![]() ![]() As part of our trauma-informed teacher training, we ask people to share a safe experience they have had in yoga and an unsafe experience. Gwen: I would say the most significant lesson that I have learned is to not assume what students are experiencing on their mat. What have you learned from becoming a trauma-sensitive yoga teacher? What has surprised you? ![]() There are many different styles of yoga and yoga teaching, and it is your choice what works for you. Also, always remember that you are not committed to staying in or returning to a class where you are uncomfortable. Even if she is comfortable with touch, the idea that her word counts can empower a survivor greatly. This can create a safer space on the mat where a survivor’s consent to touch matters. I would also consider finding a studio that asks for permission before physically adjusting students. You can find out a lot from researching online to find what might work for you. Melissa: Find out what you can about the type of yoga taught and the teacher leading the class beforehand. What is important for them to know or ask for when they come to a yoga class? What should they do to make sure they feel supported? So many trauma survivors are turning to yoga for healing. When a trauma survivor engages in a yoga practice, in a way that is safe for them, yoga can help process the traumatic energy held inside. So is trauma something that affects mind-body-spirit. You use all of those to practice yoga, and each is affected by the yoga practice. Melissa: Yoga is often considered a mind-body-spirit activity. How is yoga helpful for those who’ve experienced trauma? They are incredibly dedicated to trauma-informed yoga instruction, and train yoga teachers in how to teach trauma-informed classes. In an effort to provide information for trauma survivors and yoga teachers, I spoke with Gwen Soffer and Melissa Lucchesi. They may even be discovering their trauma for the first time on the mat. With so many people in our city experiencing trauma, and so many folks getting out to community yoga classes, it’s possible that trauma survivors are turning to community classes and yoga studios for release. Yoga is used in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is an evidence-based treatment for trauma. In addition, the mental health community is recognizing yoga as a helpful method for therapeutic healing. Yoga studios seem to be popping up on every corner. Donation-based classes are wildly popular with anywhere from 30-80 folks showing up for community yoga sessions at the Race Street Pier and Schuylkill Banks. In the city of Philadelphia, 37% of residents report having four or more “Adverse Childhood Events” that predispose them to post-traumatic symptoms.1 Concurrently, yoga in our City of Brotherly Love is booming. But in a very real way, yoga was the critical gateway to accessing the care I needed. ![]() “Yoga saved my life” can be a tired statement at this point. I then reached out to a therapist I trusted, and was able to begin doing the work to heal myself. I wasn’t able to remember or articulate what had happened to me, but through yoga movement, I began to access the deeply repressed emotions associated with the trauma. What I didn’t realize then was that I had experienced a traumatic event and had repressed the memories and emotions that stemmed from the trauma. An otherwise happy morning could turn into an experience where I was confronting difficult emotions. I’d feel this “wave” of sadness or anger wash over me, and I had no idea where it came from. When I began to practice this way, I started to have strong emotional reactions while doing yoga. Two years in, I became more dedicated to yoga and started doing a more intensive yoga practice (Ashtanga) for a few hours a day. When I started practicing yoga, I felt really good. ![]()
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