Trauma Informed Yoga Therapy

Trauma-informed yoga therapy is a gentle, somatic practice designed to support healing by fostering present-moment awareness of the breath, body sensations, and nervous system responses—areas where trauma often resides. Rooted in principles of safety, choice, and empowerment, this approach helps cultivate regulation, resilience, and a renewed sense of embodied presence.

This is not a fitness class or performance. Instead, it is an intentional, compassionate practice that invites you to explore how each movement and posture feels, honoring your unique experience and pacing.

What to Expect

In our work together, we’ll co-create a safe, attuned space for you to explore your relationship to your body, breath, and internal rhythms. You don’t need to be flexible or have any yoga experience. You don’t even need to move, if rest is what your system is asking for.

You can expect:

A slow, non-linear pace that allows space for integration
Guidance that centers consent, collaboration, and choice
Supportive invitations rather than commands or expectations
Practices that help regulate your nervous system and reconnect you with your inner sense of safety
Reflection and dialogue before and after sessions to process your experience

A Brief History: Where This Work Comes From

Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years as a tool for transformation—physically, mentally, and spiritually. Trauma-informed yoga therapy brings ancient yogic traditions into dialogue with modern neuroscience and somatic psychology. Pioneers like Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score), David Emerson, and others at the Trauma Center in Boston have shown that yoga can help regulate the nervous system, restore a sense of agency in the body, and gently integrate trauma that talking alone cannot reach.

This practice is grounded in principles of safety, choice, and empowerment. It honors the fact that trauma disrupts our connection to our bodies—and that healing often begins by gently rebuilding that connection, one breath at a time.

How It Works

Trauma-informed yoga therapy is not one-size-fits-all. Each session is tailored to meet you where you are. Practices might include:

Gentle movement to reconnect with the body and notice sensation without judgment
Breathwork to regulate the nervous system and support emotional balance
Mindfulness + meditation to develop present-moment awareness and self-compassion
Somatic tracking to identify where emotions live in the body and how they move
Restorative postures to settle, soothe, and restore
Ritual + intention to bring meaning and alignment to your practice

You will always be offered choice and agency in your experience. This is not about “doing it right”—it’s about listening deeply to your body and discovering what supports your healing.

Sessions may happen on a mat, in a chair, or even outdoors. Movement can be as minimal or as active as feels right for you.

Why Trauma-Informed Yoga Therapy?

Trauma lives not only in memory, but in the body—in muscles, breath, and the nervous system.
The body is not the enemy; it holds the wisdom and possibility for healing.
Reclaiming it is a radical, courageous act of coming home to yourself.

Whether you’re working with complex trauma, chronic stress, anxiety, disordered eating, or simply feel disconnected from your body, this work can be a powerful bridge back to yourself.

“Trauma is not what happens to you but what happens inside you."

- Gabor Mate

Let’s Begin

If you’re curious about how this practice might support your healing, I’d love to connect. You don’t have to be “ready” or have it all figured out. We can explore together. I offer free 20-minute consults to answer your questions and see what feels supportive.