Maxene Magalona practices yoga to heal and release 'past traumas'

More than for physical purposes, Maxene Magalona said she practices yoga to heal and release her "past traumas."

On Instagram, Maxene posted a video of herself doing yoga poses, revealing how it has helped her with her mental health condition Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD).

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some people think that I only practice yoga for physical purposes and while it is true that I started doing it 3 years ago to lose weight and tone my body, I do it now for more important reasons —one of which is healing and releasing my past traumas. I didn’t know this back then but evidently, yoga is very beneficial for people with mental health conditions especially those who are trauma survivors. Some symptoms of people like me who deal with the mental health condition known as Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) include feelings of shame or guilt, problems controlling emotions, physical ailments like chest pains and migraines, relationship difficulties and dissociation. Repeated trauma can leave the victim feeling helpless and lost, often detached from reality and disconnected from themselves and their own bodies. This explains why even though I started practicing yoga for weight loss, after 4-6 months of constant practice, physical appearance no longer mattered to me. I could slowly feel my mind, body and spirit uniting. Thanks to yoga, I was able to inhabit my body and develop a healthy relationship with it. By focusing on my deep breathing during my yoga practice, I get to notice the different sensations and emotions that arise in my body. I began to understand the relationship of my emotions with my body and how I could regulate them. Yoga helped me tune inwards, look within and pay attention to what my body and soul have been trying to communicate with me all this time. For years, I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror but now, thanks to my practice, I’ve learned to accept and truly love everything about myself —including the parts that I used to deny. This is why I know that yoga is a gift from above as it is a sacred practice that can truly help us heal which is why every time I do yoga, raise my arms up and look to the sky, I silently thank God for breathing life into me and for giving me a renewed sense of purpose and hope. ?????????????????‍?? #yogaforhealing #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthawarenessweek

A post shared by Maxene Magalona-Mananquil (@maxenemagalona) on

May 22, 2020 at 7:00am PDT

"Some people think that I only practice yoga for physical purposes and while it is true that I started doing it 3 years ago to lose weight and tone my body, I do it now for more important reasons —one of which is healing and releasing my past traumas," Maxene wrote in the caption of her post.

Maxene said the symptoms of people like her who deal with C-PTSD include "feelings of shame or guilt, problems controlling emotions, physical ailments like chest pains and migraines, relationship difficulties and dissociation."

She said repeated trauma can leave the victim feeling helpless and lost, "often detached from reality and disconnected from themselves and their own bodies."

While Maxene got into yoga for weight loss, physical appearance no longer mattered to her after four to six months of constant practice.

"I could slowly feel my mind, body and spirit uniting," Maxene said. "Thanks to yoga, I was able to inhabit my body and develop a healthy relationship with it."

According to Maxene, yoga allowed her understand her emotions in relation to her body and how she could regulate them.

"Yoga helped me tune inwards, look within and pay attention to what my body and soul have been trying to communicate with me all this time," she continued.

Maxene said she couldn't look at herself in the mirror for years but all thanks to her yoga practice she has learned to " to accept and truly love everything about myself —including the parts that I used to deny."

"This is why I know that yoga is a gift from above as it is a sacred practice that can truly help us heal which is why every time I do yoga, raise my arms up and look to the sky, I silently thank God for breathing life into me and for giving me a renewed sense of purpose and hope," Maxene ended her note.

Last week, Maxene opened up about her mental health struggles and how she had dealt with them. — Jannielyn Ann Bigtas/LA, GMA News