DDS Service Coordinators Institute

Trauma-Informed Yoga 

Presented by Sarah Hoffman

Trauma-informed yoga is people-informed yoga;
everyone can benefit from it.

Join Sarah Hoffman for a workshop on trauma-informed yoga. In this workshop, attendees will learn about trauma-informed yoga principles, participate in a trauma-informed yoga chair practice, and leave with a handful of practices that can be used with clients. 

Most of us are impacted by trauma in some way or another and yet we all have an innate capacity to heal and be transformed by difficult experiences. Yoga, meditation, and other mindfulness practices help people cope with and heal trauma symptoms, as well as grow and build resilience. TIY is taught with an understanding of how we are all affected by trauma and chronic stress. It offers sensitive approaches to supporting the healing process.

Anxiety, depression, behavioral issues, relationship stress, and health issues are often the result of unresolved trauma and chronic stress. The goal of a trauma-informed yoga practice is to build resiliency and establish greater self-regulation. It is about feeling safe and at-home in our bodies so that we can feel stable, have good self-esteem, and healthy relationships.

Tentative Schedule:

Opening: Grounding exercise
Introductions: Names & Questions
Lecture: Neuroscience & Trauma
30 minute Trauma-Sensitive Chair Yoga Practice
Break & Journal
Discussion: What did you notice?
Lecture: Trauma-Sensitive Yoga + Discussion

Sarah is an E-RYT (Experienced-Registered Yoga Teacher) and Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate student at Lesley University. She specializes in yoga for anxiety, depression, and trauma. Sarah teaches public yoga classes weekly but also works privately with clients empowering them through yoga therapy.