Top 10 Book Recommendations for Those Healing by Talking to Their Mats
Even if you can't access a therapist, help may be a bookshelf away.
Among the things I value most about my therapist are her awesome book recommendations. As someone who is neurodiverse, I process information best when I have time to learn and absorb it independently. Sometimes, I even read while I talk to my mat!
In that spirit, I wanted to share ten of my favorite books that have helped me immensely in my recovery process. These all hold coveted spots on my Kindle, and I hope you’ll find them useful in your healing process, too.
1. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD
Traumatic stress doesn’t only live in your brain. It remains trapped in your body, but healing practices, including yoga, can help release it. Bessel Van Der Kolk is a pioneer in dealing with PTSD and CPTSD. Learning about how what happens to you affects your physical self can deepen the work you do on the mat.
2. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate, MD
What causes addiction? Gabor Mate digs deep beyond the physiological reality and social stigma surrounding addiction to answer what causes people to get hooked in the first place. The answer is an attempt to escape the pain of trauma, often repeated trauma. Mate’s approach begins with self-compassion and the understanding that such individuals have so often lacked.
3. Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence—from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror by Judith Herman, MD
Herman does a phenomenal job of explaining how coercive control creates trauma and drawing parallels between violence inside the home and in the larger political arena and world. Her female perspective is a necessary breath of fresh air in a male-dominated profession. It’s a must-read for everyone, especially for female victims of sexual assault who feel their experiences often go unvalidated.
4. Healing from Hidden Abuse: A Journey Through the Stages of Recovery From Psychological Abuse by Shannon Thomas, LCSW
Toxic people don’t only harm with their fists. Repetitive mind games can cause severe trauma, and the pain often compounds when outsiders fail to see the problem. From the outside, it looks like a healthy family or workplace, but this hidden abuse silently torments victims. The book includes a reflective journal to help you to break free.
5. Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body by Peter A. Levine, PhD
Trauma can cause lifetime problems that often manifest in mental illness and can progress to physical disease. Peter Levine digs deep into the physiological roots of your emotional reactions, helping you renegotiate and heal traumas through the somatic self. It includes methods for identifying and working with your symptoms to treat trauma at its source.
6. Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: A Guide and Map for Recovering from Childhood Trauma by Peter Walker, LMFT
Complex PTSD isn’t recognized as a unique disorder as of yet in the DSM, but it holds its own unique category in the ICD-11. Unlike PTSD arising from a singular traumatic event, CPTSD arises from prolonged entrapment in an inherently unsafe situation where the traumas never stop. It may occur from prolonged child abuse, domestic violence, indoctrination into a cult, or other false imprisonment, and it takes a unique toll on your psychological makeup. Walker offers real-life examples and practical exercises for returning to your sense of self.
7. The Complex PTSD Workbook: A Mind-Body Approach to Regaining Emotional Control and Becoming Whole by Arielle Schwartz, PhD
People with CPTSD often feel as if something is fundamentally wrong or broken with them. Finding healing isn’t easy, especially in a nation that paywalls access to basic healthcare. However, if you can get your hands on this book, you’ll unlock exercises, the introduction to various types of somatic therapy, and countless journal prompts that you can use with your therapist — or without one — to further your healing.
8. Somatic Therapy for Healing Trauma by Jordan Danin, LP
What is somatic therapy? Hint: If you’ve ever tuned into one of Only in Sedona Yoga’s videos, you’ve engaged in it! However, it’s much more than only yoga, although that is one of the many techniques you’ll learn about in this book.
9. Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom by Daniel J. Siegel MD and Jack Kornfield PhD
For many people, their healing journey contains a spiritual component. Siegel and Kornfield do an incredible job of explaining the science of mindfulness, how it intersects with the latest neurobiological research and offers practical insights into ways to make every day of this crazy existence a little happier.
10. Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga: Reclaiming Your Body by David Emerson and Elizabeth Hopper, PhD
Far too many trauma survivors don’t feel safe anywhere, including in their own skin. This book is all about reclaiming your right to self by talking to your mat. With an introduction by none other than Bessel Van Der Kolk himself, the authors take a science-based approach to using this ancient practice to create a lost sense of safety.
Top Ten Book Recommendations for Healing by Talking to Your Mat
The ten books above have transformed my life for the better. I hope they do the same for you. I’ve intentionally kept my description of each brief, but I consider each one essential reading.
We at Only in Sedona Yoga believe healing is possible, and the power to do so ultimately comes from inside of you. While it certainly helps to have more resources at your disposal, it is absolutely possible to start on your journey with little more than a library card and a genuine desire to create a happier, healthier, and more peaceful existence. You deserve to feel your best, so give yourself the gift of inspiration today. May these books be as useful on your journey as they have been on mine.
