What is Trauma-Focused or Trauma-Informed Yoga?

Peace of Mind Yoga, Counseling, and Wellness Center is unique in that we provide trauma counseling and offer trauma-informed and trauma-focused yoga classes to our community in New Jersey. Plus, due to modern-day technology, we can see people all around the country! People are often apprehensive about visiting a trauma-focused yoga class, but once they come, they become wonderful regular members! 

For other people, we hear trepidation. They are unsure who will be in the class. What will they do? If they are seasoned yoga students, will it be too easy? If they have never taken yoga, will it be too hard? Below we are excited to talk about the Ten aspects of a Trauma-Informed and Trauma-Focused Class. 

1. Trauma-Focused Yoga Classes are structured like a regular yoga class.

A trained yoga instructor plans each yoga class. Each teacher carefully sets aside time to sequence poses and shapes for their yoga class. The instructors research body parts to see what will be stretched and supported during their sequence. The music is carefully selected and played as it sets the tone for each class and teacher. Dharma talks and themes of the class are determined, and intention is set for each class. All the steps that were mentioned previously include a trauma-focused lens. So overall, trauma-focused yoga classes are planned just the same way as other yoga classes people have encountered in the past. 

2. Trauma and Stress can be anything.

People will often say, “I cannot attend a trauma-focused class as I have never experienced trauma.” Most people think of traumas in a limited way. In our work, traumas can originate from divorce, leaving for college, miscarriage, infertility, a pandemic, alcoholism, loss of a pet, being laid off from a job, death of a loved one, or racism. Trauma can also be witnessed and not directly experienced. Trauma is anything that changes the way we perceive the world and negatively impacts our nervous system. Unfortunately, no one makes it through life unscathed. Numerous traumas are encountered throughout our lives. 

3. Regulation is key. 

The body becomes numb and disconnected during trauma and chronic stress or overactive and overstimulated. As a result, we often experience the inability to regulate our bodies, thoughts, emotions, and feelings. 

Therefore, calming the mind and body is an essential piece of trauma-focused yoga. There is a significant focus on breath to ground the body to allow the body to slow down and regulate. We hone in on the body sensations during class because we know trauma and stress are held in the fascia. We may experience an activation during a trauma-focused flow, but it is always paired with calming or slower shapes to help show the body it is safe. 

4. Trauma-Focused Yoga expands the window of tolerance.

The window of tolerance is the space in which we operate at our best selves. When people are within their window of tolerance, they can work through stress and triggers by having a regulated body. The window of tolerance is focused in counseling as it is the key to achieving goals. We use yoga to help people experience an activation or hyperarousal (heart beats faster, breathing is quickened) or deactivation or hypoarousal (heart rate has slowed and breathing has slowed) by shapes and breath. Through this exploration, we teach the body that it can handle stressors that may seem out of their comfort zone. If people practice these skills and know what their bodies feel like in these states, they can face triggers and stressors easier in life outside the yoga class. 

5. Trauma-Focused Yoga is widely researched.

Trauma-focused yoga is widely studied to examine the impact on the body and how the body responds. Researchers such as David Emmerson, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Dr. Arielle Schwartz, Dr. Stephen Porges, Dr. Peter Levine, and Dr. Richard Miller, to name a few. We provide members enrolled in our Yoga for Stress Relief Starter Month pre- and post-assessments. As a result, we can see how people’s nervous system responds to a month of yoga and work around stress and anxiety. Our data shows people experience up to a 69% decrease in perceived daily stress after just 30 days!

6. Gain glimpses of peace. 

When engaging in trauma-focused yoga, we often have people so settled in their bodies they fall asleep. There is no greater gift to an instructor than having someone feel safe or comfortable enough to drift off into a slumber. A person may experience peace of mind they have never experienced before with breath and gentle movements. People often are not aware they can enter this calm space with their bodies. Once their bodies are taught how to enter this peaceful place, they can use these tools in their lives outside of the yoga room. If they need a safe or calm space, they know they can turn inward to find that peace. 

7. Trauma-Focused Yoga helps people befriend their bodies.

After stress and trauma, people disconnect and become estranged from their bodies. As a result, people may not trust their bodies, or their bodies may be the cause of debilitating anxiety. Yoga helps us to reconnect and befriend our bodies again. We learn to listen to different cues by observing our hearts, nervous system, lungs, and extremities. If we can listen to our bodies, know our triggers, and understand how to regulate our nervous system, we can work to slip into a peaceful place with little to no effort—all by befriending our nervous system and body. 

8. Trauma-focused yoga teachers are highly trained. 

Trauma is an ever-evolving field, and new studies and research are released every week. To be fully trauma-informed, we, as teachers, must be up to date with our information regarding the body and somatics of trauma. Over the past two years, we studied with several leaders in the field due to the new ways of connecting over zoom. From three-day trainings to full-year immersions, we have learned the latest and most innovative techniques to hold space for our members in our trauma-focused yoga classes. 

9. Trauma-focused yoga works well for people who can not yet express themselves verbally. 

In our work, we understand that some traumas are too difficult to discuss or happen pre-verbally (at a very young age) to our members in the studio and online. Yoga allows people to explore and express themselves through movement. Since trauma is held in the body, people will often feel a release of pent-up stress and anxiety in certain poses or shapes. However, a sense of relief is experienced by most of the members just by breathing and sitting with their bodies! We often refer people back to counseling to process their emotions they can verbalize, and they continue to work collaboratively and in conjunction with counseling through their past through yoga. 

10. Students are the experts.

We invite people to engage in poses or shapes during our trauma-focused classes. If people enjoy relaxing on their mats and listening to the music and dharma talks, they are also invited to do so! People know what their bodies need and want at the moment. We do not push people outside of their physical boundaries as it is unnecessary. When we invite people to move with us, they understand they are in control and can work to reestablish control over their lives. Our motto is: Explore, Identify, Heal, Emerge. People can engage in these acts if they feel the time is right. By giving people a choice, they can work towards safety in our space and their bodies. People are the experts of their lives. 

Overall, we can see how trauma-focused classes are very similar to regular yoga classes but have an added element of autonomy, free will, work towards safety and regulation. Many members are not looking for trauma-focused yoga but gain the benefits by coming to our specific yoga classes. We invite you to try us out! We are running a new member special, and you can click here to sign up!

We look forward to hosting you at our space!