Ashley Krustulovich began her Sunday night yoga and meditation class with a crystal singing bowl that resonated three times.
The students are a group of women staying at the Helping Hands of Springfield Shelter. Classes have been held since September with the help of a grant from the Lincoln Land Community Foundation.
This is what women did on this day yoga nidra – Yoga sleep.
Laura Davis, the shelter’s executive director, was receiving trauma-informed yoga and meditation from instructor Krsturovic. She has benefited from this practice and wanted to provide that opportunity to her female clients, who are a minority of the unhoused population staying at the shelter. That’s not unusual. Only 37 percent of Illinois’ recorded homeless adult population is female.
Davis said she was very interested in offering this class because the majority of people have overcome some kind of interpersonal trauma.
“There aren’t that many chronically homeless women because women are generally resourceful in finding places to go. Unfortunately, sometimes the places they should go are not safe for them. They… They often end up in situations of violence and/or sexual abuse, including human trafficking,” Davis said.
Bridget Harden is one of the women there. She is a 52-year-old former Floridian, and when she was evicted from her friend’s apartment in August, she headed to the Helping Hands shelter. She said: “I felt alone. I felt abandoned. It was really difficult.
“I’ve had a lot of trauma in my life,” she said. “Her meditation course was very helpful to me. I was able to forget everything.”
During Sunday night’s class, Krsturovic played soft music while giving instructions. “Try to become aware of the weight of your body, head, arms, seat, and legs. Just as a heavy bone sinks, imagine every bone in your body becoming a little heavier. ”
“Meditation almost always brings about rest, so it’s mostly through things that are very simple and easy to practice, like breathing, body awareness, and visualization,” she says, who has been practicing trauma-informed yoga and mind for about nine years. said a Springfield resident who teaches fullness.
Harden said, “Yoga meditation helps a lot. I sleep better at night. You know, when do I finish? My mind is more focused. My mind is more relaxed. I just feel so much better. I like it.”
Maureen McKinney/NPR Illinois
“That just gives me peace of mind,” said Harden, who has faced several mental health issues. It relaxes me. It takes me away. It relaxes your mind and body. There are moments when you forget about everything: stress, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder. ”
Janie Lee, a licensed clinical social worker in California, said she did graduate school research on trauma and homeless women.
“In our study, all of the participants were struggling with their mental health, feelings of isolation and loneliness, many were battling depression, many were battling anxiety, PTSD, and even sexual trauma. Yoga and meditation Mindfulness has been shown to be highly effective for people struggling with mental health conditions.”
And yoga is one of the paths to inner peace.
Jill Kester is a counselor at SIU Medicine’s Survivor Recovery Center. There, we have clients who are victims of violence or who have lost loved ones to violence. The center offers yoga and meditation as part of its therapy. She explained how yoga calms the mind.
When trauma occurs, the body is activated into fight or flight mode, she said. “Rather than practicing during activation, practice at other times: slow your breathing, relax your muscles, be aware of your body, and be in the moment rather than in your head or elsewhere. The methods that can be used to help everyone be effective are better able to cope with the stress of the day or more extreme trauma.”
“There are numerous studies that have looked at how effective yoga is for sexual (trauma) survivors, helping them reclaim their bodies, take back ownership, connect their mind and body, and eliminate automatic thoughts,” Lee said. “We only offer mindfulness, which slows thinking and thinking.” reaction.
That’s what Davis, the shelter’s director, wanted.
“You can’t take being homeless away from them, right? You can’t take that experience away from them, but we provide a place where they can learn the tools to be safe in their own bodies.” You can,” she said.
Krstulović said using their bodies to exercise agency is a main goal for women she can relate to.
“We all have reasons for acting towards our interests. Mine is probably very personal,” she said. “I’ve been through a lot of family trauma, a lot of domestic violence, incarceration, addiction, the list goes on and on.”
This includes temporary homelessness. “There’s a place in my heart. And there were a lot of things I could relate to. That’s why when I do this job, it’s easy to look at the person in front of me.”
Yoga for homeless women isn’t entirely unique, says Cindy Manginelli, director of community engagement for the National Council on Homeless Medicine.
“In shelters across the country, we often see them using activities like meditation, centering, and yoga to help women, especially those in domestic violence situations. In many cases, they are associated with shame and worthlessness. These are women who are struggling with their feelings,” she says.
At first, the women at Helping Hands were hesitant to pose and were not interested in mediating. What attracted them was the promise of relaxation.
“We’re going to have a lot of fun,” Davis said before the new $9 million shelter opened and yoga classes began. As a result, more aggressive and defensive behaviors were observed. Nowadays, such things are rarely seen. There are many groups that come like this. They tend to be friendly to each other. A community is being built. ”
