Trauma Informed Yoga

Trauma doesn’t just affect the mind — it can also be held in the body. This means that mind-body practices like yoga can be challenging, and even harmful, for those who have endured any form of trauma — whether acute or complex.

Trauma-informed yoga (TIY) describes an approach to the practice that addresses the specific needs and symptoms of trauma survivors.

“All yoga teaching needs to be trauma-informed,” says yoga therapist Jivana Heyman.

“Trauma-informed teaching means we assume that all our students have had some kind of trauma in their lives and that we teach in a way that offers a space for healing from trauma, rather than triggering it,” he says.

Trauma-informed yoga teachers are trained to be conscious of trauma and understand how trauma intersects with the practice.

This form of yoga may include self-regulation strategies to:

• increase body awareness (interoception) in a safe and controlled way, which can promote feelings of physical, emotional, and psychological safety
• address nervous system dysregulation, dissociation, and feelings of disconnection from the body or surroundings, which are common after experiencing trauma

Many yoga teachers aren’t trained to treat medical or mental health conditions. And many yoga poses can even be triggering for those who’ve endured physical trauma, particularly sexual trauma.

A safe, secure, and predictable environment surrounded by a like-minded community is the foundation for this type of practice.

While many regular yoga classes encourage students to move through emotional discomfort, trauma-informed yoga creates a safe space for people to pay attention to signs of dissociation and distress that may come up, and to stop whenever they need.

Trauma-informed yoga is less about how poses are executed and more about the feeling of embodiment (being within your body) within a pose. Establishing presence and finding a sense of grounding can help you connect to your mind and body in a way that feels secure.

As you are guided through a supportive experience, you may observe sensations and emotions that arise without feeling triggered or overwhelmed.

The intent of any yoga practice is to facilitate the “rest-and-digest” response of the parasympathetic nervous system — which is the opposite state to the “fight, flight, or freeze” response that holds many trauma survivors captive.

However, this can sometimes backfire. For trauma survivors, some mainstream yoga techniques can reactivate the fight-or-flight response, putting the sympathetic nervous system into overdrive.

Examples of when yoga can trigger trauma include:

• holding postures for a prolonged period of time
• physical assists without permission
• certain breathwork (pranayama) practices
• artificially heated environments that exceed the body’s normal temperature
• when a teacher’s language and sequencing is exclusive rather than inclusive
• yoga postures that aggressively open the hips and spine

Against the status quo

Modern yoga in the West has been appropriated, commercialised, and whitewashed, emphasizing able-bodied strength and flexibility and often marketed to thin, affluent, white women. A one-size-fits-all approach to yoga is harmful since it discourages personal agency.

“The challenge for yoga teachers is to reflect on how we can teach safely, with clear instruction, and simultaneously offer students the options they need to make their own choices,” Heyman says. “The hierarchical top-down approach we are usually trained in is insufficient.”

Yoga is an internal endeavor. An advanced practitioner is not someone who performs feats of strength and flexibility. To be advanced is to navigate your inner world and know yourself on a deeper level; to tailor your practice to suit your individual, ever-fluctuating needs.

“Different people have different triggers, but there are some general things we can do to support a slow and safe reconnection with the body,” says Heyman. “For example, we can avoid telling people what their experience should be.”

Trauma-informed yoga teachers provide tools to help you turn your awareness inward in a way that feels safe — whether it’s finding different variations of a pose or skipping the pose entirely.

Trauma-informed teaching begins with an emphasis on personal empowerment, choice, and agency,One of the most important concepts of trauma-informed yoga is that the student has a sense of control over their practice and their body.

Trauma-informed teachers also make space for diverse experiences to promote healing. Inclusive language that prompts choices helps to create a safe and supportive environment. Instructions should be invitations rather than commands.

Trauma-informed teaching also means we have a heightened awareness of our physical presence as a teacher,” says Heyman. “It can mean avoiding touching students, staying on our mat during practice, and giving students a sense that their mat is a safe space that won’t be interfered with.”

Trauma-informed yoga is a grounding practice with less emphasis on the poses themselves. There are not poses that are specifically trauma-informed since it’s more the way they’re taught that’s the key.

Still, some yoga poses and breathing exercises may be more helpful than others.

Conscious breathing is my go-to either lying down or sitting up, depending on the trauma demographic. Our focus has always been synchronizing movement with breath as the priority rather than the full expression of a posture.

Postures considered generally safe may include:

• Staff Pose
• Mountain Pose
• Warrior Poses
• Twists
• Most standing poses
• Plank

It’s best to approach some postures, such as certain seated postures and backbends, with caution or avoid them entirely.

Those working with survivors of sexual assault should also avoid sexually suggestive postures, like Happy Baby.

“Child’s pose can be triggering for sexual abuse survivors,” says Weaver. “The reality is any posture can be potentially triggering and they need to be selected for the individual or group.”

What to do when trauma shows up in your body during a yoga class

Dissociation and distress may occur among trauma survivors in a yoga setting. If this happens, a student might respond to cues with the wrong side of their body, or experience rapid or shallow breathing, or general frustration.

Other signs include:

• a flushed face
• excessive perspiration
• uncoordinated movements

If you become triggered during a yoga class, try taking back control by bringing your attention back to your breath, a safe body part, or an object in the room, and moving into a posture that feels safe. You can also exit the room at any time.

Whether you’re a trauma survivor or have a mental health condition, it can help to work with a trauma-informed yoga teacher or therapist who has received specialized training, when possible.