Birth Trauma for Yoga Teachers & Therapists
Bringing a trauma-sensitive approach to working with those with challenging birth experiences, miscarriage & still birth.
Book Now:
Challenging & Traumatic Births
Date: Wed 19 May 2021
Time: 1200-1430 BST (UK Time)
Cost: £35
Miscarriage and Stillbirth
Date: Wed 26 May 2021
Time: 1200-1430 BST (UK Time)
Venue: Zoom
Cost: £35
Cost to attend both events: £60
"I really enjoyed this workshop.... I liked Tessa's examples ...Tessa guided some great visualisations ....I left feeling resourced and inspired with plenty of new material to explore in classes." Amba Cooper- The Pelvis in Pregnancy
"I did enjoy it, very much. Many thanks for sharing your experiences and knowledge, and for providing a stimulating forum for discussion." Una Bentley - Biomechanics of Birth
In this workshop, you will learn:
- the prevalence of birth trauma, including for BAME groups, and whether this has increased during the pandemic
- about the current services available for those who've experienced birth trauma
- how the nervous system responds to trauma and triggers
- why the freeze response is sometimes mistaken as consent
- about an introduction to the foundations of trauma-sensitive yoga for this client group
- why as yoga teachers we can offer valuable support for body-based healing and as an adjunct to talking therapies
- to use choice and collaboration in the yoga practices used for anyone with experience of trauma
- about further resources and what the next steps would be.
NB This workshop focuses on supporting the nervous system after trauma. For physical recovery from caesarean please see more about Amy's workshop "C-Section Recovery for Yoga Teachers"
Miscarriage & Stillbirth 26th May
In this workshop, you will learn:
- the prevalence of miscarriage and stillbirth
- about assessing the presentation of and signs of trauma
- from polyvagal theory and how to break the cycle between activation of the sympathetic nervous system (flight/ fight) and freeze
- to reflect on your ability to hold space for someone's emotion and create compassionate boundaries for you and your client
- how to conduct a listening partnership - the importance of witnessing and acknowledging trauma (but knowing our boundaries - we are not offering a talking therapy as yoga teachers)
- how to introduce embodied and needs-led practice
- to consider the postnatal needs of someone who has experienced stillbirth and how to be sensitive to the impact of miscarriage in pregnancy classes
- practices, including centring and utilising the senses
- about further resources and what the next steps would be.
For those who experience a traumatic birth, miscarriage or stillbirth, trauma can have far reaching consequences for their quality of life. There is still a strong narrative that mothers (and partners) should just get on with life because these things happen. Whether someone is coming to a general class and you want to be aware of how to work in a trauma-informed way or you want to offer specific services around birth trauma, these workshops will provide an invaluable introduction.
We often think of trauma with a capital 'T'. However, trauma can also be as a result of a violation of someone's integrity during the prenatal, labour and/or postnatal journey. It might not be labelled as trauma in the usual way that we understand it but be something that didn't feel right and leaves an on-going feeling of not feel safe in your own skin. It's also important to witness and acknowledge these experiences.
As a yoga teacher, you can offer body-based support for processing trauma, which complements talking therapies. By sharing knowledge of how the nervous system functions, you can support someone to notice how their nervous system responds to a trigger, provide simple practices to ground, centre and find stability, and break the cycle that leads to overwhelm and burnout.
The two workshops will be complementary and cover different aspects of the nervous system in relation to birth trauma and how to utilise your existing yoga knowledge in a trauma-sensitive way to support these clients.
The workshops will also provide a space to regulate our own nervous systems in relation to the experiences our yoga clients have had and gain an understanding of vicarious or secondary trauma and compassionate boundaries.
Individual workshop: investment £35; both workshops £60.
About the facilitator - Tessa Sanderson: