trauma-Sensitive Yoga

“look down at your body
whisper
there is no home like you
thank you”
— rupi kaur

Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) is an evidence-based adjunctive therapy for complex trauma and PTSD that uses a body-based approach to trauma healing. TCTSY can help trauma survivors gently reconnect with their bodies in a safer, supportive environment. TCTSY is rooted in trauma theory, attachment theory, neuroscience, and hatha yoga, with an emphasis on body-based yoga forms and breathing practices.

TCTSY brings your body into trauma healing through invitational language, choice-making,  and cultivating opportunities for present moment somatic awareness, & possibilities to notice and experience your body at your own pace and tempo.

TCTSY is the only yoga intervention approved by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices (SAMHSA / NREPP) as an evidence-based practice for treating complex trauma and PTSD.

  • When we experience trauma or painful life events, we can become disconnected from our bodies, or sensations may feel overwhelming or intolerable. When we experience trauma (and/or chronic stress), our nervous systems can get stuck “on”, especially if we have not processed or discharged these experiences. Trauma-sensitive yoga offers an opportunity to rebuild our relationship with ourselves and reclaim our bodies.
    In TCTSY we increase our interoceptive awareness (awareness of your internal body experience) through invitations to notice and befriend your body. Engaging in TCTSY and other therapy tools, you can experience your body as a resource which may lead to an increased ability to self-regulate and manage difficult emotions. In this practice, we can cultivate safety in the present moment and build a relationship with your body. What a gift to reconnect and claim your body after years of cycling between numbing and intensity.

  • TCTSY is a slower, more intentional practice than a “traditional” Western group yoga class. In TCTSY the power resides within the individual, not the facilitator. By focusing on the felt sense of your body to inform choice-making, TCTSY offers participants the opportunity to restore their connection of mind and body, and to cultivate a sense of agency that is often compromised as a result of trauma.

    In addition, TCTSY Facilitators have completed 300 hours of trauma-sensitive yoga training. The 300 hour TCTSY certification program is comprehensive and thorough. This training includes lecture, movement practices, mentorship, peer-to-peer support and completion of a final project; we are also required to provide examples of teaching TCTSY to our mentors and instructors and offered feedback.

  • Trauma sensitive yoga supports participants to:

    • connect with body sensations and breath

    • practice choice-making

    • remain in the present moment

    • cultivate self-efficacy and a sense of empowerment, which are both often compromised by trauma

    • engage in a shared authentic experience

  • Absolutely! Yoga can be a valuable complement to therapy. TCTSY can be integrated into an individual therapy session for short increments of time or for a full session. If you are interested in incorporating TCTSY into therapy sessions, we can create a unique plan to support you and your goals.

  • Trauma-sensitive yoga is accessible for everyone. No prior yoga experience is necessary.

  • Private TCTSY sessions are ideal for those who want to engage in a somatic practice to reconnect with their body in a trauma-informed space. I offer a free consultation call to discuss what you are looking for, answer questions and determine if TCTSY with me is a good fit. All private sessions are tailored to your needs to meet you where you are at.

  • It is recommended you are in therapy to participate in TCTSY. However, if you do not have access to therapy, it is preferable you have access to other support systems that can offer space to verbally process anything that comes up during TCTSY. Possible supports might include a social worker, case manager, peer support, somatic practitioner, 12 step or other support group, or clergy.

    Clients receiving psychotherapy services outside of Blue Sky Therapy can use these sessions as adjunctive treatment to their existing therapy.

    TCTSY is not a replacement for psychotherapy.

  • TCTSY is the first yoga-based empirically validated, clinical intervention for complex trauma or chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). TCTSY can be used as an effective adjunct treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

    Randomized controlled trials (RCT) have found that 12 weeks of TCTSY statistically significantly decreased posttraumatic stress and depression for women with chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD and women veterans with PTSD from military sexual assault. Furthermore, TCTSY was found to decrease PTSD symptoms to the same extent as cognitive processing therapy (a gold-standard PTSD treatment), with faster symptom improvement, although reductions were in favor of cognitive processing therapy at 3-month follow-up after the 12 weeks of intervention.

    You can read more about TCTSY here: https://www.traumasensitiveyoga.com/research

  • From the TCTSY website: We acknowledge the roots of yoga as originating with the ancient people of the Indus Valley, present day India and Pakistan. We are deeply grateful to this vast tradition of inquiry into the nature of what it means to be human, and we have incorporated some of the core elements of yoga philosophy directly into TCTSY, namely non-harm, non-attachment to outcomes and self-study.