Movement, particularly yoga and dance, have been crucial tools in my journey of recovery from trauma and to living in a more mindful way. As a certified Trauma-Informed Yoga Instructor, I work with both youth and adults to assist them in developing effective and lifelong mind-body resources to deal with stressors and/or triggering situations in a positive way through yoga training.
Private Trauma-Informed Yoga Training
Toxic chronic stress has a way of showing up in the most perplexing of ways, often manifesting as autoimmune, digestive, or autonomic nervous systems disorders. Also, tragic events and difficult life circumstances always know how to find us, be it the death of a loved one, a battle with cancer, divorce, or a sudden loss of financial stability, and often result in unresolved traumas in our mind and bodies. Additionally, it is often as adults that we begin to awaken to and re-process potentially traumatic experiences of our childhoods for the first time - this is a difficult and daunting task which many survivors find very isolating.
I offer private trauma-informed yoga training to address the physical symptoms of stress and trauma by bringing awareness to the body and mind in a safe, supportive, and non-judgemental environment. Trauma-informed, or trauma-focused yoga, is a "bottom-up" approach (or from the body to the brain) designed to calm and settle the nervous system, using breathwork (pranayama) and postures (asanas) to encourage gentle awareness of the mind and body. Every session is tailored to the specific needs of each individual. I also work with clients who need assistance in managing stress by using yoga to practice and incorporate mindfulness, and other mind-body resources, into their daily lives to enhance overall wellness and quality of life. If you or someone you know might benefit from private trauma-informed yoga training, please contact me here. I am also available for workshops with schools, companies, nonprofits and other organizations who would like to offer yoga and other mindfulness practices to their employees and/or the individuals that they work with. Please contact me here for availability.
I developed my Yoga for Stress Management class as a way to bring the benefits of private trauma-informed yoga training to a group class format, specifically designed to help students cultivate their own mind-body resources aimed at mitigating stress and anxiety to assist them on their journey to health and maintaining wellness.
Research has well-documented that unmanaged high stress levels can lead to chronic health issues as well as physical and emotional traumas. By combining pranayama (breath work), asanas (postures), and guided meditation together into a flow, you will learn techniques to better manage stress and begin to heal the nervous system in a safe and compassionate environment. This class is perfect for both beginners and established yogis, and for those who see the benefit of a trauma-informed approach to yoga however feel that private training isn't for them.
Yoga for Stress Management is currently available by request, and is perfect for bringing the benefits of mindfulness and yoga to your organization or group gatherings.
Because at-risk youth and adults often lack outside resources to support them, trauma-informed yoga can help them build life skills from the inside out, so that they can better support themselves. Trauma-Informed Yoga can offer support in the following ways: 1. SENSE OF SELF Yoga teaches individuals to become more aware of their thoughts, feelings and emotions. And when they connect with their inner experience, they can discover their own sense of self. By building this connection, yoga helps improve their self-esteem, and gives them the confidence to take control over their thoughts and actions. Using the tools they learn in yoga, teens are better able to shift from how they are being, to become who they want to be.
2. STRESS MANAGEMENT Yoga relaxation gives students the chance to unwind and release their stress. Students learn stress management techniques that are healthy and productive, and can choose the ones that work best for them off the mat.
3. RESILIENCE Resilience refers to the ability for a person to recover quickly from difficulty or cope with stress. Trauma-informed yoga builds resilience by connecting students with inner resources that helps them to work through their discomfort, understand their experience, and separate their feelings from their actions. Even more, yoga can help youth release pent up tension and trauma, so that they can move on both mentally and physically.