Trauma-Informed Yoga & Psychotherapy

How is Trauma-Informed Yoga and Psychotherapy related?

Essentially, both Trauma-Informed Yoga and Psychotherapy help to improve our quality of life and help us to recover from distressing events that overwhelm us.

While Psychotherapy gives us the tools to process our thoughts and manage our reactions through talking therapy, Trauma-Informed Yoga helps on a more somatic level to regulate our autonomic nervous system through movement and breath as the groundwork for trauma healing.

How can the two modalities be used together to help clients?

Although talking therapy is a wonderful way to process, heal and manage trauma, we know that at times it is difficult for clients to find the words to express themselves. Research has proven that when we experience trauma, the neural pathways in our brain can disconnect, making it impossible to verbally work through our trauma.

Trauma-Informed Yoga helps to reconnect these pathways by overcoming the body’s learned trauma responses. Clients/students first and foremost build their capacity to feel safe. Once there is safety, the mind and body can switch from survival mode into healing mode. Students also learn to become more aware of their body and emotions and to safely ground and regulate themselves once they recognise their triggers. When TIY is done alongside talking therapy, the client/student will be able to somatically and verbally process their trauma, thus providing them with a more well-rounded approach to their healing.

What are the benefits of having TIY as an adjunct practice for both you and your client?

Studies have shown that TIY can

• help reduce symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression

• decrease dissociation

• alter neuroception

• activate parasympathetic nervous system

• deactivate sympathetic nervous system

• increase window of tolerance for triggers

• lessen somatic/physical complaints associated with trauma

• improve sleep quality

Students are encouraged to bring the practises learnt in their TIY class into their talking therapy sessions. This gives the student the autonomy to use an integrative mind-body approach to their healing.