trauma sensitive yoga
WHAT IS trauma sensitive yoga?
Trauma center, trauma sensitive yoga (TCTSY) is an empirically validated clinical intervention for complex (relational) trauma or chronic, treatment resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), both of which profoundly change our relationship with our body.
Developed at Center for Trauma & Embodiment in Massachusetts, USA, it is supported by more than 10 original, peer reviewed studies, numerous led by Dr Bessel van der Kolk, international trauma expert and author of The Body Keeps the Score, and his research team, and many more independent analyses.
MORE ABOUT TCTSY
THE TCTSY methodology is based on central components of trauma theory, attachment theory, neuroscience & yoga philosophy & practice.
Although TCTSY employs physical forms and movements, the focus is on the internal experience of the participant – what the forms feel like instead of what they look like. With this shift in orientation, from the external to the internal, the power resides within the individual, not the TCTSY facilitator.
In addition, by focusing on the felt sense of the body to inform choice-making during practice, TCTSY provides opportunities for participants to restore their connection between mind and body and to cultivate a sense of agency that is often compromised as a result of surviving trauma.
“Body treatment is somewhere, like, way on the periphery of the world. Instead, we sit in a chair and we talk to people, somehow trying to magically make people safe in their body.
I did the first National Institutes of Health-funded study on Yoga. It is more effective for chronic PTSD than any drug with people I've ever studied. If you learn how to really inhabit your body and learn to feel comfortable moving your body and being in your body, something starts shifting.”
Dr Bessel van der Kolk, psychiatrist, author and trauma researcher.
5 key principles of TCTSY
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Trauma survivors may have experienced a loss of control over their bodies, so everything is optional. Language is used that is non-coercive and invites exploration and choice.
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Participants are offered choices about how they want to participate in the yoga practice, including being free to rest, stop or leave the practice. This helps to promote a sense of empowerment and agency.
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Interoception is the ability to sense and understand what is happening in one’s body. Trauma can disrupt interoceptive awareness, so TCTSY emphasises the cultivation of this skill through mindful movement.
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Participants are invited to make modifications to the physical shapes based on what they are noticing in their bodies, listening to their needs.
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TCTSY is a relational practice, never pre-recorded. We practice alongside one another, exploring relational safety, trust and present moment awareness of having a body.
Get in touch
If you are interested in finding out more about arranging private, one-to-one online TCTSY sessions with me (as I am based in Spain), or you are interested in setting up a small group online class, please fill in the form below and I will be in touch with you to arrange a call.
1-1 Sessions:
€150 for an initial chat and assessment, up to 2 hours.
€75 - €100 per hourly session, for those in employment.
€60 - €80 per hourly session, for students or those in receipt of benefits/social support.