Abstract
The prevalence of potential traumatic events in South Africa has been found to be
eminently high (de la Porte & Davids, 2016). This is due to a history of political violence and
an ongoing tendency of interpersonal, community-based, socio-economic violence (Atwoli et
al., 2013). Exposure to trauma challenges one’s previous assumptions on conceptions of
predictability and contest preconceived views of the world (Tedeschi & Blevins, 2015). After
trauma-exposure, individuals attempt to conceptualise the event and engage in cognitive
processes to reconstruct their assumptive world and recover from trauma (Cann et al., 2011).
The physiological effects of trauma are illuminated by drawing on Stephen Porges’s
polyvagal theory (PVT) (Porges, 2011).
Recent shifts literature has begun to emphasise the potential to perceive benefits and
growth following exposure to trauma which is referred to as post-traumatic growth (PTG)
(Tedeschi & Kilmer, 2005). Conventional therapeutic techniques like cognitive behavioural
therapy and psychodynamic interventions have been found to support trauma survivors in
South Africa (Kaminer & Eagle, 2017). However, the lack of professionals trained in these
approaches are extremely limited and alternative methods needs to be explored on, especially
those that can be delivered in a group setting by a non-professional (Bruckner et al., 2011;
Mendelhall et al., as cited in Kaminer & Eagle, 2017).
This generic qualitative study design was implemented to enquire about trauma
survivors’ experiences of Kundalini yoga (KY) in the promotion of PTG. The seven
participants were identified through a non-profit organisation in Alexandra, that is a densely
populated township known for high rates of unemployment and crime in Johannesburg
(Crime Stats SA, 2018; Ebrahim, 2019). The data was collected in the form of individual
semi-structured interviews after which thematic analysis was implemented to interpret the
participants’ experiences...
M.Ed. (Educational Psychology)