Online Trauma Sensitive Yoga

Healing Complex Trauma & PTSD from anywhere

“The body keeps the score: If the memory of trauma is encoded in the viscera, in heartbreak and gut-wrenching sensations, in autoimmune diseases and skeletal/muscular problems, and in the way we regulate our immune system, then it stands to reason that the pathway to recovery has to involve the body.”

- Bessel van der Kalk, The Body Holds The Score

My extensive training with Trauma Centre Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) is a unique validated clinical adjunct therapy that helps support survivors of complex trauma (C-PTSD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in re-connecting mind and body. Trauma Sensitive Yoga has foundations in Trauma Theory, Attachment Theory, Neuroscience and Hatha Yoga practice.

The Significance of Somatic Healing in Trauma Recovery

Integrating somatic healing approaches, such as trauma-informed yoga, into the trauma recovery process could be the missing key to lasting transformation. Neuroscience now reveals that our nervous system reacts primarily to signals from the body, rather than the other way around. This insight challenges the traditional “top-down” approach—where the mind leads the healing process—and instead highlights the importance of a “bottom-up” approach, where the body takes the lead.

To heal from trauma, it is essential to not only understand what happened on a cognitive level but also to release the imprints held within the body. Our bodies are finely tuned social and emotional sense organs, shaped by every life experience. Ignoring the body’s role in healing can leave us stuck in cycles of thought without fully releasing the residue of trauma.

Why Trauma-Informed Yoga Matters

Trauma-informed yoga is grounded in the understanding that healing requires a safe and empowering environment. This practice encourages individuals to explore sensations in their bodies, cultivate self-awareness, and gently practice choice-making—all fundamental elements in restoring a sense of agency.

By incorporating mindfulness, breathwork, and gentle, intentional movement, trauma-sensitive yoga helps individuals develop vital skills for self-regulation and resilience. Rather than forcing the body into specific shapes or demanding perfection, this practice fosters a compassionate relationship with oneself—one that honors autonomy and personal choice.

The ultimate aim of trauma-informed yoga is to help individuals reclaim a sense of agency and restore connection with themselves and others. Through mindful movement and breath awareness, we learn to ground ourselves in the present moment and gently rebuild trust in our own bodies. This process not only promotes emotional and physical healing but also paves the way for deeper, more authentic relationships with ourselves and the world around us.

Trauma is perhaps the most avoided, ignored, belittled, denied, misunderstood, and untreated cause of human suffering” Peter A Levine PHD

“Trauma is not what happens to you. Trauma is what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you.” Gabor Mate

What is Trauma?

What is trauma? Sometimes we encounter experiences that so violate our sense of safety, order, predictability and right, that we feel so utterly overwhelmed-unable to integrate and simply unable to go on as before. Unable to bear reality.  We have come to call these shattering experiences trauma.  None of us are immune to them.  (Stephen Cope MSW)

Trauma (PTSD) is the result of a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope. It leaves a lasting imprint on both mind and body, often leading to emotional, psychological, and even physical harm. Trauma can arise from a wide range of situations, including violence, abuse, accidents, natural disasters, or any event that feels life-threatening.

In the aftermath, individuals may find themselves struggling with persistent fear, anxiety, flashbacks, and a sense of disconnection—from themselves, from others, and from life itself. These lingering effects can profoundly shape how a person relates to their own body and emotions, as well as to relationships and the world around them. The nervous system remains on high alert, perceiving danger even when none exists, while the mind becomes trapped in cycles of intrusive memories or numbing avoidance.

What Is Complex Trauma (CPTSD)?

Complex trauma (CPTSD) goes beyond the impact of a single traumatic event. It often emerges from prolonged or repeated exposure to trauma, typically rooted in interpersonal harm and often beginning in childhood. This may include chronic abuse, neglect, or disruptions in caregiving relationships—experiences that leave a lasting mark not only on the psyche but also on the very sense of identity.

Unlike PTSD, which is often linked to a specific incident, complex trauma seeps into the fabric of an individual’s self-perception and worldview. It can impact psychological, emotional, and social functioning, leaving individuals struggling with self-worth, trust, and a sense of safety. Relationships may feel unsafe or overwhelming, and there may be persistent difficulties in regulating emotions or maintaining a stable sense of self.

The Path to Healing

People who have experienced complex trauma often carry a deep sense of shame, helplessness, or fragmentation. The body, shaped by experiences of danger or neglect, may feel unfamiliar or unsafe to inhabit. Healing requires more than just processing memories—it involves rebuilding a safe connection to the body, cultivating self-compassion, and restoring trust in oneself and others.

A key part of recovery is learning to listen to and honor the body’s signals, allowing for the gradual release of tension and the gentle reclaiming of presence. Somatic practices like trauma-sensitive yoga can support this journey by fostering a safe, grounded, and compassionate relationship with one’s own body. Through these practices, it becomes possible to rebuild resilience, nurture self-empowerment, and find a way to live with greater ease and connection…follow the thread to my free resources

Testimonials

  • This year I had a childhood trauma confirmed as a consequence of an ongoing medical issue and my marriage ended. As you can imagine I struggled to come to terms with all the pain I was feeling and my thoughts became intrusive with me not seeing a way out of the pain.

    Thankfully, I accessed support and one of the resources I put in place was exploring trauma sensitive yoga with Soraya. I cannot stress how much this has helped me. Soraya has a way about her that is not judgemental, not rushed and is so intuitive that you feel empowered and safe by the options and poses she shares during practice. I was in a situation where I did not feel I had any choices but by Soraya facilitating this, I realised I did. Subsequently, my confidence has soared, I am comfortable being uncomfortable and I manage my thoughts, my physical medical symptoms and my emotions.

    So far I have achieved losing weight and a healthy lifestyle, improved relationships with my children and those around me, taking on new challenges and succeeding and living my best life, by  maintaining it  . Of course there are blips but by using the skills of grounding and making choices, recovery of when life gets tricky is much more manageable. I am very grateful for meeting Soraya and to her for sharing her practice and her beautiful readings with me. I cannot recommend Soraya and trauma sensitive yoga highly enough and not even for a traumatic event but when you don’t feel you have choices, power or control over your life.”

    PH, Coaching Psychologist

  • After a traumatic experience, I carried on the way I was brought up – be brave, be strong – putting the needs of others before my own. Life had to go on.  For many years, I didn’t have time to think and hid my emotion, not wanting others to experience it and too scared to feel it by myself.  If a wave of grief hit me, I just swallowed it down, kept it deep within.  The consequence was I felt numb, rarely letting go (for the good times, or the bad), struggling to understand what I needed, or express it.

    I started to work with Soraya, using trauma sensitive yoga to explore the trauma.  Through movement, I started to become aware of my body and the tension within it, but also more aware of my mind in the way I reacted to the movements we did and the choices I made.  I was also quite shocked at how emotional I found the sessions.  I could go into them feeling perfectly fine, but certain poses unleashed waves of emotion. Movement released so much more for me than sitting in a counselling room.

    Soraya has a unique presence which allows this to happen.  She creates a safe space – I was able to trust her and the process and go with it.  She is also intuitive, noticing the impact of the movements we are doing together.  Yet Soraya is not afraid to offer you choices to explore the boundaries of your physical and emotional capabilities where I learnt so much about myself. But I always felt supported, able to express emotion if needed, but safe and calm at the end of each session.

    The main impact for me is an awareness of my automatic way of being, the way I was being guided by my sub-conscious, in a way that was not always helpful. I have been able to start feeling the pain, rather than pushing it away and feel less like a coiled spring.  As a consequence, I feel calmer.  I am much more aware of what I feel about things, and I’m still learning how to express those feelings at times, but I have a much greater sense of ‘me’ with a growing inner confidence.

    Carolyn Beard

  • Let me start by saying that having CPTSD for me has felt like spending everyday drowning and watching everyone else know how to swim, but our sessions together have felt like having a space once a week where I get to resurface, to come up for air and learn to swim again. Not to be thrown a lifebuoy or rescued, but to be reminded that my body knows what to do, that I have what I need within me to swim again. 

    Your compassion, gentleness, wisdom and outstanding intuition have allowed me to feel truly safe and held. To know that in this space I don't need to have the answers but I can follow the process because I won't be allowed to go so far I can't cope. I can trust that you won't let me go beyond the limit. 

    I have felt supported in my healing, and in my learning. I have felt empowered to trust myself, to trust my choices and my instincts. I am not there yet fully but I have been learning to be. There has been no shame, no guilt, just a tender holding of wherever I am at the moment and a reminder that it's ok to need support. 

    I would say that I have matured emotionally since we started working together, and that is something that has been seen by those around me. I am allowing myself to feel my emotions without feeling they will destroy me. I am learning that what happens on the mat translates into life, whether it's learning where my limits are, learning to ask for help (ok I still need to work on that!), being able to pause and sit with something before making a choice. I have been able to release trauma without being overwhelmed by it, and some of my flashbacks have died down as a result. Which is something I never thought could happen. And I didn't have to talk about the trauma. 

    What sets you apart? I don't really know how to define it. Your intuition is part of it, and how that seamlessly works in sessions. But also, it's your presence. You are fully present in the room throughout the whole session and I also get that sense in our conversations outside of sessions, whether that's email or text which I can't work out. It's the way you make me feel fully seen and embraced without imposing and often without saying a word. 

    I have already recommended you to everyone in my life. 

    If I was to say something to someone considering working with you- I would say do it. I would say that if you have a strong inner cynic like I do, keep turning up past the first week because the cynic will shut up. I would say that you are entering into the safest hands I have ever known. 

    Kirsty

The Five underpinnings of Trauma Sensitive Yoga

  • You will always be invited to participate in every step of the practice. It is your choice whether you’d like to accept any invitation or not. As a facilitator, I only use language that is simple, specific, objective, and non-metaphorical. Phrases such as "if you wish to... support your choices and ability to take agency of your body.

  • You have complete control over what you do and do not do. I am here to offer safe, professional guidance that helps you focus on the experiences of moving, breathing, and resting. This helps develop agency and empowerment, and to learn to make choices that feel comfortable in your body. There are no "right" or "wrong" ways to experience a shape, you may be making a different choice to me.

  • During the session there are no hands on assists, no shapes are  better than other shapes and I as a facilitator, strive to shift the power dynamics to honour your choices.

    You‘ll never be asked to share your story, and you aren’t required to go into the history of your experience of trauma. However, you may need to be engaged in a talking relationship/therapy outside of the sessions (therapist, counsellor, GP, pastor/priest or social worker).

  • We both practice at the same time. You have a body and I have a body and we are sharing a practice of making individual choices and experiencing what it is like to be in our individual body. This becomes authentic as it is experienced in the present moment.

  • As we practice together, I notice felt body sensations and offer these as a choice for you to notice.  They may include; temperature, pressure, muscles engaging/stretching, tingling  or breath moving.  

What to expect from Virtual Sessions

Dense green foliage with some dried leaves, featuring tropical plants with star-shaped leaves.
Person practicing yoga downward dog pose under a large tree in a forest with fallen leaves.

In trauma-sensitive yoga, although we use physical forms and movements, the focus is never on getting it “right” or perfect. Instead, our attention turns inward, emphasizing the internal experience of the participant—known as interoception. This approach makes the practice accessible and welcoming to everyone, regardless of flexibility, experience, age, or gender.

Because there are no physical assists, the online environment fits seamlessly with this modality. You are always invited—never coerced—into each movement and posture. Together, we cultivate a practice that is both shared and deeply personal. Though we may be practicing from different parts of the world, we create a space where we are connected through movement and presence, experiencing our own bodies while knowing we are not alone.

Benefits of Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Online

Practicing trauma-sensitive yoga online can help us:

• Reconnect to our bodies in a familiar, protective environment that feels safe.

• Develop a positive relationship between mind and body, fostering balance and harmony.

• Increase awareness of our internal, felt experience, promoting deeper self-understanding.

• Cultivate a sense of agency and empowerment, allowing us to move with intention and autonomy.

• Live in the present moment, breaking free from the grip of past trauma.

• Rebuild and strengthen our relationship with ourselves and others, in ways that feel authentic and safe.

This practice is about moving with intention rather than perfection, listening to your body rather than directing it, and creating a gentle space to explore and reconnect. Through this shared practice, we find a deeper sense of embodiment and safety, even from afar.

What to do next

If you would like to reach out to find out more about whether this therapy or I, would be the right fit for you.  Please click here to email. We could then arrange a time for a FREE 20min chat, to see if the practice and we are a good fit to collaborate in your healing.

Cost

Individual sessions of 60mins including 45mins of practice and 15mins of orientation/sharing time.

£90 per session

£450 course of 6 sessions

Location

Online via Google Meetup