In a 2013 randomized controlled trial, 64 women aged 18-58 with chronic, treatment-unresponsive PTSD were assigned to either trauma-informed yoga classes or health education classes for 10 weeks. In the yoga group, 52% no longer met criteria for PTSD, compared to 21% in the control group.
The control group had a supportive environment with shared food and social connection. But that social support did not produce sustained reduction in PTSD symptoms. Researchers concluded that the physical and interoceptive aspects of yoga, rather than the social dimensions, were the critical variable responsible for the change.
These were women with chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD. More than half were free of it after 10 weeks of trauma-informed yoga. The body-based practice did what talk and support alone could not.
Source: Yoga Research: Mental Health & Trauma on ashtanga.tech. Original research.