Yoga for Trauma & PTSD
- Are you looking for a yoga for trauma & PTSD class that could help you connect to your body in a safe way and at a slow pace and that takes trauma history into account?
- Have you been diagnosed with PTSD and are looking for a way to help your symptoms?
- Or, are you experiencing states of fear & anxiety or rage? Or symptoms of hyper vigilance, bodily tension and high activation or feeling numb and disconnected? You might not have an official diagnoses of PTSD and yet have similar symptoms ( look for a more extensive list of symptoms below)
This class could really help you!!
What : Healing Trauma through Yoga – a class for women and teen girls
When: Friday mornings 9-10.30am,
six week series during fall of 2016:
- 9/9/16 – 10/14/16 ( possible make up day 10/21)
- 10/28/16 – 12/9/16 ( no class 11/25, possible make up day 12/16)
Where: Boulder, Co – exact location TBD
Cost: $150 for the 6 week series
Sign up here for “Healing Trauma through Yoga” ( under ‘workshops)
When you sign up online, you will be asked for your credit card information. This is just a hold. You will not be charged at that time. You can come to the first class and try it out without payment. If you choose to continue, your card will be charged at that time for the entire session. You will be directed to the schedulicity page to sign up – choose “workshops”.
Schedule a free 30 min meet & greet with me to determine whether this is a good fit for you!
Call 303-746-4626 to schedule.
Here is what former participants have to say about this class:
” Wow! I treasure this sacred time to be kind to my body. It feels like my talk therapy got deeper just by helping my nervous system to slow down. For 1 1/2 hours a week my body is my friend rather than some thing to overcome. I wish it were everyday. Thank you Ines!”
– Sophia
“This class is so unique and powerful – we spend the first 1/2 hour talking and learning about the nervous system and its relation to our emotional life, and then practice using our bodies to calm and regulate our feelings. I want everyone I know to learn these skills.”
– Erika Blum
“I highly recommend this class! It is profoundly helpful to release tension and explore tools to deal with the after effects of trauma.”
– Judy Greenan
Class Description:
Yoga for trauma & PTSD practice can be incredibly helpful in healing the effects and symptoms of trauma. Research during the last 20 years is showing more and more that the impact of trauma is largely held in the body and needs to be worked with and healed through the body. The main goal of body-based approaches to healing trauma is to help the autonomic ( sympathetic and parasympathetic) nervous system to “regulate”. When the nervous system is “dysregulated” it tends to cycle between extreme states of “fight & flight” and “freeze” ( shut down), which then leads to the symptoms of PTSD ( those symptoms can vary greatly in type and intensity and are not always labeled as PTSD).
Yoga practices of movement, stretching, breath and mindfulness have great potential for supporting nervous system regulation. In this class I draw from physical yoga practice, breath awareness, mindfulness and body-based trauma therapy to specifically support people with symptoms of trauma or any kind of nervous system dysregulation. Although I draw from the practice of yoga, which comes from the indian tradition, this class does not have any religious affiliation or requires any particular faith. The practices are simple and can be applied by anybody at any age or ability. In this class we do not aim to ‘achieve’ certain poses, but use the poses as a gateway to explore what is true for our bodies. Alignment of poses is focused on only for safety.
Yoga for trauma & PTSD will be a closed group for 6 weeks at a time. The class is designed for students to keep going with several series and also for new students to be able to join in every 6 weeks.
This class is for you if
- you are in the process of healing the effects of trauma
- you are experiencing symptoms of nervous system dysregulation, even if you don’t know of specific traumas in your past ( look for a list of symptoms below)
- you would like to connect to your body in a safe environment and at a slow pace
- you could benefit from a yoga class that is slow and gentle and emphasizes mindfulness and body awareness
This class emphasizes
- slow pace and gentleness
- connection to your body in a positive way through exploration of postures, breath and mindfulness
- a supportive environment putting safety first, honoring your unique process and allowing you to go at your own pace
- modifications for any pose to adapt to your level of comfort and ease
- education about the effects of trauma on the body
- practices you can do at home to support your healing process
- a small steady group of students – no more than 12 students, closed group for six weeks at a time
- no particular religious or spiritual affiliation, open to people of all faiths
- no yoga experience necessary
Common symptoms of the “fight & flight” state of the nervous system:
- hyper vigilance,hight alert
- easy to startle
- anger or rage
- fear or anxiety
- panic attacks
- muscles are tense, ready for action
- hard to relax or slow down
- difficulty sleeping
- intrusive memories
Common symptoms of a “freeze” state of the nervous system:
- tense, still, frozen
- numb all over or in some areas of the body
- dissociation
- can’t feel sensations or emotions
- feeling spacey
- feeling collapsed or helpless
- lack of vitality, low energy
What yoga practice can offer to trauma survivors (and to people with other challenges):
- learn to be in the present moment
- connect to your body in a safe and positive way
- wake up places in your body that have been numb or disconnected
- calm your body and mind
- introduce movement to stuck places in your body, emotions or mind
- find empowerment through your body
- strengthen areas of your body that have been
- learn about making choices for yourself that are supportive of your well-being
- increase awareness of nervous system states and learn to identify them
- learn how to help your nervous system to regulate
- learn to conduct energy and emotions through your body
Sign up here for “Healing Trauma through Yoga” (under ‘workshops’)
My Background
I absolutely love supporting people in transforming the imprints of their life experience from feeling limited to feeling new possibility. From feeling stuck to finding a wider range. From being in pain, whether it’s physical or emotional, to experiencing freedom in themselves. And I believe in the power of healing through the body. Our bodies hold our imprints in a physical way. When we transform on the body level, everything else in us transforms. We get to connect to the powerful instinctual intelligence that our bodies know on a deep level, which our thinking mind often likes to pass by.
I have been supporting my private clients in healing trauma symptoms as well as injuries and chronic or acute pain for over 20 years. I have extensive training in body-based trauma resolution and several bodywork modalities ( Ortho-Bionomy, Craniosacral Therapy, Polarity Therapy, Massage Therapy) and body-centered psychotherapy (Hakomi Method). I have been a yoga practitioner for over 15 years and have taught yoga for over 10 years. This class is a synthesis of my wide ranging knowledge and experience in trauma healing and yoga.
