An Introduction
As a trauma therapist, I draw on various modalities of treatment in my work with clients, including mind-body approaches. Talk therapy as a stand-alone model has demonstrated limitations in the successful treatment and resolution of trauma. EMDR is one approach to trauma treatment which incorporates the body by targeting memories and reconsolidating memoires through bilateral eye movements or tappers. Yoga has also become a modality of treatment for trauma in psychotherapy, including Trauma Informed Yoga or Trauma Sensitive Yoga. After observing the benefits of my own yoga practice on my well-being, I began my journey of training to become a Certified Trauma Informed Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) with the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and also pursued certification in trauma informed yoga modalities. I am a Licensed Clinical TIYT Facilitator of the Overcome Anxiety Program with the Sundara Academy, a certified trauma informed yoga teacher, and a registered yoga teacher (RYT-500, E-RYT 200), and YACEP. I am a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) through the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT).
In addition to being a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-500), and certified yoga therapist, I have additional trainings and certifications in: Trauma Informed Yoga Training with Transcending Sexual Trauma Through Yoga, Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Children’s Yoga Teacher Training, Level One Warriors at Ease, and Restorative Yoga. I certified as a Level One iRest teacher, a type yoga nidra developed by Richard Miller designed to suit the conditions of modern life. Yoga nidra has been shown in research to help reduce stress, anxiety and insomnia. My training also includes yoga wall fundamentals, and the studio offers yoga wall classes for clients interested in a supportive standing practice, with the option of inversions. Yoga wall practice can help improve overall flexibility and mobility in the joints and spine, build strength in both the large and small muscle groups, and aids students in the ability to access various muscles groups in poses they are not yet able to achieve on the mat. In addition, I am a certified provider of the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP). The Safe and Sound Protocol is an evidence-based therapeutic method involving filtered sounds to reset the nervous system and return it to a feeling of safety. In addition to these offerings, I also have a registered yoga school (RYS-200) with Yoga Alliance, and am a both a 200 hour yoga teacher trainer and an approved CEU provider, (YACEP).
If you are interested in participating in trauma informed yoga practices through an online platform, I have several videos from my earlier teachings on my YouTube Channel at: Insight Yoga Therapy and I have a subscription/membership for on-demand classes using recorded weekly classes on Vimeo. On this platform, students have unlimited access to most of the classes offered from my studio. https://insightyogatherapy2.vhx.tv/browse
Trauma Informed Yoga Classes
During the summer of 2021, my practice expanded to include a trauma informed yoga studio, where trauma informed yoga classes were offered as an adjunct to treatment for clients and members of the community. The studio expanded in 2022, and classes are offered on weekends and some evenings. Our class options vary and include yoga nidra/iRest, yin yoga, gentle flow classes and yoga wall classes. Our yoga wall classes are designed to support you in standing poses and inversions, which are optional. Sign up information as well as class times can be found using the following link: https://www.vagaro.com/us02/insightfamilytherapygroupinc
Yoga classes will be conducted to aid students seeking to augment their current treatment using a mind-body approach to alleviating symptoms of: PTSD, trauma, dissociation, anxiety and depression.
**The term trauma-sensitive yoga was coined by David Emerson, E-RYT, founder and director of yoga services at the Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute in Brookline, MA. This type of therapy uses yoga as an adjunctive treatment within a clinical context. Experts in the field of trauma, such as Bessel van der Kolk, MD, have promoted and researched the use of trauma informed yoga to help clients access and regain regulation of the body, reduce anxiety and rumination, and improve a body acceptance and awareness.
Contrasted with other modalities of trauma treatment, Yoga Informed Trauma Therapy does not aim to target emotions or access traumatic memory. Instead, the goal of this modality of treatment with client is to enhance a sense of body awareness: for clients to notice what is occurring inside of their bodies and discharge fear, anxiety, tension, and unwanted arousal, and to expand the window of tolerance related to body sensations. In the field of trauma, there is a growing awareness and research surrounding the impact of trauma on the body and mind. As the traumatized body reacts with either dampening or moving into arousal, avoidance or hypervigilance, despite the presence of current trauma, individuals begin to experience difficulties with self-soothing, often resorting to harmful coping tools to alleviate their distress. Trauma informed or trauma-sensitive yoga allows clients to quiet their minds and self-regulate their bodies, which in turn, allows them to better regulate their emotions. Bessel van der Kolk, among others, have found trauma informed and trauma sensitive yoga to be a highly effective modality of treatment for PTSD and trauma. As mindfulness based practices continue to grow and are supported by research in their efficacy for anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and trauma, more and more clinicians are turning to these practices for promoting healing.
