If you’ve been following me and/or my work, you know that talking about trauma and how it affects our system(s) is something I can get quite long-winded about. I’m grateful that there is finally some air time being given to understanding this, but I do find that there is sometimes a lack of nuance that ancient holistic systems like Ayurveda can provide us like understanding our unique constitutions, identifying what our imbalances are and getting to the root cause of them, and much more. So let’s take a wide lens and look at some aspects that Ayurveda helps us understand.

I want to start by talking about the Srotamsi, or the Vaha Srotas. The word vaha means carrying and the word srotas means channel, or river. I really love to use the word river here because I think it helps us to visualize the interconnectedness of all of the aspects of our systems. Imagine a large river. Now think of how that river feeds into another river, then another, and so on. This is similar to how our Vaha Srotas work. When we see something in one channel, we know that the river carrying system will eventually carry it down to other systems. The traditional flow is: digestive system → lymphatic system → blood system → muscle system → adipose tissue system → bone system (including hair, teeth, and nails) → nervous system → reproductive system → ojas (we’ll talk more about ojas in a bit); however, it’s important that we note what comes before the digestive system starts carrying things down the river: everything we ingest. Now, when I say everything we ingest, I’m not only referring to the foods we eat, but also what we see, hear, smell, feel, and experience. What does this imply? Well that traumatic experiences are taken in and then travel down this river system and affect it along the way. This points to why we see so many folks who have experienced trauma also experiencing digestive issues and reproductive/hormone issues in addition to those of their nervous systems…because it’s all connected.

Now let’s get some clarity on that last segment of the channel/river called ojas. I often describe ojas as our resilience, our reservoir, our container, or our shield. I had an Ayurveda teacher who would talk about ojas as our juiciness. She would say, “have you ever seen a healthy baby who just looks super squishy? That’s because they have strong ojas!” When our ojas is strong, we are resilient, we are healthy, our immune system is strong, we have endurance, we can move through challenging times with equanimity and strength, we can persevere. But when we experience trauma, especially repeated over a period of time, or even long-term stressors, these experiences can lead to depleted ojas. When our ojas has been depleted, we are more susceptible to illness, we are more easily fatigued, we might struggle with hypersensitivity, increased anxiety, and/or depression, and in general we are less resilient. With a weakened container, we are more likely to experience scattered energy throughout the river system. It can become a loop of imbalance.

Thankfully, there are ways to rebuild our ojas and rebalance our rivers. One of the big gifts of Ayurveda is that it gives us tools to get to know ourselves more deeply. We can determine what our constitutional baseline is, what our imbalances are, and how to move back to our unique homeostasis. Once we can determine this, we can use the principle of “likes increase and opposites balance” to stabilize. If we start at the top of the river system and bring in nourishing qualities in what we ingest, that will start to travel downstream and eventually support rebuilding our ojas in turn. 

If this is interesting to you and you’d like to explore these ideas more deeply, I invite you to join me for my upcoming Embodied Foundations: A Therapeutic & Trauma Informed Retreat at Seven Springs Retreats. 

Together, we’ll explore trauma and the nervous system through the integrated lenses of Yoga and Ayurveda, learning about your own unique constitution, current imbalances, and how these show up in your body, energy, and nervous system. Through this understanding, you’ll begin to cultivate practical tools and embodied practices that support balance, resilience, and the rebuilding of ojas so that you can ultimately hold space for others from a truly resourced and nourished place.

This retreat is deeply experiential. Alongside theory, we’ll explore therapeutic and trauma-informed yoga, adaptive movement practices, breathwork for nervous system regulation, and grounding experiences such as sound baths, labyrinth meditation, and fireside reflection. You’ll also develop skills in language, sequencing, and inclusive teaching, while deepening your understanding of both Eastern and Western approaches to trauma and healing.

All of this takes place in a peaceful, forest setting with yurt accommodations, farm-to-table meals, sauna sessions, and spacious time to rest, reflect, connect, and replenish in nature, supporting your own healing as the foundation for supporting others.