Thrive Trauma-Informed Yoga

I am happy to offer two upcoming groups for chronic pain; one meeting virtually and one in person in Austin. This group blending therapy and trauma-informed yoga explores ways in which trauma affects our relationship with our bodies and with people in our lives.

Trauma and chronic pain are intricately linked, often manifesting in a cycle that can be difficult to break. People who have experienced trauma may develop pain conditions as a response to the stress and emotional strain inflicted on the body. This can include heightened sensitivity and an increased perception of pain.

Groups will incorporate a trauma-informed yoga portion, followed by a group process discussion. Tools to regulate the nervous system when coping with chronic pain will be practiced.

Please see link in bio for more info🌷

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As I chanted the closing mantra to my last yoga practice of 2024 this morning, I contemplated setting the year down gently with equal parts relief and gratitude.

The Mangala mantra is a prayer found in the ancient scriptures the “Rig Veda” and is the closing mantra chanted at the end of Ashtanga yoga practice. It is a reminder that our yoga practice is, at its essence, for the benefit of all beings. I love chanting it, even if my practice was abbreviated or challenging in ways I had not anticipated.

I’d like to offer its intention for peace and protection to you as we enter this new year. May your 2025 be sweet🫀

Om svasthiprajābhyah paripālayantām nyāyena mārgena mahīm mahiśah gobrāhmanebhyah śubhamastu nityam lokāh samastāh sukhinobhavanthu  
Om shantih shantih shantih 

May all be well with mankind.
May the leaders of the earth protect it in every way by keeping to the right path.
May there be goodness for those who know the earth to be sacred.
May all the worlds be happy.
Peace, peace, peace.
—Interpretation by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

Honoring Sharathji’s life and teachings 🌹

Full circle story: is one of the teachers who made me fall in love with yoga when I was a Bikram Yoga practitioner in the early 2000’s. She generously gifted me a weekend of Yoga Anatomy training with .kaminoff . I am so grateful for all the mind blowing “ahas”and rekindling the deep joy I feel when delving into yoga nerdom.

One of Leslie’s quotes which aligns beautifully with how I view yoga and psychotherapeutic change:

“Healing is different from fixing or curing. Often, healing involves changing your relationship to what has gone wrong.”

Thank you, and .kaminoff and for a wonderful and enriching weekend!

(Classroom photos by Lydia Mann)

Grateful for the practice that continues to sustain, challenge and nourish me.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.

John o Donahue

I’m very much looking forward to our Houston Psychoanalytic Society clinical conference on Trauma, Psychoanalysis and Psychedelics on 9/9.

Sign up for our online conference at

https://form.jotform.com/232006591737153

Please join us!

This beautiful photo was captured in Pittsburgh by a decade ago. This posture is not as accessible as it used to be for me, due to health issues and because my body and yoga practice have naturally aged since then.

One of the gifts my practice has given me over the years is honoring (though not always liking) the wisdom of my limitations. The practice helps me in continuously working on discernment about how to relate to the voice that urges me to slow down, modify or avoid certain situations or poses.

The theme I offered my delightful group of students at today’s trauma-informed yoga class at was framing our “limitations” and physical particularities as teachers, rather than viewing them through the lens of systemic or attachment trauma, which often frames them as evidence of our badness.

Come join us in our ongoing exploration next Saturday at 10 AM!

There will no class on 7/8 and 7/15, see you all on the 22nd!

What can you expect in a trauma-informed yoga class? Staying committed to these objectives is key in the THRIVE trauma-informed yoga model:

1. Enhancing interoception by focusing on the sensations of the shapes vs. the external “achievement” of the pose

2. Sequencing and pacing oriented toward balancing the nervous system

3. Establishing connection to somatic autonomy (a connection that’s deeply affected by complex and systemic trauma)

Looking forward to another class at Mueller Park this Saturday before it gets 🥵!