Your yoga teacher will be a qualified and accredited psychotherapist and TCTSY facilitator.
There are 5 key principles of TCTSY classes.
- Invitational language: each cue is preceded by an invitation, to focus on experiencing the body in a safe and present way. Everything offered by the facilitator is a genuine invitation and you will be reminded of this throughout the class.
- Choice Making - throughout the class you will be offered choices so that you can decide what to do with your own body. This may mean choosing not to engage in certain movements and making empowered choices.
- Interoception - This is our ability to notice sensations and emotions that are happening within our body, and we know that people who have experienced trauma have a reduced interoceptive awareness. Throughout the class you will be invited opportunities to tune in to sensations felt in your body
- Shared, authentic experience - a safe space is held by the facilitator and those practicing, with the understanding that there is no right or wrong in TCTSY. The facilitator will practice alongside you on her matt and there will an open invitation to always provide feedback and ask questions before and after each session.
- Non-coercion - an environment is created to support re-discovery and empowerment of those who are practicing . The facilitator is not the expert and encourages you to make choices based on your own experience. There will be no physical touch or suggestions made on how to "improve". Likewise, there will be judgements made on your practice, either positive or negative. The facilitator will strive to shift the power balance, as all to often clients with trauma have been subject to extreme abuse of power and feelings powerlessness.
A safe place to be
TCTSY classes aim to create a safe and neutral environment as possible to avoid anything that could act as a trigger for someone who has experienced trauma. For this reason;
- We will use neutral language and do not use Sanskrit or the language used in traditional classes to describe the shapes we make with our body. Why? Because we do not know the associations people may have with certain words. The word "pose" for example could be very triggering to someone who has experienced certain types of trauma. Instead we refer to them as "shapes" or "form"
- We will not use music, yoga blocks, candles or incense during the practice. Again, we are not aware of what associations this may have for people.
- We will not bring the spiritual aspect of yoga in to the the practice or set intentions, as is often practiced in traditional yoga classes. Although you are welcome to do this yourself if you would find this helpful, the facilitator will not instruct or invite you to do this. Again this is to help create a neutral and accessible environment to anyone, regardless of spiritual or religious beliefs and to shift the power balance from the facilitator being the expert.
- We will not ask you about your trauma or expect you to talk about this or share personal details about yourself with others during the class
A yoga mat will be provided if needed, but you are welcome to bring what ever you need to make the session comfortable (cushions, blocks, blankets, etc) .
You are welcome to wear clothes that you feel comfortable moving in, for example, t shirts, tracksuit or sports clothes.