Wed 12.30 Kingston
Closed Group Practice
CANBERRA TRAUMA CENTRE TRAUMA SENSITITVE YOGA
TCTSY
Next 8 week course commencing May 1
TCTSY (Trauma Centre Trauma Sensitive Yoga) is an empirically validated, clinical intervention for complex trauma or chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Offered privately or in a small group.
The intention of trauma-informed yoga is not to release trauma or fix it. Instead, it is designed to offer self agency by rebuilding an expansive body awareness, reawakening an inner sense of 'my body' to heal the mind.
TCTSY is interoceptive not prescriptive
TCTSY was originally developed at the Trauma Center at JRI in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA, by David Emerson in clinical consultation with JRI clinical staff including Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, yoga teachers, and TCTSY participants. TCTSY continues to be researched and co-designed and is now the key program of the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at JRI where David Emerson and Jenn Turner are Directors.
TCTSY has foundations in trauma theory, attachment theory, neuroscience, and hatha yoga, with an emphasis on body-based yoga forms and breathing practices.TCTSY is open to all people regardless of age, gender identity, race, ethnicity, body type, and physical ability.
Though trauma treatments have historically focused on the mind, it is now widely accepted in the trauma literature that incorporating the body into trauma work is significantly beneficial (Ogden, Van der Kolk, Levine, Rothschild, Emerson, Haines).
Jenny shares her experience of TCTSY
'It is so profound for me to experience the embodiment that I've been practising as a choice of living, loving and being connected to myself. Once more TCTSY practices are so in line with me. The practice is not just on the flux of classes and rushing and setting times to do it. The practice is on the moments when your choices can be more in tune with your present moment and the vast awareness of it'. Jenny G
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About your embodiement facilitator, Kendra
Kendra is a certified TCTSY facilitator with The Trauma and Embodiment Centre, and a registered Yoga Therapist. She has a special interest in trauma recovery and mental health.
"I am deeply committed to empowering you and not telling you what to do with your body and offer you a safe and authentic space to feel the balance of power returning through embodied movement. Trauma-Sensitive Yoga is such an important adjunct to talk therapy in the treatment of trauma, as the body is often the missing link and the space to explore deeper levels integration".
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Kendra brings 25 years of clinical and group teaching into her facilitation and recognizes her trauma-informed teachers that have influenced her way of facilitating; Sarah Ball, Amy Wheeler, Jenn Turner, and Maria Jude. Kendra recognizes the powerful impact that the practice of Yoga can have on psychological and physical wellbeing and the growing evidence base in this space.
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Take the first step
It is preferred that participants are under the support of a therapist in order to assist with any verbal processing that might arise in a session or class. Kendra requires that you have an initial interview process to establish suitability.
Kendra will also request a private health assessment and connection appointment prior to joining the course, to support your sense of safety and personal needs.
The course is supported and referred to by numerous local health services as well as local GP's, psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, and other therapists and health practitioners
TCTSY classes are in Kingston on Wednesdays at 12.30 pm
The 8-week courses offer a sliding scale payment system;
$310 supported, $350 supporter, concession $220 or donation $50.
The groups are semi-private with a maximum of 7 participants.
Join online or in the Braddon studio.
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To enrol please follow these steps.
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1. Arrange a 15 min free Discovery Call
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2. After the Discovery Call you will be requested to fill in
a pre-screening form and make payment. Pricing is sliding scale.
$310 supported, $350 supporter, concession $220 or donation $50.
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Pillars of TCTSY
Present moment awareness
Practice making choices
taking effective action
creating
rhythms
How does TCTSY differ from other yoga classes?
Priority is given to creating a safe and comfortable space
We understand that without feeling safe, there is no space for change and the potential for retriggering.
In a TCTSY space, you are free to set up however you like, leave or stay, move or be still whilst the facilitator guides you through a practice. The facilitator stays in one place for most of the class, offering a shared authentic experience. You can practice in a chair, standing or on the floor. Classes and individual sessions are accessible to everyone regardless of physical ability. There will be no incense, belts, or use of Sanskrit.
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Practice choice making.
We understand that the experience of trauma has taken away the ability to choose so everything is invitational.
You are encouraged to practice making choices about what shapes you wish to make with your body based on what you feel in the present moment, not what an instructor teaches. Learning to feel and listen to your body again, helps you to regain a sense of control to rebalance fear and overwhelm. We also use invitational language such as "you might choose to move your shoulders".
It's your yoga practice.
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The time to build curiosity and mindfulness in your body.
We understand that your body is not an easy place to be in.
You are encouraged to begin where ever you are and gradually offer yourself some attention to your body. The body, YOUR body is a wonderful gateway to explore and befriend all types of sensations and feelings in your own time. Opportunities of curiosity and present-centered awareness are offered.
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No assists or adjusts
We understand that you are the expert on your body.
No assists, touching, or adjustments are offered unless requested and agreed upon. Sometimes props are offered to assist interoception.
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The facilitator practices in their body also.
We understand the power of having a shared authentic experience and the healing power of being in a therapeutic relationship.
Both participants and facilitator practice being in a body together, so there is no perfect posture only shapes to explore. This builds a sense of trust.
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Importance on the process, not progress.
We understand that healing is not linear and is complex.
There is no pressure at all to achieve a certain posture or breath a certain way to heal. Each practice offers a way of meeting and understanding the ever-changing life force as it chooses the best pathway to integrate trauma experiences in your body.
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Repetition and Rhythms.
We understand the importance of keeping things simple and repetitious.
You are offered time to try several ways of moving and breathing, then the experience of rhythm of movement, breath, and maybe flow can be felt. Lots of the same shapes will be offered over and over each week, so you can explore more interoception.
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Recommended reading
“So much of what we call abnormality in this culture is actually normal responses to an abnormal culture. The abnormality does not reside in the pathology of individuals, but in the very culture that drives people into suffering and dysfunction.”
— Gabor Maté
Kendra's classes gave you so much room for self-awareness and cultivate mindfulness in your own body and your own experience. We are so lucky to have such a tender and dynamic soul when it comes to TSTSY and iRest. Please join our tribe of making effective actions on your own wellbeing and healing the world.
Jenny G
The beauty of TCTSY for me is that I have choice. I am offered alternatives or have the option to not move, depending on where I am at physically or psychologically at a given session.
TCTSY is helping me to calm my hypervigilant brain and is working well in synergy with my EMDR treatment.
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Karen
The trauma informed approach helped me feel safe enough to talk with you straight away and then with the group (eventually) due the open, supporting feeling created within the group. I was really able to treat myself and whatever came up with kindness.