When Yoga Studios Become Psyche Wards

By Brooke, The Wild Temple

Aside from cues like an intensity of breathing patterns, strained faces locked in battle or competition with themselves—or others in the room—and the telltale signs of an agitated nervous system like shaking, twitching, or holding the breath... it’s not always easy to see what’s going on inside a person’s mind when they show up to yoga class.

And yet, many do arrive with deep psychological or emotional pain, often unconsciously expecting that yoga will fix it.

It’s for this reason that teachers must beware: yoga is not a psyche ward. There are other, more appropriate means to support and guide an afflicted mind than chanting Om and curling into restorative postures.

In fact, meditation—the seemingly “cure-all” for dealing with the problematic mind—is absolutely not the answer for everyone.

The Truth of the Matter

I’ve been thinking a lot about the Yoga Sutras lately and how they begin:
“Atha yoga anushasanam.”
Now, we begin the practice of Yoga.

This sacred text doesn’t start with dogma or technique, but with a mysterious invocation: Now. Atha.

And to me, that “Now” implies that some preparation has occurred. That something important has already taken place before we can actually begin.

Patañjali’s aphorisms smack modern readers in the face with riddles. They are elegant, yes—but they need a guide, a teacher, or at the very least, a committed, consistent inquiry to decode.

One view I personally hold is that this introductory nugget—“Now begins yoga”—is a signal:
⚡️We need certain preparations prior to entering into the successful state of Yoga.⚡️

I’ve written quite a bit about this (some of you newsletter subscribers may have seen my pieces—{link here if you want to join!}), but here’s the gist:

Yoga—especially Hatha and Tantra—is much more complex than it may first appear. It is formulaic, steeped in methodology, and yes… sometimes even serpents awaken when we do things correctly.

But done wrong—at the wrong time, in the wrong season of your life, or with the wrong practice—it can actually cause harm.

And here’s the kicker:
Even a steady, regular practice—say 2–3 times per week at your local studio—can, if mismatched or poorly sequenced, exacerbate the very problems someone is trying to heal.

Yoga in this case is not as benign as one may think.
It’s more like a drug.
✨Pop an asana, feel good for a moment... then spiral deeper the next.✨

My Insider Experience

What’s funny—not funny—is that I say this from experience.

For decades, I harbored unprocessed despair and grief. I turned to yoga to try to heal.

To be clear, it was an accidental turning. I didn’t go to yoga to fix anything—I found it with friends and stuck with it because it was what we did together.

In my early 20s, dance and yoga were my main outlets—a way of connecting with my community, with joy, with my body.

But it wasn’t until I was in labor that I realized the Ujjayi breath I had developed in my Ashtanga practice was the key to softening the pain of contractions. Or that the strength and flexibility I had gained made me feel… empowered.

Whether I knew it or not, yoga had become my medicine.

And yet… I was a victim of trauma.

Complex trauma, though I wouldn’t receive that clinical diagnosis until decades later.

So I practiced. And practiced. And practiced.

But in between classes, I began to feel my adrenaline spike, my moods plummet. I could only feel “OK” if I practiced at minimum 2.5 hours a day.

I entered early menopause.
I suffered from chronic insomnia.
And yes… I had Kundalini experiences.
(Does this ring a bell for anyone?)

The Turning Point

Eventually, I began supporting myself with adrenal adaptogens, and shifted the style of yoga I practiced to better match my depleted energy. That helped.

But what helped even more was finding my Tantric teacher—the one who taught me about Prana and the Mind.

Tantrics focus on Prana. And Prana, dear ones, is the bridge.

It’s a means of entering the states of consciousness that lie beneath the surface—even into the unconscious layers—so we can actually heal… and maybe even transcend.

I was also deep in my herbal studies. And what I call vibrational remedies—Flower Essences and Homeopathics—became my allies.

These were like Prana in a bottle.

Gentle, potent, and surprisingly precise.

Together—with herbs, flower essences, breath, and a new framework for how the mind and energy body actually work—I began to rise.

I became a successful international traveler, performer, yogini, mother, wife.
(With a behind-the-scenes reality that was… well, mostly “OK.” Still not enough sleep, though.)

But here’s the part I must emphasize:

The missing piece was not fixed with breathwork or plants or even all the Yoga in the world.

It was undiagnosed, chronic, unresolved trauma.

When I finally sat down with a trauma therapist, it took her four years just to resource me—to even be able to get to the trauma. That’s how bad off I was beneath the surface.

Which brings me to this:

Yoga is not the place to reconcile the hauntings of injustice, broken boundaries, deep neglect, or earth-shattering loss.

The (Hard-Earned) Invitation

I share this for so many reasons.

Mainly, to offer a window into my story and to say—I know I’m not alone.

Now, as a yoga therapist who specializes in Prana, mental wellness, and trauma therapy, I see people every day—on the mat and off—who are unintentionally doing practices that are worsening their conditions.

They don’t know it, but they are unknowingly lengthening their healing process.

And some of them?
Shouldn’t be doing yoga or meditation at all.
Not yet.

What they do need is:

• A skilled trauma therapist

• Exercise that meets them where they are

• Nourishing food and habits

• A steady, loving community

• And when ready… Ayurvedic living
  (the sister science of Yoga, and one of the foundations of our Sage Apprenticeship)

These offer a true healing ground. One where Yoga can eventually take root. Where it can do what it was always meant to do: return us to wholeness.

And here’s the other thing I see:
Many mainstream practitioners have no idea what treasure lies within the deeper path of Yoga.

But with the right tools…
✨The right preparation…
✨The right guide…

(And yes, as a Tantric, I’ll say it: the right plants)—

We can accelerate our healing, our power, our joy, our capacity to serve.

We can impact the world through our very presence.
We can shift the consciousness of those around us who’ve fallen into confusion, greed, hate, and disconnection.

But we must do it wisely.

Because yoga is not a psyche ward.
And your healing deserves more than a quick fix in stretchy pants.

🌿 Next Up: The Plants.
In the next post, I’ll be sharing how vibrational remedies—like flower essences and herbal allies—helped me stabilize and integrate my healing. Because once the deep traumas are being met… we need allies to walk us through the reemergence.

If you’re curious, [join our newsletter here] or keep your eyes peeled for the next drop.

✨ Want to go deeper?
I’m planning on taking on a small number of 1:1 clients to walk this sacred terrain together in September. Reach out if you’re seeking personal guidance in Yoga Therapy, Ayurveda, and the Pranic Arts. [Contact Here]

📖 And if you’re dreaming of the Sage Apprenticeship Level 1...
Spring 2026 enrollment is already brewing. Get on the [waitlist here] for the next cohort. We take a limited amount of students to keep the program intimate and strong.

xoBrooke + The Wild Temple Team