Rocsana Enriquez started thinking about yoga again when she was pregnant. She was 19 and in an abusive relationship.
When she was younger, Rocsana, whom I interviewed as part of my research, had taken part in a yoga program in a San Francisco Bay Area juvenile hall run by The Art of Yoga Project. She began using the skills she learned on the mat to slow herself down when angry and to pause before reacting. She remembered the breathing techniques and poses that made her feel better about herself when little else did.
Childhood trauma has a devastating impact on both the mind and the body. But that mind-body connection also offers a path toward healing. A growing body of research demonstrates the effectiveness of addressing the mental and physical impact of trauma through yoga and other somatic, or body-based, programs.
The Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, of which I am executive director, released a first-of-its-kind report in April that synthesizes existing research, interviews with experts across the country, and two original pilot studies focused on at-risk girls.
Our conclusion? Yoga and mindfulness programs can equip girls like Rocsana—especially those in the juvenile justice system—with tools that help them thrive.
Abuse Leads to Anxiety
Research shows that youth in the United States experience trauma at breathtakingly high rates. In the seminal Adverse Childhood Experiences survey of more than 17,000 participants, 21 percent reported experiencing sexual abuse as children; 26 percent reported physical abuse, and 14.8 percent reported emotional neglect.
Youth in the juvenile justice system are the most vulnerable, reporting higher rates of trauma than their peers. These experiences take a long-term toll not only on their mental health, but their physical health as well. These children are more likely than others to experience depression and substance abuse as adults, and they exhibit higher rates of heart disease, cancer, and liver disease.
Studies reveal that yoga programs designed specifically for victims of trauma—programs that include regulated breathing, controlled movement, and mindfulness practices—can have far-ranging benefits for participants. Improvements have been shown in mental health (self-regulation, self-esteem) and physical health (better sleep, a reduction in gastric symptoms), in addition to many other positive outcomes.
