Trauma-Informed Yoga: How It Heals Mind and Body

Trauma-Informed Yoga Series - Part 2

Trauma doesn't just affect how we feel—it affects how we function. It changes how our body responds to stress, how our brain processes information, and how we relate to the world around us. But here's the hopeful truth: those patterns can shift. And mindful, trauma-informed yoga is one evidence-supported way to help.

Discover how trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness regulate the nervous system, calm the brain’s stress response, and support emotional healing through breath, movement, and presence.

Yoga and the Dysregulation of Trauma

Trauma dysregulates the autonomic nervous system (ANS)—the system that governs our survival responses. In trauma survivors, the ANS can get stuck in high-alert (fight-or-flight) or low-energy (freeze or shutdown) states. These patterns are not a choice—they’re biological.

Trauma-informed yoga works by helping to rebalance the ANS:

• Activating the Ventral Vagal Complex (VVC) – part of the parasympathetic system responsible for rest, connection, and calm.

• Reducing Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) overdrive – which is responsible for fight-or-flight responses like anxiety, tension, or panic.

• Stabilizing the Dorsal Vagal Complex (DVC) – which, when overly activated, leads to freeze, disconnection, or numbness.

Gentle movement, breath awareness, and grounding practices help return the nervous system to a more regulated rhythm—what we call the window of tolerance.

The Neuroscience of Yoga and Mindfulness

Trauma alters the structure and function of the brain. But studies now show that yoga and mindfulness can reverse some of these changes. A 2019 meta-analysis found that consistent yoga practice positively affects three major brain areas impacted by trauma:

• Prefrontal Cortex: Helps with decision-making, self-awareness, and impulse control. Yoga practitioners show increased cortical thickness here—bringing the "watchtower" of the brain back online.

• Amygdala: Our brain’s threat detector. Trauma can make it overly reactive. Yoga helps reduce its volume and sensitivity.

• Hippocampus: Integrates memory and context. Yoga restores volume here, improving our ability to recognize that a trauma is over.

In short, trauma-informed yoga doesn’t just feel good—it’s rewiring the brain toward safety and connection.

Middle-aged woman practicing mindfulness to interrupt the stress-response from a traumatic trigger - remembering the present moment, with her hands grounded into her heart and breathing.

Mindfulness: Amplifying the Healing Power of Yoga

Mindfulness, or smrti in Sanskrit, means “remembering the present moment.” It’s the backbone of trauma-informed yoga. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness is “paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, without judgment.”

In a trauma-sensitive context, mindfulness helps:

• Bring the prefrontal cortex (the brain’s observer) back online

• Interrupt automatic stress patterns

• Build interoceptive awareness—the ability to feel what's happening inside without overwhelm

• Create space for choice, regulation, and self-compassion

Mindfulness also helps students reconnect with the present moment safely, and to start taking care of what’s actually happening now—not what happened in the past.

Research shows that combining mindfulness with trauma-informed yoga:

• Increases emotional regulation

• Reduces anxiety and hypervigilance

• Enhances the brain’s capacity to recognize when the danger has passed

Recognizing and Regulating Levels of Arousal

Understanding your nervous system states is key to trauma recovery. In trauma-informed yoga, we help students recognize where they are on the arousal spectrum so they can begin to shift toward regulation.

Arousal State	Nervous System	Experience	Goal
Hyperarousal	SNS	Anxiety, tension, panic	Downshift to calm
Window of Tolerance	VVC	Present, calm, engaged	Sustain and deepen
Hypoarousal	DVC	Numb, foggy, shut down	Gently re-engage

Tools to shift states include:

• Breathwork and grounding

• Restorative movement and postures

• Guided meditation

• Self-massage and mindful presence

The more we learn to identify these states, the more empowered we are to work with them—not against them.

At Yoga with Joy, all offerings in yoga therapeutics and meditation are taught through the lens of trauma sensitivity based on a blend of Joy Zazzera's specialized trauma-centered training and lived experiences.

Essential Elements of a Mindful Trauma-Informed Yoga Class

Not all yoga is trauma-informed, even when it says it is. A class rooted in trauma sensitivity will feel different—it prioritizes safety, regulation, and choice above all.

Here’s what you should expect:

• Clear, invitational language (e.g., “If you’d like…” instead of commands)

• No physical assists unless specifically requested

• Simple, repetitive sequences to build predictability

• Mindful pacing with pauses for interoceptive check-ins

• Multiple options for how to participate—seated, standing, or lying down

• No expectation to “achieve” a pose—the focus is on felt experience

• A fully safe space—free from common triggers like lyrical music, unexpected photography, or public display of students.

You may also hear questions like:

What do you notice in your breath right now? How does your body feel when you slow down? What choice feels kind to you in this moment?

These questions aren’t just filler—they’re an invitation to explore your body and mind with curiosity and care.

Final Thought: Awareness Creates Choice

The most important ingredient in trauma-informed yoga is awareness. As one of my mentors says, you can’t take care of what you don’t know is there. Whether we’re working with trauma, chronic stress, or just the demands of everyday life, mindful yoga helps us notice what’s happening—so we can take better care of it.

In the next part of this series, we’ll explore how to safely introduce trauma-informed yoga into your routine—and how to know if a class or teacher is truly trauma-sensitive.