A Trauma-Informed Approach to Yoga

September 27-28, 2025 (In-person only)
Peoria, IL (Location TBD)
15 CEs available through Yoga Alliance

WHO IT’S FOR:

• Yoga instructors and other body workers or fitness professionals

• Mental health practitioners seeking to grow their self-care practices and/or integrate somatic experience into their work with clients

• Educators, parents, social workers, and adjacent fields seeking an expanded understanding of trauma-informed practice and self-care tools

• Bartenders, tattoo artists, hair stylists, and other service industry professionals who end up bearing daily witness to other people’s traumas

• Anyone looking to grow in understanding of how to implement trauma-informed practices in their life and/or professions

WHO IT’S NOT FOR: Those seeking urgent therapeutic support. If you are primarily seeking help to process current or past experiences, you may reach out to us for a list of accessible therapy and mental health support options.

WHAT TO KNOW:

Day One is open to all participants.
Day Two is open only to yoga teachers who also attended Saturday’s session. Yoga teachers must attend both days and turn in follow-up homework to receive the available15 Yoga Alliance CE hours and a certificate of completion.
Both days are 9:30-5 with a 1 or 1.5 hour lunch break.

DESCRIPTION:

Trauma is ubiquitous. According to the Journal of Traumatic Stress, 89% of adults have experienced a traumatic event. We all experience vicarious trauma when we listen to or read the news or scroll social media. And many of us have jobs that require us to bear witness to the traumas of others.

Mindful movement is key to mitigating symptoms caused by trauma, which often manifest in the body as hormone imbalances, dysregulated nervous systems, inflammation, and tension.

The weekend will cover the intersection of trauma-informed care and an accessible yoga practice. We'll explore providing somatic tools for others as well as intentions for self-care. You’ll leave with a packet outlining somatic techniques covered as well as resources for further study. The day will blend lecture, discussion, and conversation as well as self-reflection through journaling, meditation, and movement. Our intention is that you leave with new, actionable insight and embodied experiences that help you realistically weave these practices into your habits and life.

We’ll consider:

• What is trauma? Why do people experience and heal from it differently?

• How stress and trauma impact the brain, body, and nervous system

• The long term implications of fight, flight, freeze, fold, and fawn

• Completing the stress cycle and honoring intuitive movement

• Autonomy and boundary setting in movement practices and beyond

SUNDAY ONLY: A trauma-informed approach to teaching yoga is applicable for all classes and all students. Just as we teach physical alignment to all students whether or not they are injured, we can teach all students from a trauma-informed perspective to ensure a sense of agency. This work is about creating safe spaces to empower students and prevent feelings of inadequacy or shame, whether or not students have experienced a trauma themselves, vicariously, or at all.

On Sunday, we’ll consider methodology for trauma-informed teaching, including:

• Invitational language

• Power dynamics 

• Intentional touch and sequencing

• Consent

• Branding and Public Image

• Practicum time to implement learnings into your teaching style

We reserve the right to make edits to this agenda, but you can take a look to see the general outline of the training to get a sense if it’s right for you. Current linked agenda is from the 2024 training.