therapy for the benefit of mankind. 

Even though we know that human beings are complex, we are dealing with problems or imbalances in a unidimensional way. Society is used to address symptoms rather than congeries and uses one-pointed remedies to tackle them. When we have a headache we take a headache pill (no matter which headache or which cause), if we have emotional problems we seek the advice of a therapist and hope for a single solution and when our vitality is lacking we use coffee and other stimulants to feel more awake. Like that, we might have gathered an accumulation of symptoms- and an accumulation of single pointed remedies. People see a massage therapist for neck pain, take herbal pills against constipation and use painkillers for their headache.

Yoga has become increasingly popular these days. Its popularity has not only raised awareness around this potent practice but has also brought forth a lot of questions. Yogatmata is a humble attempt to answer some of these questions through a series of video clips and share the true nature of Yoga. Welcome to the journey.