who suffer from PTSD. That makes it hard to take pleasure in the present
because the body keeps replaying the past. If you practice Yoga and can
develop a body that is strong and feels comfortable, this can contribute
substantially to help you to come into the present.”^18
Appropriately taught yoga and other mind-body relaxation techniques appear to
reduce stress and PTSD. A 2004 open-label Albanian study of Kosovo refugees showed
the effectiveness of an eight-week mind-body skills program that included meditation,
biofeedback, movement, guided imagery, breathing techniques, autogenic training,
psycho-education about stress, and group discussions of their experiences. Scores on
an Albanian version of the PTSD Reaction Index were significantly reduced after the skill
program and remained reduced at the nine- and 15 - month follow ups.^19
Four small 2004 Australian open-label studies of Iyengar Yoga provided to Vietnam
veterans with longstanding diagnoses of PTSD showed that the postures improved
depression scores, but: “the addition of yoga breathing (particularly Ujjayi) and Ham
Su meditation significantly reduced symptoms of PTSD, including anxiety, insomnia,
flashbacks, and anger outbursts.”^20
An unpublished 2005 Australian single-blind (the rater was ignorant of the subjects’
treatment or wait list status), randomized, wait list-controlled study of a five-day course
of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (in which Brown and Gerbarg participated, and that was cited
with approval by Broad) showed a significant reduction in the Clinician Administered
PTSD Scale for the yoga group over the wait list group (p = 0.007).^21
In a 2011 review, Gerbarg and Brown with Wallace examined the “evidence and
insights” from a series of mass disaster interventions. Reviewing Gordon’s experience
treating PTSD in Kosovo, Gaza and Israel, and in American veterans, and Gerbarg’s and
others’ studies of flood victims in Bihar and after the Asian Tsunami, genocide in
Rwanda and Sudan, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Gerbarg, Wallace and Brown
concluded that, “mind-body practices have been shown to reduce symptoms of
anxiety, depression and PTSD in survivors of mass disasters.”^22
sharon
(sharon)
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