Key Components of a Trauma-Informed Yoga Class
Hey thanks for popping in and giving this a read. I promised I would start having consistent emails sent out to you every week on Sundays. And well, it is 10:07pm on Sunday and we are here and doing it!! Consistency and schedules can be hard for me as they tend to trigger some anxiety around being late, not finishing work on time, and not having a good enough finished product. This fear and anxiety has really held me back in so many areas of my life and although I have started being able to identify these thinking errors, I am still trying my best to work with myself and not default back to giving up before I have even started. All of this to say it might be 10pm at night but, I am showing up. Showing up for you, for myself, and for my business. If you relate to these feelings I hope you find something you can tackle and show up for in your life right now, whatever that may be.
Okay, now into the good stuff. If you weren't able to attend the 1 hour workshop introduction to trauma informed yoga last weekend but, are still curious, let me ease your curiosity.
There is a difference between Trauma Sensitive and Trauma Informed. This may not be universal however, from my training and what I will be teaching at The Gratitude Practice there are a few differences between the two terms. All the classes I teach at the studio are trauma informed. This just means that I take into account the different aspects of my training and implement them into your "usual" yoga class. You can think of trauma informed classes as a typical yoga class with trauma informed elements sprinkled in. I teach all my classes this way because I believe everyone can benefit from the care and guidelines of trauma informed teaching even if they are not there for that specific type of class. Trauma Sensitive is a higher level of trauma care. Trauma Sensitive classes can be slower than a typical yoga class, there is no set sequence of the class as it is all built around choice (more on this later), and there are many different options for movement offered for you to try in each moment.
So next time you are looking to come to a class at The Gratitude Practice just know I am always striving to keep all of my classes trauma informed and the new Wednesday evening class is specifically Trauma Sensitive. I invite you to come try them out and see which one you like.
Key Components to Trauma Sensitive Classes
Choice Making: Complex trauma comes from an individual forced into a situation where there are imbalanced power dynamics. This means one person has power over where the other is powerless. It is important to invite options and opportunities for the individual to start taking their power back. What this means for yoga is I will not tell you one specific way to move, instead there will by 2-3 options for movement and yoga forms open to you at all times. There is also always the option to leave the room at any time, the option to stop practicing and sit or lay on your mat at anytime etc. This is to build in as much choice making as possible to cultivate a safe space where individuals are allowed to make empowering choices for themselves and ask "what do I want in this moment".
Shared Authentic Experience: Shared Authentic experience means when in class I will never just sit on my mat and dictate to you. I will also be experiencing and taking part in the practice too. Trauma sensitive yoga means leveling out power dynamics which means I am practicing and learning along side you. Simply put everyone is involved, but no single person's experience is anymore valid than another's.
Noncoercion and Invitational language: Have you ever been in a space or a situation where it is automatically assumed you will follow all instructions, have no personal input on what you are doing with your own body, and feel overwhelmingly trapped and suffocated by the experience? Yeah, I have too. This is why I will phrase all cues in the class as invitations. I won't be telling you what to do with your body but, offering some invitations for somethings you could chose to do. I will also never give hands on assists as I trust you to find your way into shapes independently.
Interoception: In trauma sensitive yoga each yoga form gives the opportunity for interoception. Interoception is just a fancy way of saying "feeling things in the present moment. Here is an example: If you are seated you may notice what you are feeling along the backs of your legs, If you are standing right now you may notice what you are feeling in your feet, and finally if you are laying down right now you may notice what you are feeling along your back. Interoception is important as trauma can create a disconnect between the brain and the body and these cues help to invite a reconnection in the present moment.
Alright, if you stuck around this far I hope you learned something new. If you have any questions about the information I shared or more resources such as books, articles or studies around this topic shoot me a message back. Here is the link to fill out the 3 question survey about the free weekly class I will be offering starting 1 week from now. Click HERE . It takes less than a minute if you can let me know your thoughts so I can offer the best services to you I would appreciate it!
Thank you and hope to see you around soon,
Janae Kara (she/her/hers)
TCTSY-F
