Bee Mindful Space
What is Yoga Therapy?
The Cleveland Clinic defines Yoga Therapy in the following way:
Yoga therapy is a process to empower you to improve your health and well-being through the practice of yoga.
In other words, yoga therapy is a whole-body approach to better health by using the tools of yoga to meet your specific physical, mental and emotional needs and goals. You’re an active participant on your path to wellness.
The tools of yoga include:
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Physical postures and movements (asanas).
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Breathing exercises (pranayama).
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Meditation/relaxation (dhyana).
A certified yoga therapist will meet with you one-on-one in person OR online to create a safe practice specifically for you. They will:
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Review your medical file and speak with you about any health concerns.
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Determine movements that would be safe for you.
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Show you how to use proper form and technique to prevent injury.
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Explain how each pose affects your body.
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Guide you in relaxation and stress management.
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Help you reach your personal wellness goals.
Yoga therapy is a recommended practice in addition to treatment or management from a healthcare provider for any underlying health conditions. The effects of yoga therapy vary based on each person’s experience. You don’t need to have any experience with yoga before starting yoga therapy.
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Karin uses her education, MS in Education, Registered Yoga Alliance Teacher Expert 500+ hours, Certified Facilitator Trauma Informed Yoga (NIH Best Practices), Yoga Alliance Certified Educator, and Yoga Therapy IAYT candidate( an additional 1000+ hours of training) as well as her experience as a studio owner, retreat facilitator, and mentor to create an evidenced-based, welcoming and safe experience.
Are you ready to explore
breaking free of trauma?
What is TCTSY?
TCTSY, Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga is a clinical intervention for Complex Trauma and treatment resistant PTSD. Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) is a SAMHSA approved, evidenced-based protocol for treating PTSD and Complex Trauma developed by leading researchers in the field of trauma and psychology. TCTSY is based on clinical trials performed at the Trauma Center at JRI in Brookline, Massachusetts by psychiatrist and leading trauma researcher Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score and yoga teacher David Emerson.
Karin studied directly with David Emerson and he remains her supervisor today; she is one of two practitioners in the state of New Jersey.
Commonly Asked Questions:
How is TCTSY different from "regular" yoga?
The emphasis is not on the yoga "forms", shapes, or stretches themselves, but instead, uses yoga forms as opportunities for choice and decision making around moving or not moving one's body. It is an evidenced-based protocol to help rewire neural connections that have become disrupted from trauma.
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Is TCTSY therapy?
Trauma Sensitive yoga is an adjunctive therapy, it complements clinical therapeutic work. While there is no requirement to be in psychotherapy, TCTSY can sometimes bring up somatic or implicit traumatic memories and having a support system available to you can be useful.
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Can I combine Yoga Therapy and TCTSY?
YES! Karin has been working hard to create a trauma informed yoga therapy protocol. She has found that as clients' trauma begins to settle, many physical issues begin to rise to the surface, issues that have been previously suppressed as one's system has been overloaded and dysregulated.
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Do I have to come to the studio?
No, you do not. While Karin does see clients in-person, she and other TCTSY facilitators have found that clients appreciate the option to practice virtually with the option to have their camera on or off.
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How do I start?
Email or call Karin to set up a 15 minute initial intake to see if TCTSY is a fit for you.
At that time you can decide to continue in-person, online, or a combination.
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Yoga for Female Veterans: WARRIOR WELLNESS?
Karin has partnered with SWAN, Service Women's Action Network to offer FREE TCTSY to female veterans suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and MST (Military Sexual Trauma). She offers 45 minute classes online once per week. Click the SWAN link to learn more and arrange for a brief intake.
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Click the link to be connected to SWAN and the WARRIOR WELLNESS program
Click the link to learn more about TCTSY
My Story
As a survivor of both complex childhood trauma and adult PTSD, I truly understand and appreciate all the ways in which trauma impacts one's life and ability to move through the world with a sense of safety and agency. So much of what is happening in our bodies and brains is beneath our level of awareness. I spent many years bouncing around between therapy, self-help groups, diets, yoga, gurus etc... until I found a mental health practitioner that taught me about how trauma "lives" in the tissues of my body. My journey led me to explore TCTSY where a whole world of knowledge opened me up; the light began to seep into the cracked and broken places of my body, mind, and spirit.
TCTSY will never demand, coerce, nor insist that you move your body in any prescribed ways; you will always have choices, including the choice to participate or not. Trauma sensitive yoga is a shared experience between myself and the participants. I have been in too many yoga classes where I was being spoken to with raised voices, profanity, and an overall disregard for my physical and emotional safety. TCTSY is an opportunity for you to meet yourself where you are allowing for the possibility that it can change from day to day. Your time is now; begin the journey of breaking free!
Call me at 609-425-2474 or email beemindfulyoga@gmail.com