What makes trauma-informed yoga unique?
D'you know the question I get asked the most?
"What style of yoga are we practicing in trauma-informed yoga?"
I love this question because it gives us an opportunity to look at the science and methodology behind trauma-informed yoga which is specific, intentional and subtly distinct from a 'regular' practice.
In answer to this question, we're practicing Hatha yoga.
The reason?
It gives us time and space to process and experience the breath, the postures, and the transitions between them.
Isn't that what all yoga does?
Well no, not necessarily. Vinyasa, for example, is a comparatively fast-paced, athletic practice that for these reasons I definitely wouldn't be teaching in a space populated by traumatised people.
So why does this matter?
The pain of traumatic experience is such that the human response is to disassociate from the body and cut off connection to visceral signals and sensations.
Quite simply, the pain is intolerable and therefore the body will do what it can not to feel it.
It's a millennia-old response designed to protect us from harm and yet the fallout of this disembodiment means we no longer receive vital biofeedback about the state of our body (cold, hunger, pain, tiredness etc) and we become stranded, or imprisoned, in our minds.
It's the reason so much mental ill health, addiction and violent behaviour is associated with people who've been traumatised.
But when we practice mindful movement and breath-work, and begin to pay close attention to what our shoulder is doing in this posture, say, or the feeling of the foot just so on the mat....
We positively rewire the connection between mind and body and light up the attentional circuitry of the brain that helps us to feel, sense and perceive again beyond the limited confines of a brain that is on high alert for danger.
As we reconnect with felt sensation, we learn to befriend previously 'intolerable' experiences and thereby increase our tolerance for discomfort, which leads to resilience and personal growth.
We come to find that what was once deemed impossible or intolerable is now, in fact, totally doable.
This titration method - where practice moves slowly and carefully, bit by bit - is what allows students to gradually cultivate a considered response to threats and signals of danger rather than responding with knee-jerk reactions.
Which means reactions off the mat become calmer and more considered.
And it's this way of working that contributes to a trauma-informed approach.
Because when we understand why we're teaching in this way, we empower our students to understand it too.
It's not random and it's not guesswork.
It's deliberate, intentional and scientifically-backed.
If you're ready to step on the path to being a confident trauma-informed yoga teacher who gets paid to do work you love, I'd love to invite you to apply.
5 spaces are available next month.
Much love,
Ellie X