The Glowstick Effect: How Psychotherapy and Yoga Work Together to Support Healing

Written By: Zaamilah Balasubramaniam, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

Have you ever held a glowstick in the dark and waited for it to light up?

Glowsticks are fascinating. You bend one, it cracks, and then it begins to glow. In many ways, we are all like glowsticks—full of potential light. However, experiences like stress, grief, or trauma can lead to emotional suppression and disconnect us from our bodies, making our inner light harder to access.

A glowstick only produces light because two internal components get activated when one is cracked and bent. With humans, something similar happens for us.

The ‘bend’ is our ability to stay with an experience, soften rigidity, and allow movement — and through that process, the ‘crack’ happens: a willingness to face discomfort, vulnerability, and truth.

When we begin to gently engage with our internal experiences, rather than avoid them, that activation takes place and true healing can start to happen.

It’s not the discomfort itself that creates change, but our willingness to stay with it, in a way that feels safe and manageable.

Why You Might Feel Disconnected

Most of us have learned to avoid discomfort (for good reason). Avoidance can be protective. However, it can also keep experiences “trapped,” preventing integration.

As a qualifying psychotherapist and a traditional Tamil Hatha Yoga teacher at Journey Home Counselling Services, my work integrates both psychotherapy and yoga because I believe healing is not just cognitive, it is embodied.

Understanding your patterns, history, and triggers is important. However, insight alone does not always create change.

We often try to “think” our way through stress, anxiety, or trauma. However, many of those experiences are held in the body. They show up in how we breathe, how we hold ourselves, and how we move (or don’t move).

What Is Trauma-Informed Yoga Therapy?

Trauma-informed yoga therapy, often aligned with somatic therapy, is a body-based approach to healing. It recognizes that thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations are deeply interconnected.

When we experience adversities, our body responds automatically. For example, the body may respond through muscle tension, changes in breathing, or shifts into protective states.

Even after the moment has passed, the body can continue to hold these responses.

You might understand why you feel anxious, but your body still feels tense.
You might know a situation is safe, but your chest remains tight.

This happens because the body does not operate on logic alone. So by blending psychotherapy and yoga, you are able to notice what is happening within the body, and it becomes possible to release what has been held in a way that feels grounded and manageable.

How This Work Supports Healing

In my work, there are four primary pathways that support this process of integration:

1. Movement (Asana)

Gentle, intentional movement brings awareness to the body and can help release stored tension.

Movement can access experiences that words alone may not reach.

2. Breathwork (Pranayama)

Breathing practices help regulate the nervous system and create a sense of stability.

3. Meditation (Dhyana)

Meditation helps you observe thoughts, sensations, and emotions without immediately reacting.

Over time, this can shift your relationship to discomfort and increase your capacity to stay present.

 4. Journalling 

Journalling helps make sense of internal experiences and identify patterns over time.

Who Can Benefit From This Work

This integrative approach can be especially helpful for individuals who:

• Feel stuck in cycles of anxiety or overwhelm

• Experience tension or discomfort in the body without a clear cause

• Have difficulty connecting emotions to physical sensations

• Have experienced trauma or chronic stress

• Want to explore healing beyond traditional talk therapy

A Different Way to Approach Healing

You don’t need to have the “right words” to begin. In many cases, we start with what the body is already communicating.

Therapy doesn’t always have to be about analyzing or explaining every experience. Sometimes, it’s about slowing down enough to notice what your body has been holding, and allowing it the space to process, release, and recalibrate.

The glowstick doesn’t force itself to shine.

It responds to a shift happening within.

And in many ways, so do we.

If this approach resonates with you, you’re welcome to book a free consultation to see if it feels like a good fit.