How Trauma-Informed Yoga Can Help You Heal from Trauma
- Lisa S. Larsen, PsyD
- Jul 13
- 4 min read
I had the pleasure of talking to Maya DeNola, LCSW, who is a licensed clinical social worker and clinical yoga instructor, about how trauma-informed yoga can help you heal from post-traumatic stress. We discussed trauma-informed clinical yoga and what distinguishes it from an exercise class you might take at the gym or yoga studio, as well as how trauma-informed yoga can help you recover from trauma.
What kind of training helped Maya become a trauma-informed yoga instructor?
Maya received her clinical training in 2021 and stated that she is a “500-hour certified yoga instructor clinical yoga, which is a very specialized training.” This is different from an instructor with 200-hour RYT certification. The 200 hour training helps with learning asanas, or poses, but doesn’t generally go deeper into how trauma is stored in the body. It also doesn’t address the individual’s specific needs.
She also emphasized that within the term “yoga” there are many different kinds, with different uses and intentions. Her training included information about ayurveda, “which is the science or medicine that… comes from the same Vedic place as yogic postures,” as well as energetic “chakric” or energetic healing. All of this comes together with a mental health emphasis that emphasizes healing for her clients.
The training Maya received is “more expanded” and geared towards mental health professionals. Therefore, she teaches “from a trauma informed and a trauma conscious place and the intentionality here is to understand really the connection between mind and body and how yoga can be used as a therapeutic tool to help people heal.”
Maya’s journey to becoming a trauma-informed yoga practitioner
Maya explained that she came to teach yoga as part of her personal journey, to help her through a difficult part of her life a few years ago. She attended a retreat in Thailand that helped her tremendously:
"… the profound amount of healing that took place for me just through the practice of asanas, the practice of yoga postures. I really credit that with kind of pulling me out of one of the absolutely darkest places I've ever been, and it was the yoga, right?"
She was also on a path to becoming a clinical social worker and decided to integrate this into what she offered her clients.
What distinguishes trauma-informed yoga from other types of yoga instruction?
Maya explained that trauma-informed yoga uses permissive language and cues from the client. It takes into consideration what a client has been through emotionally and physically, and what might be stored in the body for trauma survivors. She pays close attention to the language she uses to avoid retraumatizing clients, and invites people to move certain ways rather than just telling them. She explains,
"So we weave in invitation, we weave in consciousness of people's experiences, and we focus more on that than we necessarily do on the correct alignment, although that also is important so you don't injure yourself…. And then, we teach how to, for example, offer corrections. There's touch sometimes in yoga, for helping somebody with their posture, how do you do that in a way that takes into account that this person may not feel safe with people touching them?"
She provides “location-independent” yoga instruction to clients who’ve been traumatized. Therefore, she doesn’t teach at a yoga studio or gym. Based on her training and experience with yoga and social work, she prescribes certain postures, parts of yogic philosophy or Ayurveda, breathwork, or what she believes would help the individual client.
The Role of Interoception in Trauma-Informed Yoga.
Trauma, according to Maya, disconnects people from awareness of experiencing their body. Interoception is internal awareness of your physical and emotional states, so you can respond to them. Trauma-informed yoga helps re-develop this in many ways:
· It reconnects you with your body, because you no longer need to be disconnected to survive;
· It allows you to return to and listen to your body;
· It redevelops the activation of the peripheral nervous system, aka the “rest and digest” part instead of the “fight or flight” part (the sympathetic part); and
· It expands our Window of Tolerance, which is our ability to adapt to stress.
She further explained that what is stuck in the body energetically will be expressed through the mind and behavior.
Misconceptions about Trauma-Informed Yoga
While many associate yoga with physical flexibility, Maya emphasized that trauma-informed yoga focuses on mental and emotional flexibility. The practice teaches you to listen to your body, honor your limits, and manage discomfort without being reactive. These skills are the building blocks of emotional resilience in your daily life.
Some common myths about yoga she dispelled were:
Trauma-informed yoga isn't just exercise but a therapeutic practice;
You don’t need special clothing, props, or even physical abilities, and all body types and sizes are welcome;
You don’t have to go to a gym or yoga studio. In fact, you can practice it anywhere —even in bed!
How Trauma-Informed Yoga can Help with Physical Manifestations of Trauma
Traumatic stress often manifests physically through conditions like gastrointestinal issues and autoimmune disorders. Maya noted that specific yoga postures can help address these physical symptoms—for example, twisting postures that support digestive function. However, she cautioned that yoga isn’t a magic trick that will cure anything, but rather a healing practice.
Next Steps if You're Interested in Trauma-Informed Yoga
Are you interested in exploring trauma-informed yoga? Maya recommends:
Seeking yoga instructors who specifically use terms like "trauma-informed," "trauma-conscious," or "trauma-sensitive;"
Exploring online resources from qualified instructors, including her teacher, Corena Hammer of the Clinical Yoga Institute and Sarah Beth on YouTube to get started; and
If you’re a mental health professional, enrolling in training through the Clinical Yoga Institute (where she co-teaches with Corena Hammer).
I hope this interview gives you some insights into how trauma-informed yoga can help you heal from trauma. If you’re interested in seeking Maya’s help for yoga instruction, you can reach her at the Clinical Yoga Institute or directly at mdenolalcsw@gmail.com. To see the whole interview on YouTube, click here. If you’d like to also pursue trauma therapy with me using EMDR therapy, Flash Technique or hypnosis, please call me at 661-233-6771 or click the button below.
