Trauma-Informed Yoga & Nervous System Care

I am trained in trauma informed yoga for mental health professionals through the Trauma Conscious Yoga Institute. 

"The Trauma-Conscious Yoga MethodSM integrates trauma-informed yoga therapy and somatic psychotherapy practices..."  

Yoga for trauma is an "assist" for your therapy. 

It  is slow, gentle, non-performative, and specifically related to what you are working through in therapy.  

Flexibility is not expected, required, or even relevant. 

Yoga for trauma  that I offer is gentle movement, and is about supporting your nervous system regulation,  not about getting into poses at all. 

For example, we may together try out simply standing in standing mountain pose together to explore a goal of feeling empowered. Or, we may use that stance to process a time when you didn't feel empowered, while you feel your present day self with strength. 

Another example is that we might explore grounding and centering practices that support your steadiness and regulation, as you imagine preparing for a difficult situation or coming out of a difficult situation. 

These can be done in a chair, or on a yoga mat, or standing, or not at all. 

You have full choice about whether to use any gentle movement in therapy or not. 

No is a legitimate, full sentence that I accept. 

Yoga for trauma is not only about physical movement and poses (called asana). 

Coming in to stillness for a few moments, meditation around what you are working on, or becoming mindful are also yoga practices. 

These are (optional) approaches that are interwoven into your therapy, as it unfolds.

Any yoga we include is integrated into your session around what we are working on together, and what is arising in the moment. There is not a pre-planned yoga sequence or class. 

Using movement in therapy is not for everyone, all the time. 

We use yoga in the context of supporting your therapy goals, and part of an assessment includes readiness and CHOICE  for any approach or intervention. 

Yoga for trauma can be provided over virtual sessions with success.

Please reach out!