#traumainformedyoga

[classicalyoga]

Holding space responsibly requires more than memorising scripts or sequences. Classical YOGA offers trauma-informed Yoga Nidra training designed for practitioners who want deeper understanding, safer teaching practices, and meaningful nervous system awareness. Every lesson supports authentic growth through compassionate guidance and teaching methods shaped by decades of real-world experience, which often leads to transformative healing.

[whatonyogaearth]

The Body Remembers

Ancestral Memory, Nervous System Repair & the Yoga of Coming Home

You Are More Than You

You are more than your own story. You are the echo of forest women, of salt-harvesters, of weavers and warriors, of those who sang in the dark. You are the breath of those who never got to exhale. You are the tears of those who had to hold it all in. You are the prayer your ancestors didn’t have the language to speak.

Their breath is in your breath. Their resilience is in your marrow.

Inheriting is remembering. Remembering is how we heal. Through presence. Through pause. Through gentle movement. Through practices that do not impose but invite. That do not fix but honour. Through spaces where no one is touched without consent. Where no one is forced to perform. Where bodies are not aesthetic projects but living repositories of ancestral gold. That do not shape the body into silence, but allow the silence within the body to speak.

This is the yoga that matters now.

Our Histories In Bone And Tissue

Somewhere beneath the rhythm of breath and the layers of doing, beneath the choreography of postures and the habits of holding, lives a deeper story, written not in words but in tissues, in fascia, in marrow. The body is not merely a vessel for our lives. It is a record of them. A spiralling, living archive of all we have endured, inherited, and remembered.

Trauma Wears Many Faces

Trauma is not limited to the battlefield.

It takes many forms:

abandonment

enmeshment

systemic oppression

spiritual bypassing

medical neglect

coercive control

cultural dislocation

chronic anxiety of living in the modern world

digital overload and overwhelm

burn-out

Some histories are too quiet to be heard. They tremble beneath the breath, coil inside our shoulders, tighten the jaw, curl the spine. It’s the sudden drop in the belly when a door slams. It’s the vigilance of the nervous system scanning for danger. They live in the myofascia, the soft tissues, the tremor of a hand that forgets how to unclench.

Even if our lives seem “safe,” trauma can be inherited, absorbed, or silently activated by the chronic anxiety of being alive in a modern world bombarded by climate crises and digital disconnection. If left unchecked, like a leaking tap, our inherited or personal experiences, drip by drip, slowly wear down the vagus nerve, the great wandering highway of the parasympathetic system.

Our patterns, our ancestral memories, those conditioned grooves etched into the mind-body, are not random. In yogic language, they are saṃskāras. Saṁskāras are more than memory, they are energetic grooves. Every thought, action, or emotion - especially those charged with intense emotion, unprocessed or overwhelming - leave a trace, a subtle impression or residual imprint carved by experience into our citta (the field of mind and feeling). Over time, these traces coalesce into patterns: beliefs, reflexes, fears, postures, identities. They shape how we relate to the world, often without our conscious awareness.

Modern science is beginning to echo what many yogic, Indigenous, and earth-rooted traditions have long intuited: the body is not separate from memory. It holds the residue of what we’ve lived, and sometimes, of what those before us never got to fully process.

The Body Is Not A Vault We Escape, It Is A Living Archive.

We inherit more than the colour of our eyes or the length of our limbs. Emerging fields like epigenetics, the study of how environmental factors influence gene expression without changing the DNA sequence, show that trauma can imprint itself across generations (Yehuda et al., 2018); stress-related adaptations are passed on at a cellular level, altering how the nervous system and immune system respond to the world (Heijmans et al., 2008); somatic psychology (Levine, 2010), and interpersonal neurobiology (Siegel, 2012) now confirm what many ancient cultures have always known:

Our bodies carry ancestral memory. Not just metaphorically, but biochemically, neurologically, somatically.

Read the full article on our Substack

[whatonyogaearth]

What Makes Our Yoga Different?

At Yoga Nature, we’re not trying to be everywhere.  We’re not chasing numbers.  We’re not building an empire. 

We’ve chosen something slower.  Something quieter.  Something sacred. 

We’ve chosen a small and beautiful timetable and we’re so glad you’ve found your way to it. 

🌱 Spaciousness Is the Medicine 

In a world that exalts speed and productivity,  we are remembering what it means to be well. 

To rest.  To return.  To breathe. 

That’s why we close for Christmas and Easter.  Why we pause in August.  Why we teach fewer classes, with more depth. 

And that’s why our regular offerings are 90 minutes long.  Generous. Spacious. Intentional. 

Because in nature, nothing is rushed and yet everything is accomplished. 

🌀 Why 90 Minutes? 

Many yoga classes today are 45 or 60 minutes.  They’re slotted between meetings or squeezed in before dinner. 

And while there’s value in that; something different happens when we give ourselves more time. 

In 90 minutes: 

• The nervous system has time to fully downshift  • The breath deepens, naturally  • The body unfolds at its own wise pace  • The practice shifts from performance to presence 

You begin to drop beneath the surface into a more intuitive, more honest, more embodied space. 

🌸 A Full Cycle, Not Just the Highlights 

In 90 minutes, we honour the full arc of the yogic journey: 

• A grounding centring practice  • Breath awareness and seasonal movement  • Time to explore postures with care  • Restorative stillness, mudrā, meditation  • Occasional mantra or philosophy for integration 

Not rushed. Not chopped up.  Just one whole, living rhythm. 

The way nature moves.  The way practice should feel. 

🌾 Not a Workout, A Way of Being 

We don’t see yoga as a workout.  We see it as a way of remembering. 

A way of living in rhythm with the land, the breath, the deeper self. 

In a culture that teaches us to override our bodies,  slowing down; really slowing down; is a radical act. 

When you gift yourself 90 minutes, you're saying: 

“I matter.  My wellbeing matters.  Time matters.” 

That’s not laziness.  That’s devotion. 

🌿 A Timetable with Room to Breathe 

We don’t run ourselves ragged.  And we won’t ask you to, either. 

Our small timetable means we know your name.  We remember your story. 

We honour your rhythm,  your seasons,  your becoming. 

Because when the timetable is small, it can also be deep.  When the class is long, it can also be true.  When the schedule is light, the presence is full. 

✨ Thank You for Being Here 

This is what we mean by Yoga Nature. 

A practice rooted in presence, not performance.  A space shaped by seasons, not spreadsheets.  A community that values depth, not endless doing. 

Whether you practise weekly or once in a while, online or in the room, thank you for meeting us here, within this small, beautiful timetable. 

It’s enough.  You’re enough.  This is the practice. 

[gardenofyoga]

In this episode we speak with Laura Wilson-McGinn and Ian McGinn. They both teach together through @movelikeyouyoga and have a special interest in working with police, army and first responders, particularly those experiencing severe PTSD. They deliver classes specifically for the Code 9 Foundation (a foundation established to support emergency services workers with PTSD), as well as sessions that everyone can attend. You can listen on Spotify, apple podcasts, you fav pod app or direct from our website podcast.flowartists.com (link in bio). Laura is of Aboriginal, English and Scottish decent and has worked extensively across the government, community legal, and university sectors as a policy writer, researcher, sessional academic, lecturer and advocate, and as a lawyer in the Victorian Supreme Court. Ian is a Detective Senior Constable with Victoria Police and he has a PhD in Australian Indigenous Studies from Monash University. He also works as a sessional academic at Swinburne University, teaching and lecturing in Criminology and Police Studies. They both have a passion for movement - with Laura coming from an extensive dance background including ballet, calisthenics, pole dance and aerial arts. Ian has a passion and love for jiu jitsu, yoga, fishing and bushwalking. In this conversation we discuss how all of these interests and life experiences weave together to inform the way they teach and live their yoga. Please be advised we do cover some sensitive topics including the death of a parent, and the mental health challenges connected with working in emergency services and adversarial justice including PTSD. They are both very passionate and engaging speakers, and we dig deep into their personal connection to the work that they do. It's a great episode and we hope you enjoy listening! . . . #theflowartistspodcast #yogateacherlife #yogaforptsd #traumainformed #traumainformedyoga #movelikeyouyoga #hypervigilance #yogaforfirstresponders #yogainstructor (at The Flow Artists Podcast) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoBChjoBM3W/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[gardenofyoga]

Would you like to learn more about how yoga can help support mental health? 🌱 It’s definitely a question I’ve asked many of our expert guests on The Flow Artists Podcast and I’m honored to share their wisdom. Head to my bio for the big Talking About Yoga and Mental Health list! 🌿 Now that we have over 100 episodes I thought I’d create a guide to highlight some of these episodes. As all aspects of our health intertwine it was tricky to make categories but I did my best! 🌸 Body image and Accessibility @janetlowndes.therapist @bodypositiveyoga @biggerbodyyogaph @donnanobleyoga @marshadbanksharold @jivanaheyman and @accessibleyoga 🌼 Navigating Grief, Death, Love and the Challenges of Life @griefyoga @chrischeerspsychology @blissbodyandsoul @yogaforgrownups @yogawithdivya @asherpackman 🪴Mental Health Support for Young People @breathcircle @asanasforautismandspecialneeds 🍂Responding to Racism @drgailparker @skillinaction @wayapawuurrk 🌺Aerial Yoga for Mental Health @creativebodyflow 🌾Managing Anxiety @amywheeleryoga @manojdias_ @msemilymayau 💐Trauma Informed Yoga @blindtigeryoga @yogaforhumankind @jo.buick Robin Carnes 🍃Please note that a yoga class or podcast episode is not a substitute for professional mental health support - I’ve also included a list of resources and crisis support. 📸 @erin_lee_photo_karate [image: 4 people relaxing in colorful aerial yoga hammocks] #theflowartistspodcast #yogaformentalhealth #yogapodcast #accessibleyoga #traumainformedyoga #bodypositiveyoga #aerialyogatherapeutics #yogatherapy #yogaforanxiety #griefyoga #fatyoga #yogaforeverybody #yogaforall #yogaforthemind (at The Flow Artists Podcast) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd4rUaBvi2p/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[gardenofyoga]

Paul Denniston of @griefyoga is our latest guest on The Flow Artists Podcast. You can listen on Spotify, your favorite app or head to our website podcast.flowartists.com 🌱 Yoga can be a powerful practice to help us be with and move through all of our emotions, and can be particularly helpful in times of grief and loss. 🍃Paul shares how these emotions can feel different for all of us, and how we can experience many forms of grief. We talk about his wonderful book ‘HEALING THROUGH YOGA: Transform loss into Empowerment’ which shares simple and powerful practices, informed by his is own personal life experiences and training in many different disciplines. 🌿 After the turmoil of the past couple of years we were grateful to talk to Paul as these practices feel more necessary than ever, we hope that you also find this conversation helpful 💗 . . . #theflowartistspodcast #yogalove #yogalife #yogateacherlife #traumainformedyoga #griefyoga #yogaforgrief #selfcare (at The Flow Artists Podcast) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYh3f87vw_L/?utm_medium=tumblr

[gardenofyoga]

Jenny Gibbons is the latest guest on The Flow Artists Podcast, we speak about her work with H.E.A.R.T.S. Charitable Trust: Human~Equine Alliance Resilience Trauma Support. 🌱 Jenny works with horses to help people with trauma histories cultivate resilience, peace and mindfulness. She also incorporates aspects of mindfulness, Maori philosophy and a deep love and connection to nature. 🌿 We wish to to provide a content warning for this episode as Jenny does discuss the family, sexual violence and child abuse histories of her clients to give context to the therapeutic process. Trauma Informed yoga teachers and mindfulness practitioners will find many parallels as Jenny shares about this important and innovative work. 🍃 You can listen at podcast.flowartists.com (link in bio) on Spotify, our your favorite pod app! . . . #theflowartistspodcast #traumainformed #traumainformedyoga #horsesofinstagram #horsesense #healingwithhorses #mindfulness #healingtrauma #H.E.A.R.T.S #humanequinealliancesforlearning (at The Flow Artists Podcast) https://www.instagram.com/gardenofyoga/p/CXZwR9PP1RG/?utm_medium=tumblr

[allehsu]

Resharing this from one of my friends @laura_diana_ (miss ya!) Greatly appreciate all your shares and #wordsofwisdom on #traumainformedyoga #latepost #april #april2020 #repost #sensitive #sensitivity Posted @withregram • @trauma.informed.yoga Tiny love note to my HSP followers, because there’s probably a few of you here. ✨ https://www.instagram.com/p/CT8cXJ-Jeuc/?utm_medium=tumblr