TCTSY (trauma Center trauma Sensitive Yoga)
Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) is an evidence-based adjunctive treatment to psychotherapy for individuals struggling with symptoms of relational complex trauma. Trauma is a physiological experience that is rooted in a person not having choice within relationship. When a body experiences trauma, their sense of themselves, their internal knowing, and their knowledge of choice is compromised. TCTSY aims to repair, heal, and support individuals with developing a stronger sense of self, internal awareness, and knowledge of choices within themselves, within relationships, and within the world around them.
TCTSY is rooted in Hatha Yoga, Trauma Theory, Attachment Theory, and Neuroscience. TCTSY is a distinctly unique yoga practice as it emphasizes choice-making, compassionate awareness, and attunement to one’s internal experiences in the moment. Through engaging in a series of physical forms and movements without physical assists, TCTSY offers opportunities for clients to be in charge of their bodies through their own internal experience of themselves allowing clients to cultivate a sense of agency and connection to self that is often compromised as a result of trauma. TCTSY can be offered as part of one’s individual therapy or in a group format.
TCTSY can be integrated into an individual therapy session for short increments of time or for a full session. In addition, group series are offered throughout the year both virtually and in-person.
What makes TCTSY so effective?
TCTSY is a practice of guided movements and shapes rooted in yoga practice. With invitational language and choice based suggestions, clients are able to make their own choices with how they would like to shape, move, or engage their body throughout the practice.
Because the facilitator is also practicing along, shared authentic experience creates a sense of safety for the client thus allowing them to explore the options and choices without being watched or directed.
The practice of interoception, or noticing internal sensations, is an essential feature in a TCTSY practice. Developing a stronger sense of these internal experiences can help clients make informed choices about what they would like to do with their body in the present moment.
Because there are no physical assists or directions for “how to” in TCTSY, the shared experience is one of non-coercion. In addition, facilitators do not place value on movements…there is no encouragement to “go farther” into a form or to engage in a form “a little or a lot.”
Research on Effectiveness
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2812725
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eec18a5184f8817c651dba4/t/61e7813f99779d5bb2c361bb/1642561870158/IJYT-article-2.pdf
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eec18a5184f8817c651dba4/t/5f10dad277737b5912ba5ddf/1594940114603/2019_-_nguyen-feng_-_scp.pdf
https://www.traumasensitiveyoga.com/resources/research
Embodied Yoga Opportunities
You are welcome to check out the Burlington Yoga website to find me offering Embodied Yoga from time to time:
https://www.burlingtonyoga.com
