Meditation

6 ways how meditation heals
traumatic experiences

Traumatic experiences can alter one’s personality. Trauma brings a number of neurological changes, but meditation can help in overcoming a traumatic experience, making a person calmer, peaceful and relieved of stress.

Maria (name changed) and Ahmed are a testimony to this.

Maria could not sleep for more than an hour for two weeks after the 9/11 attack in the United States of America. Working as a waitress, Maria was so groggy that she could not return to work. But, life changed for her after she learned the Sudarshan Kriya, a stress-eliminating breathing technique which enables meditation.

Maria had an unbelievable experience. She was healed of her insomnia and she resumed work too.

Iraq’s Ahmed Hinnon too had a similar healing experience when he learned to meditate. Ahmed, a witness to the grueling war in Iraq, had deep emotional scars etched in him. But, with regular practice of meditation, his scars healed and his life was renewed.

“It feels like breathing out all the stress of war and breathing in a new life. This program has changed my life. After so many years, I am able to control my mind. I am now ready to face the challenges of life,” Hinnon says describing his experience.

Meditation helps to calm a mind affected by pain and deep stress which a disaster inevitably brings.

A study on war veterans affected with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has revealed that meditation-based techniques like Sudarshan Kriya have healing effects. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, anger outbursts, emotional numbing and social withdrawal have considerably declined.

How meditation heals a traumatic experience

1

Insomnia

The mind tends to hold on to the memories fraught with negative emotions. The mind cannot relax, leading to insomnia. Meditation calms the mind and removes these stressful impressions, helping one to get a sound sleep.

2

Nightmares

Gruesome memories of a PTSD patient flash across as nightmares during sleep. Meditation removes the emotional baggage of these memories, diminishing the frequency of these nightmares.

3

Anxiety

During anxiety, breath becomes shorter. Meditation increases one’s awareness on the breath and as the awareness heightens, calmness ensues.

4

Depression

In Ayurveda, it is said low prana (vital force energy) manifests as depression. Meditation escalates prana and helps overcome depression. Studies also show the healing effects of Sudarshan Kriya on depression patients.

5

Social withdrawal

Studies show the practice of Sudarshan Kriya augments the release of prolactin, a hormone responsible for the feeling of belongingness. This reverses the feeling of social withdrawal, making a person feel more connected with the surroundings.

6

Anger outbursts

Meditation makes a person calmer and equanimity, thereby reducing all emotional upheavals like anger outbursts and aggression.

Trauma relief is strengthened when the knowledge of meditation is disseminated among victims. Meditation, breathing techniques can reverse the impact of trauma, relieving many of the stress and PTSD.

Trauma relief initiatives

The Art of Living has been conducting meditation and trauma relief programs across the globe for disaster victims. Here are the instances where these programs were conducted: