How Trauma Lives in the Body | Dr. Bessel van der Kolk | Somatic Healing Summit Sneak Peek

In our culture, trauma has become this big buzzword. And everybody's not talking about trauma and they talk about it as threat out there. Look what they did to me. Looked over there. But that traumatic events or usually more traumatic circumstances, that they're over, but your body is not aware that it's over. So it continues to react as if you were back there again. And the only way to change it is to really become aware of where your body is and to feel it. But when you're traumatized, you don't want to feel yourself because what you meet is the imprints of trauma and helplessness and rage, etc. Etc. So people defend themselves against feeling their bodies, and that's why the work needs to be done very gently. I was very lucky to have my first yoga teacher. Was a otherwise unremarkable person, but she was a very gentle yoga teacher. Just really helped people to just feel what they feel and do what you could. And not pushing people to do things with their bodies they were invited to, but really inviting people to do that, to feel their inner experience. Good meditation teachers can help you to do that. Good body people can help you go inside and to befriend that creature who you are.