Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) is an evidence-based yoga program designed for trauma survivors. The 20-hour TCTSY training teaches mental health professionals and yoga teachers how to create a safe, non-judgmental, and empowering space for trauma survivors to practice yoga. TCTSY emphasizes invitational language, choice-making, interoception, empowerment, and trauma-informed modifications.
A local facilitator, who's practised alongside renowned psychiatrist Bressel van der Kolk ("The Body Keeps the Score"), shares how breath and gentle movement can help us process trauma in ways that the spoken word cannot. by Jamie Korf When I experienced the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, I took it out in the gym. [...]
By Esther van der Sande First of all let’s examine what dissociation is, and how can it affect you. Well, dissociation is a perfectly natural process where your mind disconnects from the world around you. In its simplest form, it’s a day dream. That lovely moment where your mind wanders off from the present, [...]
By Esther van der Sande In this short article we would like to stand still by the importance of belonging a human need we all need though not always feel or have been able to create this sense of belonging. What is it …, and what can we do to create a sense of [...]
De Voordelen van Zelfzorg Er zijn veel voordelen verbonden aan het actief deelnemen aan (dagelijkse) zelfzorg oefeningen. Zelfzorg kan uw geestelijke en lichamelijke gezondheid in stand houden of verbeteren en speelt een belangrijke rol in een gezonde en gelukkige levensstijl. Het geeft je de innerlijke kracht om gezond te zijn zodat je de dagelijkse [...]
An eastern bluebird’s rusty orange chest and last remaining leaves are bright pops of color in an early snowstorm. The winter holidays are almost upon us, but it’s not a time that everyone looks forward to, especially if you’re struggling. If you‘re aware of your feelings, however, you might be able to take some [...]
By Bronwen Firth Esther van der Sande is a somatic neuro-psychotherapist (MA), yoga and trauma therapist, TCTSY-facilitator, and a faculty member at the Centre for Trauma and Embodiment at JRI Boston and trainer & supervisor of the Certification Program of TCTSY. As a faculty member of the Yoga Therapy Institute, Esther teaches the ‘Trauma-Informed [...]
I consider myself fortunate. As a somatic psychotherapist I get to work every day, with people I can truly support. People who have suffered complex and developmental trauma, and really need support to find a way through. And what I realised over the years, was that self-care was distinctly lacking not only in those individuals, [...]
New Online Classes with Esther on Monday Evenings (First Online Mixed Class) Esther has started a new online class on Monday evenings, the very first online mixed class. At the moment the participants identify as female, however joining these mixed classes is open to every gender identity, race, and sexual orientation. This makes [...]
The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of practising yoga and its role within processes of healing for adult women with complex trauma histories. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological method, data were analyzed from interviews with 39 women. Results showed that the core meaning of participants' experience of healing through yoga is claiming [...]