Trauma Informed Yoga
with Ellie GraceA training for yoga teachers, therapists and movement professionals who want to hold space for those moving through stress, grief, trauma and burnout. This 3-day course is grounded in current trauma science, embodied awareness, and the practical skill of teaching with sensitivity and care.
Overview
Holding space for healing
This is a training for teachers who want to meet their students where they are, in bodies that hold story, in nervous systems shaped by experience, in lives touched by difficulty.
Over six weeks, you'll move through the science of trauma, the evidence base for yoga as a healing practice, and the methodology of teaching with care. Pre–recorded lectures build your scientific foundation before the live sessions begin; from there, the work is interactive with small–group teaching practice, group discussion, and the steady building of confidence to confidently teach trauma–impacted students.
You'll explore polyvagal theory and the architecture of the nervous system, learn what to teach and also what not to. The course will supprot you to develop the therapeutic presence that makes a trauma–informed class genuinely safe. The work is rigorous and tender in equal measure.
Take this as a stand–alone CPD or count it toward your 300–Hour Yoga Teacher Training.
Trauma is multi–layered and not always noticeable – and your approach to language, pacing and touch as a teacher can have a profound impact
Who is this course for?
What's included?
Course Dates
Good to know
- Free 30–minute introductory video available on registering interest
- Hours count towards 300–hour certification or CPD hours
- Recommended preparation: read The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.
- Prefer a different payment plan? Pay your deposit and email us to arrange. Full payment must be received before the course starts.
- Select bank transfer (BACS) at checkout — it helps us keep course fees down by lowering card processing charges.
- Bursary available: one 50% bursary place is offered each year. Learn more →
- FAQs Learn more →
- T&Cs Learn more →
Register Interest View Dates
After this training, you will be a teacher with
a working understanding of trauma science including polyvagal theory, the HPA axis, the architecture of the nervous system, as well as the language to name what you see in the room.
confidence in the evidence base for yoga as a tool for healing, knowing which practices serve trauma–impacted students, and which to leave aside.
a therapeutic presence, practised in voice, pacing, transitions, cues, consent and the small choices that make a class feel genuinely safe.
who can hold the work and themselves, with boundaries, self–care, and the skills to minimise burnout and vicarious trauma.
What Our Students Say
What our students say
"I felt a spark deeply ignite inside as we engaged in the material on this course. Ellie delivered the information in a loving and compassionate way, allowing us to pause and reflect or ask questions as they organically came up. Her knowledge and experience is what brings this course alive, and the support of the group helps to make this a really special learning journey."
Laura V, Trauma Informed Yoga Trainee"There couldn't have been someone better to lead the course than Ellie. I learned so much from her and now feel much better equipped to bring yoga to a wide range of people."
Trauma Informed Yoga Trainee"Ellie was fantastic – honest, grounded and clearly an expert in her field, yet extremely approachable too. The course content included a great balance between modern scientific research and traditional yoga philosophy, plus the practical teaching methodology."
Trauma Informed Yoga Trainee"What a truly inspiring course delivered by a truly inspiring teacher. Ellie held the space so beautifully. The content of the course I feel is essential for every yoga teacher."
Trauma Informed Yoga Trainee"The trauma–informed yoga training with Ellie was such a special experience. She brings so much warmth and enthusiasm to her teaching and has a knack for making overwhelming topics feel accessible. I loved that she included modules for self–care as yoga teachers – topics that aren't spoken about nearly enough."
Laura, Trauma Informed Yoga Trainee"Ellie is a gifted teacher with an ability to guide through such an expansive topic with depth and grace. Her training, teaching and expertise in this field has been deeply impactful and insightful. A fascinating course that felt like connecting the dots to see the picture that was right there in front of you."
Carla, Trauma Informed Yoga TraineeYour Teacher
Your teacher Ellie Grace
A scholar as much as a practitioner, Ellie has spent more than a decade bringing yoga into spaces where it is most needed – with medical students, health clinics, veterans’ programmes and the wider community. Her work weaves together neuroscience, yoga philosophy and somatic movement with her own lived experience, creating teaching that is both deeply informed and quietly transformative.
Gallery
Course details
- The science of trauma and how the body responds to traumatic experience
- Guest lecturer material
- 1–hour pre–recorded video to watch before the course begins
- Group introductions
- Group practice
- Expectations
- Setting intentions
- The mind–body connection, the nervous system, the HPA axis and polyvagal theory
- Emotional and psychological symptoms – the effects of trauma on voice, health, identity, emotions and relationships
- The architecture of the brain and how trauma restructures it
- The evolution of human brain development
- Recognising trauma and the range of traumatic responses in your students
- The importance of social connection and safety in creating conditions for healing
- Intergenerational trauma, epigenetics and psychoneuroimmunology in human development
- East–West approaches to the body
- The aims of recovery from trauma
- How yoga supports regulation, resourcefulness and resilience
- Proprioception, exteroception and interoception in the development of inner knowing
- Prioritising self–awareness and compassion over physical form
- Cultivating presence, tolerance and resilience
- The effects of yoga on the brain
- The evidence base for how and why yoga supports the healing of trauma
- Post–traumatic growth
- The purpose of trauma–informed yoga
- Which practices and styles to teach – and which not to
- The difference between a regular yoga class and a therapeutic, trauma–informed one
- The importance of purpose and intention in your classes
- Responding effectively to different trauma responses
- Choice and agency for your students
- Approaches to breathwork
- Providing support and accountability
- Layout, lighting and demonstrations
- Setting expectations for your students
- Theming your classes
- Creating a therapeutic presence – voice, tone, sound, pacing, transitions, cues, touch, consent, eye contact and your own movement
- Postures to avoid
- Adapting your teaching for 1:1 clients and groups
- Your role and its limitations
- Setting boundaries that protect you and your students
- How trauma can create attachment wounds that inform how you lead
- Recognising archetypes in the student–teacher relationship
- Self–regulation, minimising burnout and vicarious trauma
- Balancing productivity and rest
- Self–care recommendations
- Valuing yourself and the work
- Presenting yourself and managing the space in higher–risk settings
- Recommended preparation: read The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
- Access to a 1–hour pre–recorded video before the live training begins
- Further guest–lecturer videos
- 2–3 hours of additional reading
- Pair with a study buddy for a further 2 hours of teaching practice, at a mutually agreed time
- 25 hours CPD hours or can count towards 300–Hour Yoga Teacher Training
Course Dates
Course dates & schedule
This course will run again
Can't make the dates? This training runs twice a year, once in studio and once livestream. Here's what's next on the calendar.
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