"Sweet Discomfort," the Growing Edge - Trauma Aware AmericaTrauma Aware America

“Sweet Discomfort,” the Growing Edge

Back in the early 80’s I had the pleasure of spending some time with Lilias Folan, “The Yoga Teacher Who Brought Yoga to Our Living Rooms Decades Before Online Yoga Was a Thing.” During the weekend retreat she taught through my then employer, the YES! Education Society, one special concept stood out: sweet discomfort, a term I have never encountered elsewhere. Lilias talked about holding the yoga pose to that point, sweet discomfort. Since then I realized Ms. Folan’s concept defines our growing edge. I use the concept in many circumstances, including for physical therapy, how long to sit or stand, and how much I touch into a traumatic memory in recovery work. I hope the concept serves me as well as it has Ms. Folan. Lilias is 87 years old and reportedly still practicing yoga each day. No doubt, it is to “sweet discomfort” still.

About Shay Seaborne, CPTSD

Former tall ship sailor turned trauma awareness activist-artist Shay Seaborne, CPTSD has studied the neurobiology of fear / trauma /PTSD since 2015. She writes, speaks, teaches, and makes art to convey her experiences as well as her understanding of the neurobiology of fear, trauma theory, and principles of trauma recovery. A native of Northern Virginia, Shay settled in Delaware to sail KALMAR NYCKEL, the state’s tall ship. She wishes everyone could recognize PTSD is not a mental health problem, but a neurophysiological condition rooted in dysregulation, our mainstream culture is neuro-negative, and we need to understand we can heal ourselves and each other through awareness, understanding, and safe connection.

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