Embodied Practice: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Healing

What if healing wasn’t about working harder—but remembering who you truly are beneath the pain?

When I first began healing from my childhood trauma, I thought I needed to “fix” myself. I read every self-help book, attended therapy, and tried to think my way into peace. But real healing didn’t begin until I stepped onto my yoga mat and began to embody what I’d been seeking: a return to wholeness.

The ancient teachings of yoga describe four paths—Bhakti, Karma, Jñāna, and Rāja—each offering a different doorway into that wholeness. You don’t need to follow them all perfectly. You simply begin with the one that speaks to your heart.

 When I first found Ashtanga yoga, I was still battling the remnants of old coping mechanisms—perfectionism, people-pleasing, and the belief that I had to earn love. Through years of daily practice, breathwork, and study, I learned that yoga isn’t just movement—it’s a way of transforming the mind and opening the heart.

Over time, I came to see that yoga had been guiding me through these four sacred paths all along:

• Learning to surrender through devotion (Bhakti),

• Finding purpose in selfless action (Karma),

• Discovering truth through self-inquiry (Jñāna), and

• Calming the mind through meditation and breath (Rāja).

Each of these paths offers medicine for the nervous system and balm for the heart.

4 Ways to Use the Four Paths of Yoga for Healing

1. Bhakti Yoga — Heal through Devotion and Love

Bhakti invites you to open your heart and reconnect with something greater than yourself—whether that’s God, Source, nature, or love itself. Trauma can harden the heart, teaching us to protect instead of receive. Bhakti softens that armor.

• Try chanting, prayer, or simply placing your hands over your heart and whispering gratitude each morning.

• Remember: devotion doesn’t mean religion—it means connection.

Healing begins when you remember you are never truly alone.

2. Karma Yoga — Heal through Conscious Action

Karma Yoga teaches us to act without attachment to outcomes. For trauma survivors, this path transforms the tendency to over-give or over-control into mindful, heart-led action.

• Serve someone without expecting anything in return.

• Do your daily tasks with full presence, seeing them as sacred offerings.

• Let your actions be an expression of your healing, not proof of your worth.

Every act done with awareness becomes an act of healing.

3. Jñāna Yoga — Heal through Self-Inquiry and Truth

Jñāna asks us to look within and ask, “Who am I beyond my story?”
For those healing from trauma, this is revolutionary. You begin to question the old identities—the caretaker, the fixer, the unworthy one—and return to the truth of who you are.

• Journal daily using prompts like “What belief am I ready to release today?”

• Read wisdom texts or simply sit in silence with the question “Who am I?”

• Notice how your thoughts shape your emotions and gently replace them with truth.

Wisdom is remembering you were whole all along.

4. Rāja Yoga — Heal through Discipline and Stillness

Rāja Yoga is the “royal path” of meditation and mind mastery. It’s where we find balance through practice—breathing, mindfulness, and movement.

• Start with five minutes of deep breathing before you reach for your phone each morning.

• Let your yoga practice become your therapy: one breath, one movement, one moment at a time.

• Over time, the mind quiets, and you feel anchored in calm no matter what arises.

Peace isn’t something you chase—it’s something you practice.

 If you’re ready to weave these teachings into your daily life, I created a free guide to help you get started:
🌸 “Yoga’s 8 Limbs to Heal Trauma and Find Lasting Peace.”
It’s a gentle introduction to using yoga as a complete system for emotional healing and nervous system regulation.

--> Download your free guide here and begin creating your own path of calm, connection, and confidence.