Michele D. Ribeiro – Yoga for Trauma: Innovative Mind-Body Strategies that Help Clients Activate Healing Processes and Release the Negative Imprint of Trauma

Outline

The Promise of Yoga for Treating Trauma

• Trauma prevalence
• Adverse childhood experiences
• Socio-cultural impacts of trauma
• Yoga research outcomes with veterans
• Higher retention, satisfaction and acceptability rates with yoga
• Why embodiment in psychotherapy treatment matters
• Risk and limitations of research

Bring Traditional Yoga Components to Contemporary Trauma Treatment

• The 4 pillars and 8 limbs
• Focus on rejuvenating the body
• Moral and ethical conduct considerations
• Established observances, including contentment and self-study
• Emphasis on internal and external purification
• Ascension of energy/vitality through asana and pranayama
• Ability to focus perception and mind on what is happening in the body

Bring Practical Neuroscience Applications to Contemporary Trauma Treatment

• Brainwaves and patterns and their interface with yoga practices
• The Triune Brain Left and right brain functions in understanding trauma
• Managing anxiety with a focused attention meditation method

Yoga as a Therapy Tool

• Teach the brain and body to work in harmony
• Learn to stretch some parts of the body and relax other parts
• Yoga’s impact on controlling the effect of the brain on the body
• Diffuse vital, healing energy throughout the body

Yoga Nidra (Changing States of Consciousness)

• Conscious entry into non-REM sleep
• IRest (Integrative Restoration)
• Core principles 10 tools 8, 15, and 30-minute script examples of practice sessions*

Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Scripts; Physical Movements and Forms

• Expand capacity for self-awareness and selfregulation
• Standing, seated, supine, and prone postures and forms with supports*
• Shifting relationship with self to foster patience, internal sense of safety, a felt sense of control, and personal agency
• Key themes in trauma-informed yoga for individual and group work
  • Experiencing the present moment (example with Tadasana/Mountain pose)*
  • Making choices (example with simple neck rolls)*
  • Taking effective action (Example with present moment awareness and making changes)*
  • Creating rhythms (example with cat pose/form and exploring rhythm between movement and breathing)*
• Chair-Focused Trauma Yoga
  • Focused meditation*
  • Seated neck rolls/seated shoulder circles*
  • Seated mountain*
  • Sun breath*
  • Seated twists*
  • Seated forward folds*
• Facilitating a group therapy session
  • Informed consent
  • Match goals with postures and forms
  • Provide resources

*Social workers: Please note that ACE credit is not available for yoga instruction/guided experience activities.