Events + Workshops

–SOLD OUT–Teaching Trauma Sensitive Yoga

with Kim Saunders

November 7 — $95
12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Location: Lift Alpharetta

This training consists of lecture, discussion, group activities, practice teaching, and trauma-informed yoga, breathing, and relaxation exercises, that can be useful not only for trauma, but tension and stress as well.

Over half of the US population reports having experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, and approximately 7.7 million American adults suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) every year (Emerson & Hopper 2011, p.3). For many people, traumatic experiences overwhelm their ability to cope, leading to complex and devastating symptomatology that manifests mentally, emotionally, and physiologically – often for months or years after the trauma occurred.

Research demonstrates that traumatic events can leave an imprint on the cells and tissues of the body, leading to dysregulation and imbalances in nervous system function that manifest as symptoms of trauma. Due to trauma’s effects on the nervous system, an individual experiencing symptoms of trauma may be constantly on alert, chronically depressed or fatigued, have chronic pain, feel numb or dissociative, have biorhythm disturbances (such as sleep and metabolic issues), adopt unhealthy coping mechanisms, and more. Yoga, as a physical and mental practice that invites individuals to reconnect with their bodies, can facilitate healing through providing a conduit for the safe, controlled release of traumatic energy held in the body (Van der Kolk, 2014).

Topics Covered:

• Understanding PTSD and Complex Trauma.
• Using Yoga as an effective method for healing trauma stored in the body.
• Experience TRE – Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises.
• Appropriate language for teaching a Trauma Informed Class.
• How to design a Trauma Sensitive Yoga Class.

*This training is a professional development training and is not intended as an intervention for personal healing/processing personal trauma. Talking about trauma, and the principles and practice of trauma-informed yoga may be triggering. The training is not intended for those currently in crisis.

Works Cited:

• Emerson D and Hopper E. 2011. Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga: Reclaiming Your Body. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, CA and The Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute, Inc., Boston, MA.
• Van der Kolk, B. 2014. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking.