The Body’s Path to Healing: Transforming Trauma Through Yoga – An Interview with Dr. Arielle Schwartz

What if the missing piece in your healing journey wasn’t a better therapist or the right medication, but a deeper conversation with your own body?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz grew up in a household where yoga and psychology were already in conversation. But by twelve, she had lost her footing and spent nearly a decade struggling with anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide. It took a spontaneous kundalini awakening in France at twenty to set her back on course. She didn’t have words for what happened. She only knew it was real. That experience became the seed of everything she does today as a trauma psychologist, somatic therapist, and yoga teacher whose work lives at the crossroads of neuroscience and the wisdom of the body.

In this conversation, she breaks down why your nervous system is not broken, why talk therapy alone often isn’t enough, and why post-traumatic growth is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about learning to hold all of it at once. If you have ever felt like your body was working against you, this episode may just change your mind.

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I’d love to get to know more about your backstory and hear about your journey of awakening to mindfulness, consciousness, spirituality. Did you grow up in a household that asked those kinds of questions and created space for them, or did that come later in life?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: I actually did grow up with this, so I feel really fortunate. My upbringing was somewhat complicated, and it helps to provide a little context, as spirituality became an incredible lifeline for me.

My parents divorced when I was about four years old, and there was a lot of early disruption, conflict, and stress that I was exposed to as a young child. After the divorce, both of my parents remarried. My mom, who is a psychologist, married my stepfather, who is not only a psychotherapist but was also deeply involved in yoga and spirituality. He brought all of that into our household.

When I was seven years old, for example, he introduced yoga into my third-grade classroom, and we practiced every Friday. At home, we had a family “Om” around the dinner table. There were these beautiful anchors in my life during a time that was otherwise quite difficult.

Especially because I continued to experience challenges at my father’s home, my mom’s house became not only a psychologically and emotionally supportive space, but also a deeply spiritual one. It was a place where we could all drop into something meaningful together.

That’s amazing. A daily Om around the kitchen table—that’s incredible.

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: It really was amazing. And it was always accompanied by an emotional check-in. When I look back, I realize that yoga and psychology were already being integrated in my life when I was six or seven years old.

As you grew up, did that remain part of your life, or did you move away from it for a while and then come back to it? How did that unfold?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: We all have a pretty good sense of what can happen during the teenage years. Suddenly, all of that “woo-woo” yoga stuff wasn’t exactly cool anymore.

At the same time, I was struggling with anxiety, shame, and depression. There was a confluence of factors—the accumulated impact of my early life experiences and the stress I was carrying on a daily basis. Yoga no longer felt like it fit into who I was, and I became pretty lost.

Looking back, it was probably only about eight years, but those years were significant. I was thinking about suicide. I was in a very dark place. We sometimes talk about the dark

6 p.m. Night of the Soul, and that was certainly true for me.

That darkness began around age twelve and lasted until I was about twenty.

How did you find your way out of that darkness? Was there a particular event or person who helped you?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: I think you’ll find this story particularly interesting.

There were a few deeply spiritual and synchronistic events. One of them was that yoga came back into my life when I was around twenty years old and, once again, became a lifeline.

A friend dragged me to a yoga class while we were in college. Afterward, I felt better. I felt a little more grounded and a little less anxious. I remember thinking, “I liked that. I want more of that.” So I kept going back.

The more I practiced, the more I consistently felt that yoga was providing a missing piece. It felt familiar, like returning to solid ground.

Around that same time, I spent a semester abroad in France during my junior year of college. While I was there, I had what I would describe as a spontaneous Kundalini experience—a powerful spiritual awakening that I had absolutely no words for.

The first time it happened, I was terrified. I thought I was dying. I thought I was being electrocuted. It was so confusing that I didn’t talk to anyone about it for quite a while.

Then it happened again.

The second time, I knew I hadn’t died the first time, so I surrendered to it a little more and became curious. Eventually, I found the courage to tell a few people. Most of them had no idea what I was talking about, but one friend suggested I speak with a religious studies professor.

When I returned from France, I was still in college. I walked into this professor’s office during his open office hours, even though I didn’t know him at all, and told him my story.

He was incredibly open-minded. He said, “I’ve never experienced that directly, but I’ve read about it.” Then he started handing me books on spirituality.

In those books, people were describing experiences almost identical to mine—the energy moving through the body, the sensation of electricity, the sounds I was hearing, and the profound opening of the heart.

That experience sent me on a much deeper path of trying to understand the intersection of spirituality and a larger life purpose.

At that point, did you ever consider going to a doctor, or did you just decide to move through it?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: It’s funny because it never even occurred to me that it might be a medical issue.

Looking back, I sometimes wonder why that possibility never crossed my mind, but it didn’t. I never considered seeing a doctor. I think I assumed they would probably think I was crazy.

At what point did you decide to pursue a career focused on helping others? Did you enter college intending to study psychology?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: I actually entered college thinking I was going to become a math teacher. That plan didn’t last very long.

Once I got into calculus, I realized, “You know what? I don’t think this is my path.”

Because my mom was a psychologist and my stepfather was a social worker, I started taking psychology classes. Once again, I found a familiar language and a familiar ground for myself. Psychology quickly became my major.

The body-centered aspect of that work also entered my life before I finished my undergraduate degree.

I had been studying the foundations of psychology—developmental psychology, psychopathology, and the core academic subjects—but I was also having these powerful experiences through yoga. I felt more grounded, less anxious, and more connected.

Then a friend suggested I attend a somatic therapy workshop focused on Body-Mind Centering. I went, and it was profound.

The practices were incredibly simple. We spent time gently rocking, lying on the floor, and even relearning how to crawl. On the surface, you might wonder what any of that could possibly do.

But it opened something very deep inside of me.

I could feel myself touching into unfinished aspects of my past and childhood. It was as if my body was finally ready to heal and reveal what those experiences had truly been like.

That experience sparked a deep curiosity about the body-mind connection. As I explored further, I discovered that only a handful of schools in the country offered master ‘s-level programs focused on somatic psychology.

That search ultimately brought me to Boulder, Colorado, where I still live today, to study somatic psychology.

I am curious—at what point did somatic psychology or somatic healing enter the academic world in the United States? Do you know the general timeline?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: Probably in the 1980s, although it had gained traction in Europe much earlier.

If you look back at the roots of psychoanalysis, you’ll find a contemporary of Freud named Wilhelm Reich. Reich planted some of the earliest seeds of somatic psychology by recognizing that our experiences don’t exist only in the mind. We carry tension in the body, restrict our breathing, and often hold emotions physically.

His work really took off in Europe. By the 1970s and 1980s, approaches like bioenergetics were becoming more widely known, and Alexander Lowen’s work began making its way to the United States.

I was born in 1972, so I was too young to be aware of it firsthand, but bioenergetics was having a significant moment during that era. Over time, somatic therapies continued to evolve. The early approaches were often very cathartic—things like primal scream therapy, hitting pillows, or engaging in stress postures to release emotions.

By the time I began studying somatics in the 1990s, the field had shifted toward a more regulated, mindfulness-based approach. The focus became less about getting emotions out and more about learning to experience sensations in the body, stay present with them, and integrate those experiences into a greater sense of empowerment, confidence, and self-worth.

I started going to traditional talk therapy when I was in college, trying to navigate relationships and all the challenges that came with that stage of life. I’ve done a lot of therapy over the years, but about four years ago, while working through some grief, someone suggested I see a somatic therapist.

This particular practitioner used a method called Neo Emotional Release. It was revolutionary for me. I’d lie on a massage table, fully clothed, and we’d enter a deep meditative state. Suddenly, I was seeing things, hearing things, and emotions would start pouring out of me. I remember thinking, “Where is this coming from?”

I probably did thirty or forty sessions with him. It was incredibly helpful.

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: I can really relate to that.

In many ways, your experience mirrors what happened to me during that first Body-Mind Centering workshop. We were doing things that seemed incredibly simple, and yet something profound opened inside of me.

I came home from that workshop and cried for three straight days.

It touched something so deep and so fundamental, connected to my earliest attachment experiences. At the time, I didn’t have language for any of it. Much of it was pre-verbal material. But my body certainly had emotions that needed to be expressed.

Today, we’re talking about your course on Yoga International called Post-Traumatic Growth and Yoga: A Trauma-Informed Path to Nervous System Regulation. Before we get into the course itself, tell us a little about Yoga International.

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: Yoga International is an incredible platform, and I’m genuinely honored to have my course hosted there.

I’ve been a member of Yoga International for many years—long before I ever had the opportunity to teach with them. What I appreciate most is the caliber of teachers they bring together. Everything is grounded in a rich yoga tradition while also being informed by science, anatomy, and a deep understanding of the body-mind connection.

It’s an online platform that offers both classes and courses. What I love is that it serves everyone—from someone who’s never taken a yoga class before to experienced teachers who have been teaching for decades.

For me, it’s one of my favorite places to continue learning and stay current with some of the most nuanced approaches to integrating science, spirituality, embodiment, and healing.

What a wonderful resource. No matter where someone lives in the world, whether they don’t have access to a studio, can’t afford classes, or simply feel intimidated walking into a yoga studio for the first time, it’s something they can explore from the comfort of their own home.

Let’s talk about your course, Post-Traumatic Growth and Yoga: A Trauma-Informed Path to Nervous System Regulation. Who is this course for, and what can people expect to learn?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: Honestly, I think this course is for almost everyone.

The research suggests that by the time we reach adulthood, approximately 90 percent of us will have experienced at least one significant adversity in our lives. Trauma exposure is far more common than most people realize.

Simply acknowledging that fact helps remove some of the shame from the conversation. It reminds us that if you’re human, you’re going to face adversity. You’re going to experience loss, uncertainty, or moments that feel completely beyond your control.

This course is designed to give people practical tools and skills while helping them develop a deeper understanding of themselves.

At its core, the course is rooted in understanding the nervous system. For many years, I’ve studied and taught the neuroscience of the mind-body connection. One of the most important things we can learn is how different states of the nervous system influence our emotional experiences.

Nervous system dysregulation—which we explore and define throughout the course—often lies beneath many of the challenges people face. Whether we’re talking about anxiety, depression, panic, post-traumatic stress, or a wide range of other emotional difficulties, we can often understand those symptoms as expressions of a nervous system that has become dysregulated.

When we begin to understand that, it opens the door to a completely different approach to healing.

For those who may not be familiar with the term, what does it mean to have a dysregulated nervous system?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: One of the first things I’d say is that many of us are walking around with dysregulated nervous systems and don’t even realize it.

We live in a culture that values and normalizes constant vigilance for threats, nonstop productivity, and the pressure to always be accomplishing something. Over time, that can leave us feeling burned out, disconnected, or cut off from a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.

When we’re talking about nervous system regulation, it can be helpful to first understand what a regulated nervous system looks like.

A regulated nervous system allows us to move fluidly between different states. There are times during the day when we feel alert, energized, motivated, and capable of meeting challenges. That capacity comes from the sympathetic nervous system, which you can think of as the body’s metaphorical gas pedal.

We also have the parasympathetic nervous system, which acts like the brakes. This system allows us to slow down, rest, digest, and restore. However, if it becomes imbalanced, it can lead to feelings of shutdown, collapse, hopelessness, low energy, or stagnation.

A healthy nervous system is the ability to move rhythmically between these states—to engage fully with life when needed and then return to deep rest afterward.

When we’re able to access true rest, we sleep better, digest our food more effectively, and experience greater overall well-being.

Dysregulation happens when we become stuck.

Sometimes we get stuck with our foot on the gas pedal. We feel like we always have to be on. We become restless, irritable, anxious, and unable to slow down.

Other times, we get stuck in the opposite direction. We feel hopeless, depressed, ashamed, exhausted, or disconnected from motivation.

Reclaiming nervous system regulation is really about restoring that healthy balance and, in turn, supporting overall mind-body health.

I know for me, I tend to get stuck in go-go-go mode. Then, when I finally stop, I feel guilty for not doing more. That guilt ends up robbing me of the restoration I was supposed to get from resting in the first place. I imagine that’s pretty common.

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: It’s very common.

And I appreciate you sharing that because it highlights something important: many of us can recognize where our imbalance tends to live.

One of the goals of learning about the nervous system—and certainly one of the goals of my course—is helping people become more aware of their own patterns.

Do you tend to live in a state of vigilance, restlessness, irritability, and constant motion? Or do you struggle more with low energy, difficulty getting out of bed, and a lack of motivation?

The most important part of this process is learning to observe your nervous system without judgment.

Can you look through the lens of nervous system awareness with compassion? Can you recognize that when you get stuck, it’s not because something is wrong with you? It’s because your nervous system is doing its best to help you survive what it perceives to be a challenging world.

So where does yoga fit into all of this? How does yoga help people recover from trauma? What role does it play?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: Yoga offers several powerful pathways for developing what we call nervous system flexibility, or autonomic nervous system health.

As we’ve discussed, we don’t want to be stuck in either extreme. We don’t want to be trapped in chronic activation, and we don’t want to remain stuck in collapse or shutdown.

Yoga helps us develop flexibility through breath, posture, and movement.

The breath is especially important because it directly reflects what’s happening in the nervous system. Every inhalation brings a little more sympathetic activation, while every exhalation supports a shift into the parasympathetic state.

The changes are subtle. You may not notice them breath by breath, but once you understand this relationship, you begin to realize you can intentionally influence your nervous system through your breathing.

In yoga, we call this pranayama, or breath control.

For example, if you’re feeling sluggish and want more energy, you can emphasize the inhalation and invite more oxygen, vitality, and activation into the system.

On the other hand, if you’re feeling overstimulated or having difficulty falling asleep, you can lengthen the exhalation. Exhaling for twice as long as you inhale sends a signal from the body back to the brain that says, “We’re safe enough to rest.”

It helps us come out of that state of vigilance.

Breath is one direct pathway to reshaping the nervous system, and posture is another.

Think about what happens when you’re slouched. Your shoulders roll forward, your gaze drops, and your body folds inward. What emotions become more accessible in that shape? Perhaps grief, tenderness, sadness, or shame.

You may even find yourself remembering other moments when you felt vulnerable.

If we look at animals that have been mistreated, they often tuck their tails underneath themselves. Humans do something very similar. We curl inward and make ourselves smaller to protect ourselves and avoid becoming a target.

On the other hand, when we’re vigilant or preparing to defend ourselves, our posture becomes more rigid. Our awareness sharpens, and our senses become highly attuned to what’s happening around us.

Our bodies tell the story of our nervous system.

Yoga offers opportunities to move rhythmically between these different states through breath and movement.

Think of poses like Child’s Pose or a Forward Fold, where you turn inward and create space to notice where emotions such as grief, shame, or vulnerability might be living in the body.

Then imagine moving into a Warrior Pose or a Five-Pointed Star. These shapes invite you to take up space, feel grounded through your legs, and explore a sense of strength and empowerment.

Sometimes taking up more space brings up fear. But as we stay present with that experience, we begin to move through it.

And on the other side, we often rediscover confidence, self-worth, and a deeper sense of inner stability.

As you talk about this, I’m hearing a strong emphasis on breath as part of the yoga practice. So, how is this course different from simply attending regular yoga classes? What makes it unique, and where does it take people? Also, how many sessions are included?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: I have to think about the exact number. The course includes a series of lectures and several guided practices. Altogether, it’s about three hours of content. I believe there are six or seven specific yoga classes included, and they’re intentionally kept relatively short.

One of the things I love about this format is that many people recovering from trauma don’t always have the capacity to commit to a full hour-long class. Sometimes what feels manageable is twenty minutes focused on nervous system restoration, a fifteen-minute self-compassion practice, a short breathwork session, or a brief meditation.

Some of the practices are breath-centered, some are meditation-focused, and others emphasize movement and yoga postures. The course is designed to provide these bite-sized experiences that people can return to whenever they need support.

As for what makes this different from a general yoga class, there are several important distinctions.

One of the biggest differences is that throughout the course, I continually emphasize choice.

Sometimes a traditional yoga class can feel a little like a game of Simon Says. Raise your arms overhead. Step wider. Move your foot here. Do this pose. Do that pose. You’re following instructions without necessarily checking in with yourself.

A trauma-informed approach is different. It encourages you to notice how your body wants to move. How do you respond when you’re invited to raise your arms overhead? What happens inside when you try a particular breathing technique?

Rather than simply following instructions, you’re learning to use your body as a feedback system.

You might experiment with a breathing practice and then ask, “How does this affect me today? Does this feel supportive for my nervous system right now?”

Choice is a foundational element of trauma-informed yoga.

Another important difference is that traditional yoga often emphasizes strength, flexibility, or mastering a pose. The focus can become achieving something physically—getting deeper into a posture, becoming more flexible, or perfecting a particular shape.

This approach has a very different intention.

We’re building nervous system flexibility. We’re building resilience. We’re cultivating psychological flexibility. And we’re honoring your authentic experience every step of the way.

The invitation is always to move from the inside out.

It’s not about what the posture looks like. It’s about how it feels.

Let’s talk about body size, flexibility, and age. I didn’t start yoga until about four years ago. I finally worked up the courage to walk into a studio, and I remember thinking, “There are going to be a bunch of flexible twenty-somethings in here, and I’m going to be the awkward older guy who can’t touch his toes.”

What would you say to people who have concerns about whether yoga is really for them?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: My biggest intention is to create classes that are welcoming for everybody, regardless of where they are in life or where they are in their practice.

One of my favorite things is teaching people who are attending their very first yoga class. It’s such an honor to create a space where they feel safe enough to begin.

Part of that comes from de-emphasizing achievement.

Somewhere along the way, many people started to believe that you’ve only really “done yoga” if you can touch your toes or achieve a certain pose.

But yoga isn’t about accomplishment.

At its core, yoga means connection. It means union. It’s about bringing your awareness into a relationship with your present-moment experience.

We’re using the breath to cultivate a sense of safety and create space for whatever emotions may be present.

Sometimes yoga means resting in Savasana for an entire class because that’s exactly what your system needs that day.

Yoga can be practiced sitting in a chair. It can be practiced lying in bed. Once we understand that, the entire playing field opens up.

Again, it’s not about what yoga looks like.

It’s about creating enough safety within yourself to deeply love and accept yourself exactly as you are.

One of my teachers used to say that the stiff people are the lucky ones.

We’re often looking for the right amount of sensation in a yoga practice. If you’re naturally very flexible, it can take a deep posture to create that sensation.

But if simply sitting on the floor with a long spine creates plenty of sensation for you, then you’re already there.

You’re already practicing yoga.

One of the topics you explore in the course is the vagus nerve and polyvagal theory. For people who may not be familiar with those terms, what is the vagus nerve, and why is it important?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: The vagus nerve is your tenth cranial nerve.

Most of the cranial nerves stay concentrated around the face, eyes, ears, mouth, and scalp. The vagus nerve is different.

The word vagus comes from the Latin word for “wandering,” and that’s exactly what it does. It travels extensively throughout the body.

The vagus nerve works alongside other cranial nerves to gather sensory information from the eyes, ears, mouth, tongue, and jaw. Then it travels down through the neck, into the throat, through the heart and lungs, and continues into the digestive organs and abdomen.

Because of this extensive reach, it’s often referred to as the body’s mind-body superhighway.

Its job is to gather information about what it’s like to be you and relay it back to the brain.

That communication helps regulate many of the body’s most important automatic functions, including heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, digestion, body temperature, and more.

When the vagus nerve is functioning optimally, it coordinates beautifully with multiple systems throughout the body, including the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, endocrine, and hormonal systems.

You can think of it as a well-maintained communication channel between the brain and the body.

But like any communication channel, it can become disrupted.

Stress, trauma, emotional suppression, disconnection from the body, and even spending long hours sitting at a computer in inefficient postures can all interfere with healthy vagal functioning.

This course incorporates practices designed to stimulate and support the vagus nerve, helping to reopen the mind-body communication pathway.

The results can be quite remarkable.

I’ve been teaching yoga for thirty years, trauma-informed yoga for nearly twenty years, and applying polyvagal theory within yoga for about fifteen years.

Applied polyvagal theory takes the science of the vagus nerve and the autonomic nervous system and turns it into something practical.

It helps you learn how your own nervous system works.

One of the metaphors I often use in this course is the image of the body as a vehicle.

We all have the vehicle. The goal is to help you get back into the driver’s seat.

So many people know what it feels like to be dragged along by their nervous system. You can’t fall asleep. Your digestion becomes disrupted. Travel throws everything off. Conflict affects your entire body. Your breathing becomes shallow. Your abdomen tightens. Your neck, jaw, and shoulders become tense.

These are all signs that stress has taken over the system.

The tools of applied polyvagal theory help you develop body awareness and nervous system awareness so that you can recognize what’s happening and respond intentionally.

You begin to understand how changing your breathing, posture, movement, and awareness can influence your nervous system’s state.

Ultimately, the goal is to stimulate the vagus nerve, improve communication between the brain and body, and create a more resilient, regulated, and optimal state of being.

You’ve got me feeling self-conscious now. I don’t even know how I’m supposed to be sitting. Am I too tense? Too relaxed? Too activated? Not resting enough? I suddenly feel like I’m doing it all wrong.

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: Let your body guide the way.

I love watching that process happen in real time because it’s actually a perfect example of what we’re talking about.

One of the most common postural patterns we see today is what we call forward head posture. We’re constantly looking down at our phones or leaning toward computer screens, and over time, we create tension around the base of the skull, which is one of the pathways where the vagus nerve travels as it moves down into the body.

Sometimes, something as simple as finding a long spine and letting your head float naturally at the top of it can make a difference.

You might suddenly realize, “I didn’t even notice how much tension I was holding in my shoulders.” Maybe your shoulders have slowly crept up toward your ears throughout the day. Maybe you’ve been subtly holding your breath without realizing it.

These are small things, but they accumulate.

When we begin to sense and feel the body, it often starts guiding us back toward balance all on its own.

Your body knows the way back to wholeness.

That reminds me of a quote I’ve heard you use: “The body carries both the burden of trauma and the wisdom of healing.” Help me understand how both of those things can be true at the same time.

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: There’s a well-known book that many people will recognize, called The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.

One of the important ideas that the book helped bring into public awareness is that trauma often shows up in the body. We may feel it as jaw tension, chronic headaches, digestive issues, muscle tightness, or other physical symptoms.

Our bodies are powerful feedback systems.

But I think there’s an important distinction to make. It’s not quite accurate to think of the body as a storage container for trauma, as though it’s simply holding old experiences somewhere inside.

The body is actually part of an ongoing feedback loop that works closely with the brain and nervous system.

Trauma is often stored as predictive patterns within the brain. The brain takes difficult experiences from the past and uses them to anticipate the future. It asks, “How can I use what happened before to help me survive what’s coming next?”

That process is designed to protect us.

The challenge is that the brain can become so focused on preparing for future threats that it never receives the message that it’s safe to rest.

Instead, it continues sounding the alarm. It keeps stress hormones flowing. It keeps us working harder, staying vigilant, staying prepared.

Whatever the specific motivation, we’re often either running from a threat or preparing to defend ourselves against one.

And that’s exhausting.

Eventually, living in that state can lead to burnout if we don’t intentionally create opportunities for restoration.

I really appreciated what you shared earlier about how unfamiliar rest can feel. For many people, rest doesn’t feel safe. It feels threatening.

If I slow down, will I lose momentum?

Will I still be productive?

Will everything on my to-do list get done?

Many of us have to develop an entirely new relationship with rest. We often need to challenge the messages we’ve absorbed about what rest means and whether we’re allowed to receive it.

But let’s look at the second half of the quote.

If the body carries the burden of trauma, how does it also carry the wisdom of healing?

What I love about the body is that it’s not only capable of communicating pain. It’s also a source of joy, pleasure, empowerment, and resilience.

In many ways, the body often knows what healing feels like before the mind does.

It carries an intelligence of its own.

Take the example of a knot in the throat. Most people have experienced that feeling at some point—the sensation that emotion is building up and the words won’t quite come out.

Rather than seeing that sensation as something wrong, we can become curious about it.

What wasn’t said?

What wanted to be expressed?

What sound, word, or truth never had the opportunity to emerge?

You could even think of this through the lens of the throat chakra, if that language resonates with you.

Sometimes the body is holding an unfinished expression.

When we allow ourselves to listen, that same sensation can begin guiding us toward healing.

The same principle applies to tension in the shoulders, arms, jaw, belly, or anywhere else in the body.

Instead of immediately trying to eliminate the sensation, we can turn toward it and ask a different question:

What wanted to happen that never got to happen?

Or perhaps:

What wants to happen now?

Sometimes the answer is surprisingly simple.

Maybe part of you wanted to leave a situation, but couldn’t.

Maybe you felt trapped.

Maybe you wanted to speak but remained silent.

One of the beautiful things about the body is that it lives in the present moment.

The mind can become trapped in the past or preoccupied with the future, but the body exists right here, right now.

So if I recognize that I am no longer trapped, my body can begin to experience new possibilities.

I can move.

I can breathe.

I can take up space.

I can make sound.

This is one of the reasons I encourage people to listen carefully to their bodies during yoga practice. If your teacher says, “Move in the way your body wants to move,” there is profound wisdom in that invitation.

Stretch like your favorite animal waking up from a nap.

Let sensation guide you.

Allow yourself to breathe.

As I teach throughout this course, there is a way to begin sensing the freedoms available to you now that were not available to you then.

You may discover that you’ve been holding back your voice.

And suddenly a sigh emerges.

A sound emerges.

A lion’s breath.

A roar.

A release.

When we learn to listen, the body doesn’t simply reveal where we’ve been hurt.

It also shows us the path toward freedom.

I’m curious about something many people struggle with after experiencing grief, loss, or trauma. Sometimes those experiences become part of our identity, and we end up telling the same story over and over again—the divorce, the accident, the illness, whatever it may be. How do we honor those experiences without bypassing them, while also avoiding becoming stuck inside them?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: That’s such an important question.

One of the metaphors I often use in trauma recovery is a camera lens. I especially love this image because I’m also a nature photographer, so I spend a lot of time looking through a lens.

A camera can focus very narrowly on a single detail, or zoom out to a wide panoramic view.

Something similar can happen with trauma.

When a trauma story begins to define our identity, the lens of our awareness can become narrowly focused on that one experience. The story starts running on a loop, and we begin viewing ourselves—and our lives—through that single frame.

Part of the goal of post-traumatic growth is learning how to widen the lens.

When we broaden our perspective, we begin moving from a place of pain toward a place of possibility.

It’s not about denying what happened. It’s about recognizing when we’re continually replaying the same story and allowing that story to dictate what we believe is possible for us.

Sometimes we don’t realize that by repeating the story, we’re also reliving it.

We find ourselves in the same relationship patterns. We make similar choices. We continue operating from a limited understanding of who we are and what our future can hold.

This is where the mind-body connection becomes so important.

As we begin expanding what we believe is possible, we also anchor those new possibilities in the body. We don’t just think differently—we start to feel differently.

Over time, what we practice on the yoga mat begins to translate into everyday life.

For example, imagine someone whose relationship pattern is always putting other people’s needs before their own. They’re constantly taking care of everyone else, but they’re not setting boundaries or listening to their own needs.

In a yoga practice focused on empowerment, we might begin exploring what healthy boundaries feel like. We might practice listening inward and asking, “What does my body need right now?”

We learn to pay attention to our own sensations and use them as information.

Then, gradually, that awareness begins to move off the mat and into daily life.

Instead of immediately taking care of everyone else, we pause.

We ask ourselves what we need.

We start finding the courage to say, “I hear what you need, and I’d like to talk about that. But I also need to share what’s important to me.”

That creates room for healthier boundaries and more authentic relationships.

And when those patterns begin to shift, our lives begin to shift as well.

Of course, not every relationship responds the same way to change. Some relationships can grow alongside those changes, and some cannot. That’s a much larger conversation.

But ultimately, this process is about broadening the lens.

It’s about discovering new possibilities for who we are, what we believe about ourselves, the world, and our future.

Let’s say someone listening today is feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or emotionally burdened—whether from grief, trauma, or simply the challenges of everyday life. Is there a simple practice they could begin using right away to build more nervous system resilience?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: Absolutely.

One of my favorite practices—and one that’s included in this program—is what I call the both-and practice.

Sometimes resilience and post-traumatic growth get tangled up with a kind of toxic positivity, where the goal seems to be making everything feel good all the time. But true resilience isn’t about denying hardship. It’s about developing the capacity to hold multiple truths at once.

The both-and practice invites us to acknowledge our suffering while also staying connected to our resources.

If you’d like to try it, hold both hands out in front of you.

Let one hand represent something that nourishes you—a source of connection, comfort, empowerment, or support. It might be a place in nature, a beloved pet, a meaningful memory, a spiritual practice, or simply a phrase you say to yourself that helps you feel grounded.

Choose one thing that reminds you that sometimes you feel connected, supported, and okay.

Then let your other hand represent a place of struggle.

Maybe it’s an area of grief, loss, uncertainty, conflict, loneliness, or pain. Let it represent whatever challenge feels most present in your life right now.

As you bring your attention to that hand, notice how your body responds.

Notice the emotions that arise.

Notice any heaviness, grief, fear, shame, sadness, or tension connected to that experience.

Then gently shift your attention back to the hand that represents your resource.

Is it still there?

Often, when we’re focused on suffering, it can fill the entire lens of our awareness. We temporarily lose sight of everything else.

So return to your resource.

Maybe it’s your pet.

Maybe it’s a tree outside your window.

Maybe it’s sunshine, your breath, or a memory of feeling loved.

Notice what happens in your body when you reconnect with that source of support.

Notice your breath.

Notice any sense of ease, spaciousness, or stability that begins to emerge.

Sometimes we create what I call an upward spiral. The more we focus on one thing we’re grateful for, the more we begin remembering other things that support us as well.

Then gently return your attention to the hand representing your struggle.

Acknowledge it.

See it.

Allow it to be there.

You might silently say, “Yes, this is difficult. Yes, these emotions are part of my experience.”

Then return again to your resource.

And continue moving your awareness between the two.

Sometimes life feels hard.

Sometimes life feels okay.

Sometimes we feel disconnected.

Sometimes we feel deeply supported.

The practice is learning how to hold both experiences at the same time.

Eventually, you might bring your hands together.

Allow the hand representing nourishment and support to hold the hand representing your suffering.

Notice what happens inside as those two realities come into relationship with one another.

Sometimes I imagine a color representing the resource and another color representing the struggle. As they come together, they blend and create something entirely new.

This is the essence of post-traumatic growth.

As human beings, we all suffer. That’s part of life.

But we also have access to resources, connections, support, meaning, and grace that help us navigate that suffering.

We’re not left alone with it.

As you sit with both experiences, allow your breath and your posture to reflect what it feels like to hold them simultaneously.

You might take a few slow, nourishing breaths.

You might even wrap your arms around yourself in a gentle self-hug, placing your hands on opposite shoulders.

Allow yourself to feel the support that’s available in this moment.

The goal isn’t to eliminate hardship.

The goal is to expand your capacity to hold it.

Over time, you begin to realize that you are capable of navigating far more than you once believed.

And that’s ultimately what this work is about—learning how to access the resources that help us move through life’s challenges with greater resilience, self-compassion, and strength.

That was beautiful. I wasn’t expecting such a simple yet powerful practice. Thank you for sharing that.

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: You’re very welcome.

For those who would like to explore this work more deeply, your course is called Post-Traumatic Growth and Yoga: A Trauma-Informed Path to Nervous System Regulation, available through Yoga International. 

I also have to tell you that before this interview, I mentioned to my partner Mandy that I was speaking with you. She immediately said, “Oh my gosh, Arielle Schwartz is amazing. I’ve taken some of her online courses.”

Now I completely understand why.

You’ve been an absolute joy to talk with, and it’s clear how much wisdom and compassion you bring to this work.

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: That means so much to me. Thank you. And please tell Mandy I said hello.

Before we wrap up, where can people connect with you personally and learn more about your work?

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: I have two primary websites.

The first is DrArielleSchwartz.com, where you’ll find information about my books, courses, and educational resources.

The second is ResilienceInformedTherapy.com, which is connected to the Center for Resilience-Informed Therapy. That’s where we focus on training professionals in mind-body approaches to trauma recovery, including the integration of yoga, somatic psychology, and nervous system regulation.

You can also find me on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

And if you follow me there, you’ll also get plenty of nature photography.

Thank you so much for joining us today. The work you’re doing is helping so many people reconnect with themselves, heal, and find greater resilience. The world is truly better because of what you’re bringing into it, and we’re grateful for your time and wisdom.

Dr. Arielle Schwartz: Thank you so much for having me. It’s been a pleasure.