Trauma leaves invisible imprints on the body that can persist long after the traumatic event has passed. For many women who have experienced trauma—whether from physical or sexual violence, medical procedures, accidents, or other sources—the relationship with their own body becomes complicated and fraught. The body that once felt like a safe home may instead feel like unfamiliar territory, a source of pain, or a betrayal. Do you know?? Approximately 78.8% of yoga instructors are women. At Patanjalee Yoga, we recognize this profound disconnection that can occur and have witnessed how yoga, when approached with trauma sensitivity, can create pathways for women to gradually reclaim their bodies and sense of self. Our Online Yoga Classes and specialized Online Yoga Classes For Women are designed with these unique needs in mind.
Understanding Trauma’s Physical Imprint
To appreciate how yoga can support healing, it’s important to first understand how trauma affects the body:
The Nervous System Response
Trauma fundamentally disrupts the nervous system’s functioning. During a traumatic experience, the body’s natural protective responses—fight, flight, or freeze—are activated. For many trauma survivors, these states become chronic patterns rather than temporary responses:
- Hyperarousal: Remaining in a constant state of alertness, with elevated heart rate, muscle tension, and heightened startle response
- Hypoarousal: Experiencing numbness, disconnection, fatigue, or dissociation from physical sensations
- Dysregulation: Swinging unpredictably between these states, unable to find balance
These nervous system patterns persist because the body continues to respond as if the danger were still present, even years after the traumatic event.
Stored Trauma in the Body
Renowned psychiatrist and trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk describes this phenomenon in his book title: “The Body Keeps the Score.” Trauma becomes encoded in:
- Muscular patterns: Chronic tension, particularly in the psoas, jaw, shoulders, and pelvic floor
- Breath patterns: Shallow breathing, breath-holding, or irregular breathing
- Posture: Collapsed chest, rounded shoulders, or rigid spine as unconscious protection
- Movement habits: Limited range of motion, hesitation to occupy space, or difficulty with certain movements
The Mind-Body Separation
Perhaps most significantly, trauma often creates a profound disconnection from the body. Many survivors describe experiences of:
- Feeling as if they are “floating above” their physical form
- Avoiding awareness of physical sensations
- Ignoring the body’s signals and needs
- Experiencing their body as foreign or not belonging to them
This disconnection, while initially a protective mechanism during trauma, becomes an obstacle to full healing and embodied living.
Also read: Yoga For Women: Breaking Down The Myth
How Yoga Creates Pathways to Reclamation
Yoga offers unique tools for healing precisely because it works at the intersection of body, breath, mind, and spirit. Unlike approaches that address only cognitive aspects of trauma or only physical symptoms, yoga offers an integrated path:
Nervous System Regulation
- Conscious breathing practices: Simple techniques like extended exhales activate the parasympathetic “rest and digest” system, counteracting the chronic stress response
- Rhythmic movement: Gentle, repetitive movements synchronized with breath help “reset” dysregulated patterns
- Safe holding: Supported restorative poses signal safety to the nervous system
Research shows that regular yoga practice can measurably reduce markers of stress and inflammation while increasing heart rate variability—a key indicator of nervous system resilience.
Rebuilding Interoception
- Body scanning practices: Systematically bringing awareness to different parts of the body
- Subtle sensation awareness: Noticing the quality of breath, heartbeat, temperature, and other internal experiences
- Choice-making: Practicing responses to discomfort (adjust, breathe, release) rather than ignoring or enduring
As interoception improves, women begin to trust their body’s signals again, recognizing that sensations provide important information rather than threats to be avoided.
Reclaiming Physical Agency
- Choice-based practice: Emphasizing options rather than prescriptions
- Permission to modify: Honoring personal boundaries and needs
- Self-directed movement: Following internal impulses rather than external commands
- Titration: Gradually approaching challenging sensations with resources to manage them
Strength and Boundaries
- Standing poses: Developing literal and figurative groundedness
- Core strengthening: Rebuilding the body’s central support system
- Clear edges: Defining where the body begins and ends in space
- Healthy containment: Creating appropriate muscular engagement rather than collapse or rigidity
Trauma-Sensitive Approaches: What Makes the Difference
Language and Cueing
Words have tremendous power to either support or undermine trauma healing:
- Invitational language: Using “you might notice” or “if you choose” rather than commands
- Present-moment orientation: Focusing on current experience rather than goals or achievements
- Choice-centered cueing: Offering options and emphasizing personal authority
- Neutral body language: Avoiding value judgments about bodies or abilities
These linguistic choices create a container where women can explore movement without triggering feelings of inadequacy or pressure to perform.
Predictability and Transparency
- Clear structure: Providing information about what to expect
- Consistent sequencing: Creating familiarity and reducing vigilance
- Transparent teaching: Explaining the purpose behind practices
- No surprises: Avoiding unexpected adjustments, sounds, or transitions
This predictability helps regulate the nervous system and builds trust in both the practice and the teacher.
Modifications for Triggering Postures
- Hip openers: May release stored emotions or trigger body memories
- Chest openers: Can create vulnerability or exposure
- Prone positions: May trigger feelings of helplessness
- Closed eyes: Often increases dissociation or anxiety
Trauma-sensitive approaches offer modifications, alternatives, and resources for navigating these potentially triggering elements.
Creating Safety in Virtual Spaces
Online Yoga presents both challenges and unique opportunities for trauma healing:
- Privacy: Practicing in one’s own space can enhance safety
- Control: Ability to turn off camera, adjust volume, or step away as needed
- Accessibility: Removing barriers of transportation and public exposure
- Self-regulation tools: Having personal comfort items immediately available
Our Online Yoga Classes are specifically designed to maximize these benefits while mitigating potential challenges of the virtual format.
The Collective Healing Journey: Women Supporting Women
While trauma is deeply personal, healing often flourishes in community. Women-specific yoga spaces offer unique benefits:
Shared Experience
There is profound power in knowing one is not alone. Women-centered yoga communities provide:
- Normalized experiences: Understanding that trauma responses are common, not personal failings
- Witnessed journeys: Seeing others at different stages of healing
- Collective wisdom: Learning from others’ strategies and insights
Cultural Context
Women’s experiences of trauma occur within specific cultural and societal contexts that shape both the trauma itself and the healing journey:
- Body expectations: Navigating societal messages about women’s bodies
- Voice reclamation: Finding physical and metaphorical voice after silencing
- Collective resilience: Drawing strength from women’s historical resilience
Addressing these shared contexts creates more complete healing than approaches that treat trauma as solely individual.
Starting the Journey: Practical First Steps
For women considering yoga as part of their healing journey, these guidelines offer a compassionate starting point:
Begin Where You Are
There is no prerequisite for beginning trauma-sensitive yoga. You need not be flexible, strong, or already comfortable in your body. The only requirement is willingness to show up as you are:
- Start small: Even five minutes of practice creates neural pathways for healing
- Choose accessibility: Select classes specifically designed for beginners or trauma survivors
- Prioritize comfort: Wear clothing that feels safe and comfortable
- Gather resources: Have props, comfort items, or support people available
The Ongoing Journey of Embodiment
Reclaiming one’s body after trauma isn’t a destination but an ongoing journey of coming home to oneself. At Patanjalee Yoga, we honor the courage this journey requires and the unique path each woman follows.
Our Online Yoga Classes provide foundational practices for nervous system regulation and embodied awareness, while our specialized Online Yoga Classes For Women create safe containers for addressing gender-specific aspects of trauma and healing.
