Yoga can help girls who have experienced trauma

Programs are using yoga and meditation to help reduce some of the effects of trauma experienced by young girls.

Studies show that 70 percent of girls in the juvenile justice system have experienced some form of trauma, according to a report by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality.

That’s why the Art of Yoga Project and similar programs focus on helping girls who are marginalized or in the juvenile justice system. There are still the three main components of yoga: physical poses, regulated breathing, and aspects of mindfulness or meditation. But there’s much more to trauma-sensitive yoga than what is on the surface. “The yoga forms may look similar to your average yoga studio, if you just looked at the class. But the way we’re interacting with the forms is quite different,” David Emerson, founder and director of yoga services for the Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute in Massachusetts, said. They were also more likely to open up about past traumas.

“Girls in a residential program disclosed past incidences of sexual violence that the case workers hadn’t known about,” said Epstein. “So girls can contribute to more effective treatment plans for themselves through participation in yoga class.” And like Enriquez, girls are able to use breathing techniques to avoid responding aggressively when provoked.

This decreased reactivity — pausing before acting — is also seen in children who participate in mindfulness meditation programs. “Youth seem to be able to put a little bit more space between what is happening, what they’re experiencing, and their reaction to it,” Dr. Erica Sibinga, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told Healthline.

Like trauma-sensitive yoga, mindfulness meditation can help children deal with the parts of their lives that they can’t control. “The goal is to try and improve the overall situation,” said Sibinga, “and provide tools for improved coping in relation to the stress and trauma that the youth are experiencing.” While mindfulness can provide benefits to children all by itself — without physical yoga poses — this type of meditation is a key part of trauma-sensitive yoga. People who have been through trauma — especially those who have survived sexual violence — can become disconnected from their own bodies. “It’s an effective coping mechanism for the moment of trauma when you can’t escape,” said Epstein. “But when you remain stuck in that state, it can affect your awareness of your own needs and your ability to form connections to others.”