Introducing Trauma-Informed Yoga By Nora Riggs, TSN Board Member MSW, LSW Program Manager Cherry Street Mission Ministries These days in Toledo, you can find opportunities to attend a yoga class in at least a dozen different spaces across the city. The beauty is that you are more likely to find a practice and community that resonates with you when there are options. Unfortunately, yoga is often watered down into simply a “workout” or “fitness.” What’s true is that yoga is an ancient spiritual practice, dating back 5,000 years or more; originating in India. The practice of yoga invites participants into deep, meaningful connection to their mind, breath, body, and self. Part of the practice can involve different postures (known as asanas). If the postures are taught without focus on how they feel in one’s own body, how that connects to one’s own breathing, and the inward self-reflective journey, then it is not true to yoga’s roots. One style of yoga practice is called trauma-informed yoga, also referred to as trauma-sensitive yoga, has been formally termed and instructed since the early 2000s. This specific style of yoga seeks to support participants in discovering how their own trauma has stayed in their body, and how to implement yoga as a means of healing and finding safety. Zabie Yamasaki is an incredible trauma-informed yoga instructor who created a certification program so that others could follow in her footsteps. She is an expert in thai work and shares: “Trauma is somatic. Humans often register trauma not always as stories but as felt sensations in their bodies. Being trauma-informed is a philosophy and systemic framework of the way we truly see people and honor their humanity. It is a lifelong commitment to culturally-affirming, compassionate, and inclusive practices that avoid re-traumatization. It helps us to empathetically hold a safe container and it allows every interaction to be a powerful reminder that people are the experts of their own experience.” I have found the practice of trauma-informed yoga to be a powerful experience of self-awareness, personal healing, and new insights. As I’ve taught with this model in place, I see the impact it makes on students for the same reasons. Trauma-informed yoga is unique in the way it’s structured and that the entire class is an invitation for students to participate at their own pace. One way to implement trauma-informed yoga into your daily life is through your breath. The breath helps us to stay grounded into the present moment, while our brain may be in a flashback or thinking about something stressful. I invite you to take a deep breath now, maybe breathing in through your nose and slowly out through your nose. Repeat as many times as needed. Peace. Trauma-informed yoga pose. Photo from Yoga Journal Page 3
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