Embracing Ahimsa: A Journey Through Somatic Yoga Therapy

Understanding Ahimsa in Yoga - 'doing no harm'.

Ahimsa, traditionally meaning non-harming, has always been central to yoga’s ethical path. In trauma healing, however, it softens into something more intimate: an invitation to live with a more embodied intention. It becomes a practice of noticing within the body, allowing tenderness and safety to be nurtured.

As Yoga Therapist Matthew Taylor writes:

“Conscious ahimsa is simply awareness. What we don’t notice, we can’t protect.” (International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 2004)

When “The Body Keeps the Score” Starts to Feel Like a Burden

Trauma doesn’t simply vanish; it resides in the body. As Bessel van der Kolk reminds us in The Body Keeps the Score: “The body keeps the score.”

It’s a phrase that changed the landscape of trauma recovery — yet it can also land with a certain weight, as if the body is tallying our failures or waiting for us to make amends.

But what if our body isn’t keeping score at all? What if it’s simply keeping story ?

— carrying the echoes of what we’ve lived through, waiting for us to listen with compassion instead of judgment?

Our physiology holds these echoes even when the mind has moved on. They can surface in moments meant to heal — like yoga or mindfulness — when pushing past limits might unintentionally retraumatize us. Here, the yogic principle of Ahimsa, or non-harming, becomes more than a philosophy; it becomes a daily practice of presence.

Ahimsa in Practice

Ahimsa invites us to notice when our body whispers “enough,” to respect boundaries, and to honor what feels safe today — not what we think should feel safe. In trauma recovery, true non-harm attends not only to the obvious hurts, but also to the subtle, invisible ones:

• Overriding signals: forcing ourselves into poses or progress when the body longs to pause.

• Comparing: measuring our healing against someone else’s timeline.

• Silencing: dismissing fear, pain, or fatigue as invalid.

  
  

Ahimsa flips that script:

• Listening instead of overriding.

• Compassion instead of comparison.

• Validation instead of silencing.

Every act of noticing is already an act of protection — a moment of reconnection with the body’s quiet intelligence.

When we meet our body this way, “the score” softens. What once felt like evidence of damage becomes a map toward wholeness. Healing is no longer about erasing the past; it’s about learning how to stay present with it, breath by breath, choice by choice.

So maybe the real invitation isn’t to keep the score —but to sit beside it,to listen,and to remember that your body has never been against you.

It has been on your side all along.

The TCTSY Lens: Interoception as Non-Harm

David Emerson, co-founder of Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY), writes:

“The mind is always a bodily experience.” (Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy, 2015)

In TCTSY, the focus is not on posture but on interoception—listening inward to sensation. This matters because:

• When you notice, you can choose.

• When you choose, you protect.

• When you protect, you begin to feel safe again.

  
  

Ahimsa, then, becomes a lived practice: awareness over autopilot, choice over coercion, compassion over judgment.

What Ahimsa Can Feel Like in TCTSY

Sometimes in practice, there are glimpses—a sense of who you are that shows up in the body, not just in thought. The truth doesn’t always arrive in words, but in resonance: a shared atmosphere that holds us.

When we surrender to the bell curve of feelings—rising, cresting, softening—something begins to flow. Shame, blame, even fury can be ushered toward the heart.

In those moments, ahimsa is not merely an idea; it is felt:

• A hand over the chest.

• A pause of neutral noticing.

• A breath whispering: I am here.

  
  

Somehow, intelligent life expresses itself and reminds us: we are not alone.

From My Voice as TCTSY Facilitator

As a facilitator, I’ve felt ahimsa arise not from instruction but from shared resonance. The subtle shift in the room when someone honors their body instead of pushing past it—I feel it too.

This is an authentic, shared experience: not me guiding you, not you following me, but something we create together.

For me, ahimsa in TCTSY looks like:

• Slowing down so truth has time to surface.

• Warmth that doesn’t need to be earned.

• Permission to “just try,” where presence matters more than performance.

  
  

In my earlier writing, Purusha and the Power of Parallel Agency in TCTSY, I explored how shared authentic experience creates safety. This mirrors the heart of ahimsa: agency that is parallel—each of us sovereign, yet supported by the shared field we co-create.

In trauma healing, stability is not just stillness. It is discovering a ground that can hold whatever arises. Sometimes this begins with a simple truth:

“I can be here.”

When noticing replaces overriding, and validation replaces silence, ahimsa comes alive.

A Gentle Invitation to Explore

If this resonates with you, I warmly invite you to join my upcoming Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) course. Together, we will explore ahimsa not as a philosophy but as a lived practice: noticing, choosing, and protecting in ways that honor your body and your pace.

Ahimsa is not about perfection. It is about presence, choice, and compassionate unfolding—moment by moment. And those moments, woven together, are where healing begins.

In our journey together, we will discover the healing power of connection. Each session will be an opportunity to deepen our understanding of ourselves and our bodies. We will create a safe space for exploration, where every feeling is valid, and every experience is honored.

Our bodies are wise. They hold memories, emotions, and stories. By nurturing our bodies through gentle movement and awareness, we can begin to release what no longer serves us. This process can be transformative, leading to a deeper sense of peace and well-being.

Each person’s journey is unique. In our sessions, you will have the freedom to find your rhythm. There is no right or wrong way to practice. What matters is that you listen to your body and honor its needs.

Find out more about Trauma Sensitve Yoga Therapy here and join the next TCTSY 8 week course or book a private Self Care Package.

Your body knows the way.

References & Further Reading

• Emerson, D. & Hopper, E. (2011). Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga: Reclaiming Your Body. North Atlantic Books.

• Emerson, D. (2015). Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy: Bringing the Body into Treatment. W.W. Norton.

• van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking.

• Taylor, M. (2004). “Risk Management: Conscious Ahimsâ.” International Journal of Yoga Therapy, (14), 87–92.

• Boone, K. (2023). Purusha and the Power of Parallel Agency in TCTSY.