Trauma Sensitive Yoga
Other topics on this page:
Traumasensitive Yoga (TSY)
When individuals have had traumatic experiences, it can be a major challenge to "stay" in the body since the overwhelming memories trigger uncontrollable physical reactions. This can be so frightening that they split off from their physical experiencing, which means that a feeling of numbness or non-existence of body parts, entire body regions, or the entire body occurs. So the body sensations should be approached in a gentle way.
Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY - Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga) is a body- and movement-centered method, which was developed at the Trauma Center Brookline by Bessel van der Kolk, David Emerson, and his team. In Trauma-Sensitive Yoga, we practice postures (asanas) and breath control (pranayama) with each other. Above all, this takes into account coping with traumatic stress. This is not about sports or performance. The focus of the training is on the mindful perception of physical sensations and supporting the affected persons in being able to observe the emotional and physical reactions without becoming flooded and overwhelmed by them. This is a "bottom-up" approach that assumes we can change post-traumatic symptoms through the body and not just "top-down" through changed thinking and cognitive processes.
I offer individual TSY sessions and TSY groups in English. If you are interested, please contact me.
I also use TSY in the individual therapy during the treatment of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). It serves the stabilization, affect regulation, and self-regulation. This will help you to once again attain a sense of safety and control, which are important preconditions for being able to open up to an exposure therapy. Above all, the gentle, body-oriented approach is appropriate when you feel that you are easily overcome by your emotions or tend to dissociate - which means that you split off from the here and now. The approach of TSY offers you a gentle starting point to improving your affect regulation. It provides concrete tools for you to cope with everyday life.
It is possible to attend TSY sessions while having trauma therapy with your trauma therapist.
Principles
Experiencing the current moment: You can stay in the here and now
Using the choices: You adapt the exercises to your own needs
Performing effective actions: You allow yourself to do something so that you feel safer, better, etc. such as changing a posture or putting a pillow beneath your body
Perceiving the rhythm of your body: Through breath and movement, you learn how to experience a synchronicity within your body together with others
Repetition instead of variety: You experience safety through what is familiar and achievable
TCTSY is not a work-out; it is a work-in: The focus is on mindfulness, the observation of interoceptive (within the body) processes
Movement instead of rigidity: Breath and body movements promote the feeling of coming out of the numbing and becoming capable of taking action
Therapy Goals
Building resources
Improving affect regulation, self-regulation, and self-control
Learning to differentiate between feelings and physical sensations
Changing frozen posture and movement patterns
Experiencing moments of relaxation
Being able to stay in the present
Changing your self-concepts in a positive way and once again believing in yourself
Reducing the states of tension in your body
Feeling safe and good in your body again
„The reactions to threats and their accompanying physical and psychological pain are a fundamental aspect of survival. The search for safety is essential to give the individual the opportunity to recuperate and heal the physical and emotional traumas that arose from the feeling of danger.“
A trauma does not occur in the mind or body – it has an effect on your entire being. Since the triggers are frequently found within yourself, you feel flooded by emotions and sensations or even numb and cut off. Your body reacts as if the danger still existed – the body is not a safe place. Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TSY) as an element of a comprehensive, gentle trauma therapy is a body-oriented approach that uses the wisdom of the mind and body to heal traumas. The mindful and gentle yoga practice helps in regaining body awareness, being in the here and now , and observing without reacting – which is a basic precondition for facing the traumatic memories. Consciously performed postures (asanas) and breath exercises (pranayama) regulate the nervous system and help you to feel better grounded, stronger, and calmer. This allows you to attain more control over your thoughts, emotions, and physical reactions.
