Trauma informed trauma sensitive yoga
Trauma centred trauma sensitive yoga (TCTSY) is an approach to guiding clients/participants who (may) have a history of trauma, through a series of yoga forms or poses, from the perspective of facilitating a journey of re-associating and building a positive relationship with their own body.
TCTSY differs significantly from our traditional perception of a westernised yoga class in that the attainment and mastery of poses is not the goal. The practice of TCTSY is an invitation to explore our bodies, to notice, to distinguish and be able to take appropriate action in response to knowing what our internal environment is trying to tell us.
A yoga teacher trained in TCTSY will have an understanding of the bodies response to trauma, sustained through a history of an abusive relationship(s). A sensitive and well-attuned yoga teacher will create an environment, both physical and energetically which is intended to help participants feel safe, respected and empowered. The environment will be one of power-sharing, non-coercive and without expectation.
A TCTSY class is not in itself therapy for trauma survivors but used in conjunction with the participant’s main forms of therapy may provide profound benefits which will support the therapeutic healing process which comes from being better able to interocept (recognise what our internal state is telling us) and to respond to our internal environment. It is only from a place of ‘having a body’ and having a positive and sensitive relationship with that body that we can truly embark on the path of healing.
Alexandra Cat is a Trauma Centred Yoga Facilitator who runs workshops and courses in TCTSY and her three day workshop has instantly changed my approach to teaching yoga in subtle yet profound ways and I look forward to learning more on her more extended courses.
To find out more about her training courses and services visit https://www.theyogaclinic.co.uk/alex-cat
