Healing from the Horrors of War: The Amazing Effects of Yoga on PTSD
Featured image courtesy New York Times
LALITH GUNARATNE on 06/21/2016
If only political leaders knew the horrors of war first hand, they might find other ways to solve differences, to meet threats – perhaps go to the root causes of the conflicts that stem from crucial conversations about identity, rights and privileges – listen, seek to understand and compromise in the common interest – anything to stop the guns from coming out.
Then again, war has become an economic machine – run by the Military Industrial Complex, as US President Dwight Eisenhower warned in his January 17, 1961 farewell address to the nation. President Eisenhower knew a thing or two about the horrors of war, having served as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces to see the end of World War II in Europe. Eisenhower expressed his concerns about the dangers of massive military spending, particularly deficit spending and government contracts to private military manufacturers.
The world has not heeded his wise words to date, as even the modern day leader’s minds have not evolved from the hunter gatherer days, it seems, as the only way to solve a conflict is to pick up a stick – just that our modern day weaponry is much more lethal.
It is indeed these modern day weapons, the powerful blasts, then the mayhem it creates, that seems to be causing the Post Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD) for soldiers and civilians, apart from the human misery and trauma of war. PTSD is catching the attention of the public, especially in North America, as it is impacting society as a whole and families in particular.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) program – IDEAS hosted by Paul Kennedy and produced by Mary O’Connell showcased a story called All In The Family, Part 3 (April 21st2016) to highlight people who suffer trauma growing up in violent and abusive families and how it impacts their entire lives and the people around them.
The CBC website on the program stated;
Trauma is not a story about the past – it lives in the present: in both the mind and body. Left untreated, it has no expiration date, whether it’s trauma arising from childhood abuse or PTSD suffered as an adult. In recent years we’ve heard a lot about how resilience and character can mitigate the effects of trauma.
I was interested in the work showcased by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk – a Clinical Psychiatrist who works to integrate mind, brain, body and social connections to understand trauma. I was especially excited when he spoke of Yoga, Martial Arts, Dance, Meditation and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) – a simple eye exercise used in integrative psychotherapy.
In the dominant Western culture where better living is prescribed through Chemistry, van der Volk offers an alternative solution based on Eastern practices through an inward journey of the body and mind, with breath and movement to cultivate insight and awareness, as he believes this trauma is physical and lives in the body.
Sri Lanka having been through its 30 year war is certain to have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) victims.
