We often have students in our classes who may be experiencing or have experienced trauma. They may not identify themselves, but we can take some steps which might make their yoga experience feel safer and more supported.

This 1-day workshop will cover theoretical aspects of trauma and some practical applications for participants to use in their classes.

• The nature of trauma and its impacts – Implications for yoga teaching
• Social context of trauma
• Neurobiology and poly vagal theory
• The window of tolerance
• The importance of interoception
• Overall goals of trauma informed classes
• Creating a trauma informed class
• Self-care

Participants will engage in information sessions, personal reflection, pair and small group discussions and skill practice.

Learning outcomes:

• Students will learn the physiological basis for trauma and its impact on the whole person.
• Understand the importance of the Window of Tolerance and is application to teaching yoga.
• Be able to apply the 5 general guidelines for a trauma informed class to their teaching.
• Be able to apply the 5 Overall goals of a trauma informed class to their teaching.

Lecturer: Marg Riley

Marg is an IYTA teacher and retired psychologist who has trained in Trauma Aware Yoga.

Marg was a school psychologist/counsellor for almost 30 years. She worked with many children, young people, and their families and teachers who had experienced trauma. One of her roles was training teachers and support staff in assisting traumatised young people in the classroom as well as providing guidance and support to school communities following critical incidents.

Marg has had a personal yoga practice since the late 1990’s and decided to train with IYTA in 2012/13 as the limitations of “the talking cure” for people who had experienced trauma became more evident and as a way of sharing the joy of yoga with others. Yoga provided her with a still quiet place in the face of a job with often overwhelming demands and has been a companion on the journey through her own life changes and challenges.

She is strongly influenced by her learning as a psychologist; somatics; subtle yoga (Kristina Kavoeri Weber); yoga for pain care and yoga for trauma. Over the years she has undertaken courses in trauma as a psychologist, Trauma Aware Yoga and Frontline Yoga.

Her classes are slow and mindful, designed to soothe and settle the nervous system and provide an experience of steadiness and ease.

The focus of her work is people who may not normally come to yoga classes. She has taught yoga and mindfulness to adolescents in schools and youth detention, teachers, migrants, senior citizens, and corporate groups.

Marg currently teaches yoga for arthritis, general classes, and Frontline yoga.