Trauma Sensitive Yoga
What is trauma sensitive yoga?
Trauma sensitive yoga was developed in 2002 by David Emerson at the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute, in Brookline, Massachusetts. In the decades since its inception, trauma sensitive yoga is being practiced in over thirty countries worldwide, and is continuing to grow.
Trauma sensitive yoga also shifts the experience of yoga from the external to the internal. Trauma sensitive yoga does not focus on external appearances, such as doing a pose “right,” or external praise from an instructor. Rather, trauma sensitive yoga focuses on the internal experience. This shift encourages participants to listen to their body to inform decision making, leading to a better mind-body connection, and a stronger sense of agency.
Trauma sensitive yoga takes the approach that the entire person-- mind, body and spirit-- must be engaged when healing trauma. Trauma impacts more than just the mind. In the words of world-renowned trauma researcher and educator Bessel van der Kolk, “trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body.” This imprint leads survivors of trauma to feel chronically unsafe in their own bodies. Trauma sensitive yoga helps survivors process the physical effects of trauma on their bodies, as well as their minds and souls, to help them regain a sense of safety in their own bodies.
Trauma sensitive yoga is able to do so by modifying traditional yoga. Traditional yoga practitioners may physically touch participants to guide them into the correct poses. Trauma sensitive yoga practitioners will never touch a participant, which helps foster their sense of agency and autonomy. Trauma sensitive yoga also modifies traditional yoga by removing candles, music, mirrors, or other distractions during the session. It focuses on minimizing outside distractions to help participants focus on their internal experiences.
