Trauma Sensitive Yoga Project, LLC

05/11/2026

We offer choice by using invitational language, normalizing all options, offering clear structure (with freedom within), inviting sensory awareness, encouraging the invitation to notice, modeling permission, and acknowledging capacity.

05/04/2026

When our nervous system is regulated, we're in an optimal state of arousal. We feel safe, connected, relaxed, and engaged. Trauma narrows this window. We spend more time feeling immobilized and depressed, or, we spend more time feeling stressed, anxious, or fearful.

Yoga and somatic practices widen this window. When we spend more time engaging in practices are grounding, centering, and stabilizing, we spend more time in our optimal state of arousal.

The more we practice being in this state, the wider this window gets. A wider window means we strengthen our capacity to handle stress and a develop a greater ability to come back into a regulated state after something activates us.

05/01/2026

05/01/2026

We’ll be talking about Aparigraha in our Gentle Yoga class this month. Aparigraha refers to the concept of non-possessiveness, non-greed, and non-attachment. Aparigraha can be translated to "not taking more than one needs." It’s not the thing itself that can cause a problem; it’s our relationship to it. We can get rid of something in the physical sense, but if we’re still holding on to it on a mental or emotional level, then we’re still attached to it. Therefore, this is often taught in terms of letting go. It teaches that there’s nothing external that we need to hold on to, as we are already whole and complete as we are.

What is Gentle Yoga? Each monthly series we practice a different breathing technique, movement sequence (physical postures/asana), and meditation or relaxation technique. This is a beginner-friendly, trauma-informed series that focuses on grounding and centering in the body. This practice uses th...

04/27/2026

I love this quote. Treatment implies that there is a cure, or that there is some pill you can take to "fix" trauma, or that there is some sort of one-size-fits-all treatment regimen.

There isn't.

Healing happens throughout a person's lifetime and it looks different for everyone. I think healing itself is a practice. We're all learning for ourselves what that looks and feels like.

04/21/2026

Trauma Sensitive Yoga invites the participant to listen to what their own body needs. We learn to listen to and feel our sensations so that we can respond in a way that feels useful to us. When we practice this on the mat, we become better able to practice this off the mat and into the world as well. We learn how to trust our body's signals and how to reconnect to our intuition. In this way, we regain a sense of agency and a locus of control.

04/06/2026

In our Gentle Yoga class in April, we’ll be discussing Brahmacharya, which is often interpreted as “abstinence,” but it’s an invitation to live a balanced life and to do everything we want in moderation. It encourages us to use our energy toward growth, cultivating self-discipline and equanimity in our physical, mental, and emotional lives. It’s a practice that continuously unfolds, shaped by our own reflections and changing needs.

We'd love to have you join us!
https://www.tsyproject.com/offerings/gentle-yoga-9de588ef-99de-45e6-a80c-d7e5de9f4193

03/02/2026

This month in our Gentle Yoga class, we’ll be talking about Asteya, which is often translated to “non-stealing,” but another way of understanding it is to abide in our innate sense of abundance with a generous heart and gratitude for what we have already. It teaches us that we have no need to take from anyone else, because we are already full and complete as we are. This ethical principle invites us not to limit ourselves to only respecting other people’s material possessions, but to honor their time and value their needs and rights as well. For example, “not stealing” would encompass being on time for appointments so that you are not stealing another person's time. It would involve being generous with your time and attention so that when you are having a conversation with someone, you are being fully present and available for them. At its core, it invites us to live our lives from a place that feels plentiful, thankful, and kind.

What is Gentle Yoga? Each monthly series we practice a different breathing technique, movement sequence (physical postures/asana), and meditation or relaxation technique. This is a beginner-friendly, trauma-informed series that focuses on grounding and centering in the body. This practice uses t...

02/03/2026

This month, we'll be exploring Satya, which is often translated as truthfulness. The word sat means “that which exists, that which is," or, "the true essence," or "ultimate reality." Satya, therefore, is seeing and communicating things as they actually are. It's not just a concept, but a way of living. It's more than just 'telling the truth,' it's living in alignment with your authentic self. It's a looking glass into the soul -- one that teaches you to love and accept what you see.

Click here to join:

What is Gentle Yoga? Each monthly series we practice a different breathing technique, movement sequence (physical postures/asana), and meditation or relaxation technique. This is a beginner-friendly, trauma-informed series that focuses on grounding and centering in the body. This practice uses t...

01/02/2026

New Year's can feel so exciting and full of promise. It's an opportunity to reinvent ourselves, or to start anew. Much of our yoga practice reminds us to begin again. The word "yoga" is often translated to "union." It comes from the Sanskrit root 'yuj,' meaning 'to yoke' or 'to unite.' It is learning to come home to ourselves. The practice of yoga is coming back to our center, a place unharmed, whole, and complete - again and again.

The Gentle Yoga series this year will focus on the Yamas and the Niyamas. The Yamas represent our relationship to world around us, while the Niyamas represent our relationship to ourselves. The first Yama, and our focus for January, is Ahimsa. It is often translated as "non-harming," though it could also be translated as reverence, love, and compassion for all. It is the pinnacle of yoga (and the root of trauma sensitive yoga). The more you live in this, the more connected you feel. You speak from the heart. The result of this is to experience oneness.

10/07/2025

One thing that yoga can offer us is a way of coming to our center. What does this mean?

🌟 Centering is a process that brings awareness in your mind and body. Awareness puts some space between your consciousness and your thoughts and emotions. It's sometimes called conscious awareness, or mindfulness. It's like taking step back to observe your thoughts, emotions, and breath, rather than being attached to them. This is both a practice and a skill. It is quite difficult to do at first, but it does get easier over time. Once you gain more awareness of your thoughts and emotions, you can then gain more control over them.

🌟 There might be times when reaching a center might feel impossible, and that's okay, I want to normalize that feeling. If that's where you're at, you are not alone. There can be acceptance in this. It's accepting all parts of yourself. If there's a part of yourself that feels like you can't accept yourself, you're invited to accept that part, too. A lot of this practice is learning not to abandon ourselves. It's Presence. Connection.

🧘🏼‍♀️ The Practice: 🧘🏼‍♀️

✨ We can start by noticing, or becoming aware of, our external environment. We might look around, notice what we can see... hear... smell... and taste. You're welcome to stay there and practice the awareness of something more external. If you want, you can start to bring your awareness to internal sensations, noticing what you can feel. That might be the felt sense of your body on the mat or the chair. You might notice the felt sense of your breath, the sensation of the air coming in through the nostrils, and back out.

✨ You can then imagine a line through the midline through the trunk of your body, a center axis, like a channel that runs from the base of your spine up through the crown of your head. You might shift from side to side to slowly start to come into it. You might bring your hands to your midline in a prayer gesture to help ground you into that center. You're welcome to breathe into it. Maybe your inhale starts at the base of your spine and rises up to the top, then maybe your exhale starts at the top and then flows into the bottom. Pausing there, and noticing. Where is your center? Do you feel connected to it or distant from it, or are you still searching for it? What's it like?