Troon Yoga is a Trauma Resilience Embodied Yoga (TREY) & Social Impact Studio What is trauma? Trauma is an emotional or physical response to one or more harmful or life threatening events or circumstances with lasting adverse effects on your mental and physical wellbeing - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminstration - (SAMSHA). Trauma doesn't just affect the mind, it can also be held in the body. Gabor Mate carefully explains the biological mechanisms that are activated when stress and trauma exert a powerful influence on the body in his book - 'When The Body Says No'. A Trauma Informed Yoga Practice includes self regulation strategies that increase body awareness in a safe controlled way which can promote emotional and psychological safety. It also addresses nervous system dsyregulation and feelings of dissociation and disconnection. A trauma based approach addresses our unique individual needs, by building a sense of safety through an embodied yoga practice. What this means is that, unlike a regular yoga practice where you may be encouraged to move through feelings of discomfort, a Trauma Informed Practice (TIP), is less about how the poses are excueted and more about the feeling of embodiment. A feeling of embodiment is being within your own body while being in the pose. Less emphasis is placed on how the poses are execueted and more emphasis is place on embodiment. So don't expect to be wrapping your leg around your left ear, or to be standing on your head, or performing extreme backbends. It's more about being within your own body in an embodied way, within a pose. All becomes clear as you develop your practice. An embodied practice means checking in with your breathing and noticing; * has it become laboured? * are you holding your breath? * or has your breath started to slow down and become easeful? We use the breath as an emotional barometer. Benefits of a TIP * Increased body awareness * You start to inhabit your body * You develop breath awareness * You learn skills to regulate both your breath & emotion * You cultivate a sense of curiousity * Most importantly you learn your window of tolerance A trauma informed approach encourages agency and builds a sense of safety. Rather than being told what you, 'should feel', or 'should do', you are invited to turn your awareness inward, to discover what it is you are experiencing. Everytime we use the word, 'should', it puts tension on our shoulders! As a TI teacher it is my role and duty of care to offer different variations of each pose, giving you the option to experiment or to skip the pose altogether. This creates your own personal empowerment, individual choice and agency. You begin through time and with practice to develop a sense of control on how you practice whether at home or in the studio. Read my blog on which three qualties we embody in our Trauma Informed Yoga Practice -https://www.troontherapiesyoga.com/post/three-qualities-we-embody-in-our-trauma-informed-practice Trauma is not only held in the body, it's also held in the mind - Gabor Mate "Teachers and practitioners who want to work in therapeutic ways with focus on creating deep integration, wholeness and healing by encouraging students to develop their own sense of agency through choice and collaboration; teachers and practitioners who want to become true leaders within their communities, and teach yoga, somatics and embodiment practices that make a real difference to their students’ wellbeing and lives – with on the mat and off the mat embodied wisdom" - Aneta Idczak A Trauma Informed Yoga Practice includes self regulation strategies that increase body awareness in a safe controlled way which can promote emotional and psychological safety. It also addresses nervous system dsyregulation and feelings of dissociation and disconnection. A safe, secure and predictable environment for practicing with like minded people is a good starting foundation. Our classes have a maximum of 8 - 10 yoga students. Developing compassion for self and others especially in challenging times helps us saty grounded, stable and connected. Give yourself permission to choose what feels right for you.