Trauma Sensitive Yoga in Adelaide

You don't :). The focus of this practice is about finding what works for you. Some people do their whole practice seated in a chair, others prefer to use bolsters and blocks for support, or others prefer to stand. We can work with whatever is available and accessible to you and your body.

For individual sessions, we can shape the structure together. We can do a full session of movement, or you might prefer a combination of yoga and talk therapy. We might do a combination of seated, standing, and lying down yoga shapes, depending on your preference. You are welcome to be involved in deciding what sort of shapes and movements you'd like to do, and we can discuss the sequence together, so you know what to expect. 

As we're moving, I will check in with you to see how you're doing. For example, maybe we planned on doing some standing balances, but as you check in with your body you realize you are really tired and want to sit or lie down. 

We might close with a moment of silence, and pack up our mats and props together. 

Group sessions usually follow a gentle sequence with a combination of seated, standing, and lying down shapes. 

TCTSY was developed at the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts and is now a program of the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at Justice Resource Institute. The yoga program started in 2002 and has continued to develop since, building on feedback from participants and professionals alike. It is now an empirically validated adjunct treatment for complex trauma and PTSD. It is considered a somatic therapy.
TCTSY has foundations in attachment theory, neuroscience, and hatha yoga.

Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga focuses solely on mindful movement  and does not involve spiritual or religious practices. 

I do want to acknowledge that yoga as a philosophy goes beyond physical forms and movement and exists of many components, including spiritual ones. 

TCTSY aligns closely with yoga principles of non-harm, non-attachment to outcome, and self-study.

We don't do formal breathing exercises in TCTSY. While breathwork can be powerful and helpful for some, I know many trauma survivors have found breathing exercises triggering and upsetting.
The way we work with breath in TCTSY is through invitations to notice your breath as it is (if you want to), and opportunities to connect your breath to movement (like breathing in as you open your hands, and breathing out as you close them). This way, if the focus on your breath isn't so useful in that moment, you have other points of focus like the movement or the sensation in your hands.
However, if you have found breathwork helpful, then we can absolutely incorporate that in our work together. 

Similarly, meditation is not a part of TCTSY specifically, though we can introduce meditation into our broader therapy work together if this is something you're interested in. 

When facilitating breathwork or meditation, I continue to adhere to trauma-informed practices around invitation and choice.