Trauma Sensitive Yoga
A safe, embodied path through PTSD & complex trauma — from survival into self-trust.
“We can get better only if we learn to experience our sensations and feel the emotions they evoke, instead of avoiding them.”
- Bessel van der Kalk, The Body Holds The Score
I’ve trained extensively with the Trauma Centre, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) — a unique validated, clinical adjunct therapy that supports survivors of complex trauma (C-PTSD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in re-connecting mind and body.
This work is grounded in trauma theory, attachment theory, neuroscience, and hatha yoga — but at its heart, it’s simple: an invitation to listen to your body, choose what feels safe, and slowly rebuild trust in yourself.
Why the Body Matters in Healing Trauma
For years, trauma recovery focused on the mind — understanding what happened, telling the story. But neuroscience now shows that our nervous system is shaped first by the body’s signals, not the other way around.
This changes everything. Healing isn’t just “top-down.” It has to be “bottom-up.” We can’t think our way free of trauma. We have to feel our way through it.
Our bodies carry the imprints of every experience — in breath, in tension, in posture, in silence. When the body is left out of healing, we stay stuck in the story without releasing the residue.
Why Trauma-Informed Yoga Matters
Trauma-informed yoga is grounded in the understanding that healing requires a safe and empowering environment for you to explore sensations in your body,
By incorporating mindfulness, breathwork, and gentle, intentional movement, trauma-sensitive yoga helps you develop vital skills for self-regulation and resilience. Instead of forcing shapes or striving for perfection, this approach simply, invites you to notice sensation, cultivate awareness, and practice making small choices for yourself — all essential steps in restoring a sense of agency.
The aim isn’t performance. The aim is relationship — with yourself, with your breath, with your body. Through mindful movement and breath awareness, you learn to ground in the present moment and rebuild trust in your own skin.
This process not only fosters emotional and physical healing, but also opens the door to more authentic connection — with yourself and with the world around you.
“Trauma is not what happens to you. Trauma is what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you.”
What is Trauma?
Trauma happens when an experience overwhelms our ability to cope, leaving the body and nervous system stuck in survival.
Sometimes it comes from a single event. Other times, from years of ongoing harm — what we call complex trauma (CPTSD).
Whatever its source, trauma lives not only in the mind, but in the body. It shapes how we feel, relate, and live. Trauma-Sensitive Yoga offers a way to begin releasing those imprints gently, safely, through the body.
Want to explore this more deeply? [Read my blog on trauma and the body →]
Two pioneers in the field of trauma share why the body must be part of healing:
Kirsty’s story - Learning to Swim Again
“Having CPTSD has felt like drowning every day — but our sessions have been a space where I get to resurface, to come up for air, and learn to swim again.”
For me, living with CPTSD has been like watching everyone else know how to swim while I drown. But in our sessions, I have found a space each week to resurface — not to be rescued, but to be reminded that my body knows what to do, that I already carry what I need to swim again.
Your compassion, gentleness, wisdom, and intuition have allowed me to feel safe, held, and never pushed beyond what I can cope with. In this space, I don’t need to have the answers. I can follow the process and trust that I won’t be taken past my limits.
Through this, I’ve learned to trust myself — my choices, my instincts. I’m not “there yet,” but I’m learning to be. There is no shame or guilt here, only a tender holding of wherever I am and a reminder that it’s okay to need support.
Since working with you, I’ve matured emotionally in ways others around me have noticed. I’m allowing myself to feel emotions without fear they’ll destroy me. I’m learning that what happens on the mat translates into life: knowing my limits, pausing before choices, asking for help. I’ve been able to release trauma without being overwhelmed, and even my flashbacks have eased — something I never thought possible. And I never had to talk about the trauma itself.
What sets you apart is hard to name. It’s your intuition, yes, but also your presence. You are fully present, in the room and beyond, in ways I can’t explain. You make me feel fully seen and embraced, often without saying a word.
If someone is considering working with you, I would tell them: do it. And if you have a strong inner cynic like I do, keep turning up past the first week — because the cynic will go quiet. You are entering the safest hands I have ever known.
— Kirsty H
Client Stories
Healing is never linear — and no two journeys look the same. These stories are shared with permission, as living proof of what becomes possible when your body is invited into the healing.
Carolyn’s story - From Numbness to Inner Confidence
“Movement released so much more for me than sitting in a counselling room.”
After a traumatic experience, I carried on the way I was brought up — be brave, be strong, put others first. For years, I hid my emotions, swallowing them down, too scared to feel them by myself. I felt numb — rarely letting go in the good times or the bad — unable to understand or express what I needed.
When I began working with Soraya, using trauma-sensitive yoga to explore the trauma, I started to become aware of my body and the tension within it — and also more aware of my mind, my reactions, and the choices I was making. I was shocked at how emotional the sessions were. I could go in feeling perfectly fine, but certain poses unleashed waves of emotion.
Soraya has a unique presence that makes this possible. She creates a safe space where I felt able to trust both her and the process. She notices the subtle impacts of each movement, and she offers choices that help you explore your own boundaries — physically and emotionally — without ever feeling pushed.
The main impact for me has been an awareness of my automatic way of being — how my subconscious was guiding me in ways that weren’t always helpful. Now, I can start to feel the pain rather than push it away. I feel less like a coiled spring, calmer, more aware of what I truly feel.
I’m still learning how to express my emotions at times, but I carry a much greater sense of ‘me’ — with a growing inner confidence.
— Carolyn Beard
PH’s story - Finding Choice Again
“I was in a situation where I did not feel I had any choices — but by Soraya facilitating this practice, I realised I did.”
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 the pain I was feeling. My thoughts became intrusive, and I couldn’t see a way out.
Thankfully, I accessed support — and one of the most important 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 judgmental, not rushed, and so intuitive that you feel safe and empowered by the options she offers in each practice.
My confidence has soared. I am now comfortable being uncomfortable. I manage my thoughts, my physical symptoms, and my emotions. My relationships with my children have improved, I’ve taken on new challenges, and I’m living more fully than I thought possible. Of course, there are blips — but with grounding and choice, recovery is now much more manageable.
I am deeply grateful for meeting Soraya and for the way she shares her practice and her beautiful readings. I cannot recommend her and trauma-sensitive yoga highly enough — not only for healing trauma, but for any time you feel powerless or without choice in your life.
— PH, Coaching Psychologist
Every story begins with a threshold.
These women stepped into a safe space, one session at a time, and discovered new ways of living in their bodies. If you’re ready to cross your own threshold:
🌿 Book a Discovery Call →
The Five underpinnings of Trauma Sensitive Yoga
These five principles are what make Trauma-Sensitive Yoga different from a regular yoga class. They’re the foundations that create safety, agency, and the possibility of healing.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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 in a Virtual Session
In trauma-sensitive yoga, the focus is never on getting it “right” or perfect. The movements are simple, but the practice is about turning inward — noticing your internal experience (what we call interoception). This makes it accessible and welcoming for everyone, regardless of flexibility, experience, age, or gender.
There are no physical assists in this practice, which is why the online format works so well. You are always invited — never coerced — into each movement and posture. Together, we create a practice that is both shared and deeply personal. Though we may be in different parts of the world, we connect through presence — each of us experiencing our own bodies, while knowing we are not alone.
Benefits of Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Online
Practicing online can help you:
Reconnect with your body in a safe, familiar environment
Build a kinder relationship between mind and body
Increase awareness of your felt experience
Cultivate choice and agency in movement
Learn to rest in the present moment, not the past
Rebuild authentic connection with yourself and others
This practice is not about performance, but about presence. It’s about moving with intention rather than perfection, listening rather than directing, and creating space to gently explore your body. Even online, this becomes a place of grounding, reconnection, and safety.
What to do next
If you’re curious about working together, the first step is simple: email me to arrange a free 20-minute discovery call. This is a space for us to meet, ask questions, and see whether this approach and I would be a good fit for your healing journey.
Sessions
Sessions are 60mins including 45mins of practice and 15mins of orientation/sharing time.
These can be booked as individual sessions or a block of 6 for deeper support.
Location
All sessions take place online via Zoom, so you can join from anywhere in the world — from the safety and comfort of your own space.