Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga
Trauma Sensitive Yoga
Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TC-TSY) is an invitational, body-based practice developed at the Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute (JRI) in the USA. It offers a way to reconnect with your body in the present moment — through movement, breath, and choice.
Rather than focusing on achieving specific postures, TC-TSY supports you to notice sensation, make choices, and build a felt sense of safety and agency in your body. Each practice is guided through invitational language and grounded in the understanding that you are the expert of your own experience.
This approach is supported by over two decades of clinical research and has been shown to help reduce symptoms of trauma, anxiety, and dissociation by restoring connection between body and mind.
You can read more about TC-TSY via their website.
A sample practice
Experience a short TC-TSY practice
About Your Facilitator
My Training & Approach
I trained with the Trauma Center at JRI in 2019–2020 and have been teaching yoga for over eight years. My facilitation style is calm, invitational, and rooted in the principles of safety, choice, and empowerment.
In my years of practising yoga I have experienced first-hand its benefits — not just for healing, but for becoming more at peace and at home in my own body. In 2019 I embarked on my journey toward becoming a TC-TSY facilitator — a program of the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at JRI.
I believe each of us will have suffered trauma to some degree in our lives — and that this technique is of benefit to us all. Every class is an opportunity to listen to your body with compassion — without needing to fix or change anything.
ACC-Funded Group Classes
Our ACC Sensitive Claims funded in-person group for women seeking a gentle, body-based approach to reconnect with themselves and assist healing from the impacts of trauma. A supportive, choice-driven space to explore movement, breath, and grounding at your own pace — all fitness levels, no yoga experience needed. Talk to your Lead Service Provider (therapist) to seek approval from ACC to join.
This group doesn't affect your available hours with your therapist — there is a separate allocation for group therapy.
Term 3
Wednesdays 5pm · 29 Jul – 16 Sept · Waiuku
Thursdays 9.30am · 23 Jul – 10 Sept · Pukekohe
Term 4
Thursdays 9.30am · 15 Oct – 10 Dec · Pukekohe
— The Embodied Care Collective
Funded TC-TSY beyond ACC
I recognise that not everyone who could benefit from TC-TSY is eligible for an ACC Sensitive Claim. Many people living with trauma — including CPTSD, PTSD, or chronic stress — may not meet the criteria for funded support, yet still feel the impact in their bodies every day.
The Embodied Care Collective is a charitable initiative I have founded to extend the reach of Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TC-TSY) beyond the ACC framework. Through grants and community funding, the Collective makes TC-TSY accessible to people living with PTSD and CPTSD who fall outside existing eligibility pathways — both online and in-person (Pukekohe-based).
Donations made through our Open Collective page support the Collective in a variety of ways — from funding equipment and resources such as yoga mats, cushions, and props, to covering the full cost of an 8-week group programme or a series of one-to-one sessions for those who would otherwise be unable to access this work. Every contribution, however modest, helps create space for someone to begin.
If you are seeking support and would like to be considered for a fully funded 8-week course or private session, you are warmly invited to get in touch to register your interest.