Trauma-Sensitive Yoga
We all experienced a sudden, involuntary release of emotion on the yoga mat as yoga students. Sometimes these are good, joyful or touching, but sometimes they can trigger a trauma buried deep within our body/mind. Trauma remains a fact of life: most of us will experience a traumatic event in our lifetime, and some will develop post-traumatic stress. And while this may appear to be a good thing, a yoga mat might not be the best place for healing trauma. Dysregulation needs regulation, and yoga teachers are, for the most part, not equipped to deal with this.
The deeper we go into the body/mind and the more advanced tools of Yoga we use, the more we need to become aware that no practice is created equal and beneficial for everyone. While most of the asana sequences, pranayama, and meditation techniques we teach might be helpful to most, they might be triggering for some. Emerging research suggests that yoga and mindfulness interventions can help trauma survivors; however, we need to be aware of potential dangers while leveraging the benefits.
In this training, we will explore why some practices can create dysregulation for people who’ve experienced trauma and ways you can prevent this. You will learn how to recognise traumatic stress symptoms or other dysregulation. We will also discuss current empirical research, including evidence-based interventions you can apply immediately to your work, so you are well equipped with tools and modifications to help you work skillfully with dysregulated arousal, traumatic flashbacks, and trauma-related dissociation.
