Trauma-Informed Yoga Practice for Somatic Healing

This 45-minute gentle, trauma-informed practice invites you to move at your own pace, honouring the wisdom of your body without force or expectation. Through slow, mindful movement, breathwork, and grounding postures, we create a safe container for the nervous system to settle, allowing the body to gently release stored tension and stress. All cues are offered as invitations rather than instructions, empowering you to listen inward and make choices that feel nourishing and right for you.

Transcript

When it comes to healing the trauma response in our body, We can't always think our way through our healing journey. Even though that's where our instincts lie of wanting to learn and cognitively process, We can't always just think our way through. So we must learn to trust ourselves. So coming back to those permission slips, Permission to trust, Permission to not get it right, Permission to have patience. So really adopting those permission slips to learn to slow things down a little bit and develop our awareness to cultivate a sense of what's happening in the body. When we start to sense into our body, It takes trust, It takes patience. Some of you might try this out for a couple of breaths and decide, Okay, That's enough. And let that be enough. We put so much pressure on ourselves when we're healing to have to do it all and do it all perfectly. And cultivating a sense of awareness in the body really takes time because for trauma survivors, Living in the body is inherently triggering. It doesn't feel safe. We've spent so much time protecting, Avoiding, Numbing, Distracting, Denying all these different sensations in our body because we're in a state of overwhelm. So returning to the body takes very deep patience and practice. And what we're going to do with our somatic practicing is really learning to complete that stress response cycle, Move out that unresolved stress energy from the trauma to create some space in the body for regulation. So this occurs very gradually and moment to moment. So a couple of things. The trauma response in the body is linked to constriction, Rigidity, And feeling frozen in time. And so what we're working on with somatic practicing is really finding that thread to take some of that tightly bound, Constricted response and loosen it a little bit. Okay? Everything in our system revolves around trauma exposure. And the past feels like it's alive within us as a gnawing interior discomfort. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk said those words from his book, The Body Keeps the Score. The past is alive as a gnawing discomfort for folks. So we have this protective strategy in our body to be tightly bound and coiled and rigid. And when our body freezes in the trauma response, Our mind reinforces our self-concept is usually negatively biased. We inherently have these thoughts about ourselves that we're never going to figure this out, Or I'm inherently flawed somehow, Or this only happens to me. I'm the only one. So we have this self-concept about ourselves that's coupled with that rigid constriction in our body. And so we have to work with that system and challenge it a little bit. We can heal that constriction. We can heal that freeze tightly bound trauma response in our body. But the antidote to healing it is cultivating a sense of gentleness and compassionate awareness. So that's what we're doing with the somatic practice is we're starting to sense into the body, Noticing our patterns, Noticing our sensations from the perspective of this is learned habitual protective patterns. This is not me. This is not who I am at the core. This is a protective way of being. So we start to do that very slowly by understanding and learning how to sense into the body. So today's somatic practice is about reclaiming a sense of power very safely and slowly. And also noticing the experience of expansion and contraction. We're going to practice different ways to expand and then notice the recoil effect, The contraction, That trauma response of wanting to keep us tightly knit and bound and coiled. Okay. So we're going to work with that expansion, Contraction, And then also do some reclaiming of our power. Hopefully you can see my mat there. I'm going to come to sit on the mat. You may choose to sit in a chair or on a cushion. Sometimes elevating the hips up feels a little bit more comfortable, Especially if your feet tend to fall asleep. So do what feels comfortable for you. It does not have to be how I do it. It doesn't mean you're getting any less benefit. So really listen to your body. Is it a chair that feels best, A seat on the floor, Or propping the hips up on a and you decide. Okay. So just taking a few moments to arrive in this space, Coming to settle into the body, Giving yourself permission to set your to-do list, To set your questions, To set your thoughts aside for just a few moments. And just allow yourself to drop your awareness into the body, Noticing where any points of the body connect to a solid surface. And if it feels comfortable for you, You can flutter the eyes closed. And if that doesn't feel comfortable, You can just soften the gaze downwards. The idea is to just eliminate some external distractions so that you can just fully be in this experience right now. Just notice where the palms, The arms want to live. You can gently place the palms on the knees. You can flip the palms upwards if you'd like. If you want to experiment with some gentle contact, You might want to take one hand to the heart or one hand to the low belly or both. You don't have to do this. This is an invitation. So if you just want to keep the hands gently resting on the legs, Feel free to do whatever feels right for your arms in this moment. So the first thing we're going to do is move into a simple breath technique that's called figure eight breath. And we start here because our breath is our anchor. When we can learn to control the breath, We can learn to tame the mind. And so often when we're in the midst of a stress response or feeling overwhelmed, Our breath can give us cues and clues about our internal state. We might hold on to the breath. We might have tremendous amount of yawning or sighs. We might have a really shallow breath. And so this figure eight breath practice is a really helpful strategy to turn to anytime you remember it. So anytime you remember the figure eight, Even if it's only for one breath cycle, Let that be enough. So in your mind's eye, Take a moment to visualize a figure eight. It can be upright. It can be horizontal. It can be diagonal. And if you're struggling to visualize, To get that mental image, You can even take one hand and trace with the opposite finger a figure eight on your palm. So that actually helps you visualize the sense of touch. You may also wish to draw a big figure eight on a piece of paper and stare at it or have a pen as you follow along that figure. So a couple of options to assist you. Not everyone can visualize very clearly, So choose another option that activates one of the sensory systems. We're going to start to match the breath to this figure. So on your next in-breath, Slowly tracing visually or directly. Breathing in and tracing up one side of that figure eight and following the opposite curve. And when the in-breath reaches its end point, Instead of stopping the breath, See if you can slow the breath down and melt the breath into the out-breath. And this might take a few tries and that's okay. And so we roll the in-breath into the out-breath and we trace down the opposite side of that shape. And again, When our out-breath reaches its end point, See if you can smooth and round out the breath as best you can right back into the in-breath. Remembering that it's okay no matter what the pace of your breath is. You might notice the mind begin to evaluate whether you're doing this right or wrong. And just notice without attaching or hooking to the distraction, By simply returning your awareness to your figure eight breath pattern whenever you remember it. So just like the waves of the ocean that come up on shore, The shore doesn't actually get dry in between the waves. There's still even just a minute flow of water. So the same idea with the breath. Just moving the breath through this wave-like pattern in and out of the body. Going at our own pace, Our own duration. Smoothing every in-breath into every out-breath. You might notice that you're able to hold the focus for a little while. And then you might notice that the mind wanders and drifts. Know that this is normal. Just observing and practicing non-judgment as best you can. Giving yourself permission to not get it right. And just gently returning back to the breath whenever you remember it. And if you'd like, You can experiment with lengthening that shape. Maybe you start to lengthen that figure eight in your mind or on your palm. Start to lengthen the breath in and out. Lengthen the breath out. You don't have to. And then maybe you experiment with the intensity of the breath. So maybe you want to breathe in with a little more intensity and breathe out with a little more intensity. Notice what that feels like. And your body will let you know when it's enough. And your body will also let you know if it wants to continue. So just assessing what feels right for you. You can continue this figure eight breath for the entire practice as long as you'd like. Very simple strategy. And I like to share this as one of our first breath practices because again, When we're in that constricted state, Our tendency is to hold on to the breath to be really rigid. So the figure eight movement is this wave-like pattern to remind us to constantly move breath in and out of the body. Okay, So beautiful job. That was practice number one. I'm going to come now into continuing some breath awareness but adding some somatic sensory experience. So the invitation is to take the hands to the heart into it's called Anjali Mudra or prayer. And this is what it's going to look like. On the breath in, We're going to lift the elbows up and we're going to press the palms in opposing forces against each other. So some pressure is going to come between the palms as the elbows lift. And then on the out breath, We're going to soften the hands and draw the elbows down. So we breathe in, Elbows up, Press the palms together. We breathe out, Elbows come back down, We soften the pressure between the hands. So just kind of experiment a couple times with what it feels like to draw pressure into the palms. There might be some little shaky sensation, Maybe some wobbly sensation in the arms. That's okay. Okay, There's nothing wrong with that. We're just experiencing in our body. So all together on your next in breath, Let's breathe in. Lift the elbows up and press the palms in towards each other. And on the breath out, Exhale, Exhale. Draw the elbows back down, Soften between the hands. Breathing in, Elbows up, Press the palms together and breathing out. Exhale the arms down. And so this is one of the first sensory practices of practicing the sense of power. So we have to bring a sense of power and engagement to the palms to lift the elbows high. And so one of the things with the experience of trauma is this lost sense of power. This feeling of being defeated. And so this very simple somatic practice of pressure into the hands brings a sense of force and power to the hands that then can transfer into the sensation of power. And it's also really grounding because it brings an element of focused attention by lifting the elbows on the breath in and dropping the elbows down. You're supposed to do two or three more rotations at your own pace and time. And experiment with maybe bringing a little more pressure into each palm or easing off whatever feels right for you. Beautiful. Just spend some time releasing the wrists. But that can be a really powerful experience for somebody who's learning to feel a sense of power in their body again. We walk around sometimes feeling defeated or collapsed or withdrawn. And we can just slowly, Very mindfully bring some force and power back into our body. You can do this against a wall. You can lean into the wall and press back and notice the sense of power that gets transferred into that movement. Okay, So the next one we're going to do is still a breath practice, But it's focusing on boundary setting. So here I'm going to demonstrate first. Here's how it looks. So on the in-breath, We're going to call in. Okay, So we're bringing a psychological component. We want to call in the word that represents something we'd like to cultivate. So maybe we're calling in ease. Maybe we're calling in calm. Okay, So that motion of bringing it into our heart space on the in-breath. So we breathe it in. And then on the out-breath, With intention and power, We're going to push as if we're pushing a big wall or door away from us. Okay, So the palms are spread wide and they are strong. We have strong energy through the fingers and we are pushing out away from us something that we want to release or let go of. Okay, So let's breathe into our heart space. And then we exhale, Breathe out, Release, Let go, Give back. Breathing into the heart space. Call it in. Breathe out, Release, Soften, Give back. And this might change breath to breath. You might notice something different each time. And this can be really powerful for folks that are struggling with boundary setting. Okay, So we're calling in the energy that we want more of in our life. More calm energy, More confidence. We're breathing out. We're pushing away what we want to release within us or give back to somebody else. Give back the energy to that person. Call in what you need. Breathe out and give back what's not serving you. Call in what you need. Give back. What's not serving you. Can you really notice the arms here? Notice if the arms feel a bit flaccid and loose and see if you can bring empowerment to the pushing away, Pushing out. Call in gently. Give back, Release, Let go. Call in gently into the heart. Let's do two or three more rotations. Okay, So we're adding a movement and an intention to the breath. Beautiful. And just take a few moments to come back to a neutral seated position and just allow those three breath practices to settle into the body. So really nicely done and just notice what the mind does. Notice if there's an evaluation or a judgment or a thought and let that be there. Notice it, Observe it, But without hooking to it or running with it. Okay, We are returning to these practices, Trusting, That permission to trust that this is starting some of that healing process. Okay, Even if it feels awkward or you're not quite resonating with it, That's okay. One of those three might have felt more comfortable or more beneficial for you. So there's options. Return to the one that felt right for you throughout the week. Okay, So now we're going to do some spinal awakening. So we talked about the nervous system, Our most primitive reptilian part of our body, Our autonomic nervous system, And how with the trauma response it gets rewired in a very predictable pattern that leads to constriction and rigidity in the body. So we're going to do some what might feel like simple movements through our spine, But the idea is to work with expansion and contraction to help move out some of that stuck energy and create some space in the body. Okay, So whether you're in a chair or you're seated, Your choice, Your practice. Let's begin. Okay, So the first thing we're going to do is move the spine forwards and backwards. Okay, So I want you to think about how in general, If we are a survivor of any kind of trauma, We have some rigidity in our spine. Okay, And our spine holds the key to all the nerves that innervate out from each of the vertebrae into our entire system, Our organs, Our tissues, Parts of our brain. So we want to get rid of some of that rigidity. So if you're seated, You're just going to gently take the hands and cup them over the knees, And you're just going to experiment with what it feels like to lean back. Trust that your hands have got you, But you're leaning back and creating this C curve through the back body. So I'll go from the side to demonstrate, But we're leaning back and we're rounding through the back body, Imagining that we're creating a little bit of space through each of the vertebrae through the back body, But we're closing the vertebrae through the front body. So scoop through the belly, Round through the shoulders, Lean back as far as you're comfortable, Tuck the chin towards the throat, And spread the shoulder blades wide. Just kind of notice what it feels like to expand through the back body. When you feel ready, We're going to slowly guide through center, And then we're going to come to the opposite. So we're going to send our tailbone way behind you. We're going to lead with the heart. Our heart shines forward, And we're going to lift the gaze and chin to the sky, And then squeeze the shoulder blades back behind you. And you're going to notice what feels more comfortable. Do we exhale, Lean back, Scoop through the belly, Round through the shoulders, Chin to chest? Do we feel more comfortable there, Or do we feel more comfortable in this open heart space movement here? Just experiment oscillating between both. And you get to go at the depth and pace that feels right for you. So you don't have to go as far as you can go. You can start with very small, Subtle movements back and forth. Okay, Remember that this movement, This release in the body, Really takes careful balance and titration of where our body is at. If you come forward, This can be very vulnerable. This can be very triggering for folks to open the heart, Open the throat, Because the trauma response wants to keep us constricted. So try not to come all the way to a 10 out of 10. Maybe we come just a little bit forward. We're working with that ebb and flow, That contraction and expansion. Okay, So do as many rotations as you'd like. Even just the simple rocking motion is really great for our nervous system to start to move out some of that stuck energy. So rocking, Dancing, Bouncing, Forwards, Backwards, Ebb and flow movements with the spine are very, Very healing. Okay, So continue to do that. If that feels really good in your body, Just continue as long as you'd like. You don't have to stop if you don't want to. Now we're going to switch the spine side to side. Okay, So we're doing a 360 awakening. Some of you may have done this in my yoga classes before. So let's go ahead and inhale the arms up if that feels right, But you don't have to. You're going to exhale, Twist to your favorite side, Doesn't matter which side, And you're going to inhale. Notice what it feels like to lengthen the spine on the in-breath. And as you exhale, Just a subtle gentle twist starting from the belly button. And you might notice in the twist that when you breathe in, It feels really difficult to breathe in. See if you need to come out of the twist just a touch to allow that breath to feel a little more easeful in the body. But also know that we're working with the twist. We're bringing some constriction on purpose to the body and we're going to practice breathing in. So we're going to overcome the feeling of not being able to get a full breath. We're going to work with this feeling. So let's breathe in together as we've twisted to as much comfort level as we'd like. We're going to breathe in. Trust that we're okay. And on the breath out, We're going to unravel to center. And just make any adjustments in the body to allow that movement to settle. So we bring this twist to the abdomen and core. Much like we bring a ring to a towel to squeeze out moisture, Water, Something we've cleaned up. We're squeezing it out so it can release. Same kind of idea with a twist. We're squeezing through the abdomen to give the organs a little bit of a massage. Remember with the trauma response, We're constricted, Contracted. We're bracing for impact. So that twist is helping to generate even a millimeter or half a millimeter more space through the abdomen. So now we're going to go to the opposite side. Breath in, Twist to your opposite side that you didn't do. And with the breath in, Lift and lengthen as much as you'd like. We're not straining or going to a point of pain. And then as you exhale, Just rotating as much as feels comfortable in your body. And then notice that twist that we've done. And see what a breath in feels like. You can trace the breath down to the lower belly. When you feel ready on your next breath out, We're going to slowly come back to center and just allow that movement to settle in the body. So for me, Twisting side to side feels really good because I'm so used to being clenched, Especially in the last several months prepping for a really big exam. This clenched stress response keeps me really rigid. So the twisting side to side gently at first and growing in your comfort level just really helps create some space. And this whole idea in healing that trauma response is creating space in our body. So feel free if you want to come back or go at a bit of a different pace, You can come back to twisting side to side. Breathing in to lengthen, Breathing out to twist and coming back. Again, You get to go at your own pace. Okay, So beautiful job. And just assess which one, The forwards and backwards or side to side, Which one felt more uncomfortable for you and which one felt more enjoyable for you. And not evaluating whether that means anything, But just noticing in this moment, Which one felt better for you. Okay, And see if you can build on that. So now what we're going to do is a lateral side bend. Okay, So now we're creating space through the sides of the vertebrae by doing some side bends. So I always like to in-breath, Hands to the sky first, So we can take a full breath in. We're going to take one hand to the floor, It doesn't matter which one, And we're going to use it as a guide to walk our upper hand over top of our ear and just come to a side bend that feels comfortable for you. Notice if the hip wants to pop up on that side, And that's why we use that hand on the ground to put a little bit of pressure in so that hip stays grounded. Okay, So we're isolating the stretch to the opposite side body, And then getting some lateral side bend here into the spine. And just kind of notice what it feels like to direct the breath all the way down the side of the body that's being stretched and expanded. So everything we're doing today is coupling expansion and contraction. So let's come back to center, And we're going to tiptoe the opposite hand and come to the opposite side. And remember if that hip wants to pop up, Very normal, We just place a little pressure in the hand on the floor to ground both hips back. And we're just breathing at our own pace, Our own time. Noticing the sensations that come up without assessing whether they're right or wrong. We're just taking inventory in our body. Coming back to center, And feeling free to repeat the same side to come back to any of the movements that we did. And as you're comfortable, We're just going to take some time and do some gentle circles in any direction that you choose through the abdomen. Okay, So rocking, Circles, Bouncing, Dancing, Working with the contraction and expansion. So when we lean back, We're expanding through the stomach. When we lean forward, We're contracting. And remember, You might be here today, You might be doing little itty-bitty circles. Beautiful. This is enough. And as you get more comfortable, You might want to just notice what it feels like to bring a little more depth to the circles. We're working with creating space. And your mind might start to make its judgments. It might start to say things like, I don't get this. Or how is this going to help me? And just notice that. Let that be there without getting hooked by it. We're just experimenting with feeling the sense into the body and noticing what happens. The mind starts to run its typical show. Okay, So beautiful, Beautiful work. The invitation now is we're going to experiment with coming into Shavasana. If you're from a chair, You can lean back in the chair and use the backrest of the chair as support. The invitation is to come lie down onto the mat. Now for some folks, Lengthening both legs out long creates a little bit of pain on the back. So you might want to put a bolster or a couple of pillows. That's why having supportive equipment is very important. You might want to set a pillow underneath the knees and backs of the thighs to create more of a natural curve in the spine. Okay, So you can choose to do that. I'm going to give you lots of choice here. You can also choose to have the legs lengthened if that's not comfortable on the low back. Another option is to bend both knees. Take the feet just a little bit wider than hip width and you collapse the knees inwards to touch at the center. This is really nice for folks who might have some sciatic nerve pain in the in the hips or in the glutes. So that can take the pressure off there as well. Alternatively, You can take the soles of the feet together and allow the knees to splay outwards. Okay, So just experiment with what feels like the best option for you. If you're in a chair, Just allowing yourself permission to lean back in the chair and really trust that the chair has got you. And just notice in your body if there's one or two adjustments that you can make that give you the sense of taking up a little bit more space. So what I mean by that is maybe you gently roll the shoulders slightly back so that it widens the upper chest. Or maybe you take the legs a little bit wider. Maybe you allow the arms, If you're lying down, To expand out a little bit more. Maybe you envision lengthening through each of the vertebrae to grow a little touch taller. So we're working with expansion and contraction. And so notice what it feels like to embody taking up space, More space than perhaps you're used to or comfortable with. When we've experienced trauma, We live our lives wanting to be small, Contracted, Constricted. We hide parts of ourselves. We want to feel invisible some days. So embodying on your mat or in your chair, What it feels like to actually own your space, To actually expand and take up space, Is something to practice. And then recognize where we can take it off our mat and into our lives. And you might notice that recoil effect. You might notice expanding and then an emotion or a sensation or a thought that wants to bring you back into contraction or constriction. Just noticing and then choosing what feels right for you. Maybe you need to adjust again. That's okay. The point is that you experimented, Doesn't matter how long, With what it feels like to expand, To take up space. And if it feels right for you, Coming back to that figure eight breath pattern, Noticing the sensation of melting each in-breath, Rolling it into the out-breath. Whenever you feel ready, Bringing some subtle movements to the in-breath. Fingertips and the toes. Just bringing yourself back to the space, Maybe taking a big stretch overhead. And on your own pace and time, Making your way back to a seated position. And if you have a journal or notebook nearby, Just to jot down anything that you're curious about with your experience. So maybe you noticed a sensation arise, A memory surface, A thought come up. Just taking some time to jot down anything, Even if it doesn't make sense to you right now, Or even if you're not quite sure what the link is, Just to note down anything about your experience. We're starting to take inventory. So for many of you who've been to my yoga classes, I love this book, Melody Beattie's Journey to the Heart. And I thought it was so ironic what passage was, And I wasn't planning on reading from this today, But it just was so perfect. So the message is clear the path to your heart. I watched Old Faithful from my window. The geyser gurgled and spewed a lower layer of steam. Then true to its name, Old Faithful erupted and sprayed thousands of gallons of steaming water into the air right on time. A full range of gurgling emotions, Reactions, And responses to life line the pathway to the heart. We need to feel them all, Anger, Hurt, Sadness, Irritations, In order to feel the joy. To experience life and all its wonders, We must embrace all these feelings. We need to experience the little angers as well as the big hurts, The painful wounds that life sometimes brings. To insist that we will only feel pleasant emotions means we're blocking the pathway to the heart. We're ignoring all the other gurgling emotions that need to be felt. All our emotions are important. All need to be recognized. The energy of each needs to be acknowledged and released, And this clears the way for love. All emotions that perceive love clear the heart so it's pure and free to feel joy. Trust your emotions, All of them. You're not off the path. They lead to the path you're seeking. They are the journey to the heart. Let them flow freely. I love that. So I want to thank each and every one of you. Thank you so much, And I will leave some room for some questions now.