How Do I Know a Trauma-Informed Yoga Class is… Good?

Now that you know what trauma-informed yoga is, let’s look at what to look out for in classes and teachers.

But first, huge kudos to you for seeking out trauma-informed yoga! Whether you are a practitioner looking to support the trauma in your system or a yoga teacher with experience working with trauma, it’s important to understand what works well and what will make people walk out of a class unhappy.

When we experience trauma it is very common to want to isolate, so know that simply reading about trauma-informed yoga is a very big deal. In an effort to support you along this journey, please use this list as a reference to inspire questions you may have for studios or teachers.

Trauma-Informed Yoga Checklist:

Since trauma-informed yoga isn’t a regulated practice (and the term is often misused), it’s a good practice for you as the practitioner to be aware of what works and what to be wary of.

Education. An education in yoga and trauma is essential.

Yoga education: The bare minimum to be a yoga teacher is 200 hours of training. When working with trauma, I recommend looking for someone who has at least 500 hours of yoga training (RYT-500). Another form of certification is yoga therapy, which includes a 1,000-hour training (C-IAYT).
Trauma education: More traditional academic education like a degree in psychology, sociology, social work, or psychiatry are great assets in teaching trauma-informed yoga. Some yoga schools also offer specific trauma training, though the quality varies wildly.

Good questions to ask: What is your yoga and trauma training? What certifications or degrees do you hold? How long have you been teaching trauma-informed yoga? What makes it different from “regular” yoga?

Scope of Practice. If your trauma-informed yoga teacher has an answer for everything, they might be fudging. Great trauma-informed yoga teachers know what their scope of practice is, will encourage you to also seek out a therapist and/or doctor, and will often have referrals to offer.

Note – Unless your teacher has a medical degree, they will not be able to diagnose you with – or suggest you have – any physical or mental disorder (including PTSD). They will also not be able to treat existing conditions but can suggest practices and tools to ease the symptoms.

Good questions to ask: What is your scope of practice? What does trauma-informed yoga mean to you? Do you have any recommendations for types of therapy or therapists?

Boundaries. Good boundaries build trust between teacher and practitioner, while sloppy boundaries can corrode trust. In all likelihood, your trauma-informed yoga teacher has experienced traumas as well. Some teachers will openly share the trauma in their personal history as a way of relating to others, but some will hold a personal boundary and keep the attention on the practitioners. More on boundaries below.

Boundaries aren’t always clear, so listen to your gut instincts for when it’s okay and when it’s too much.

Red flags. Unfortunately, there will always be folks doing work that they have no business doing. While these folks probably have pure intentions and want to help others, they may inadvertently end up being unhelpful without the proper training. Red flags include but are not limited to:

Teachers who talk about themselves more than research, science, or shared human experiences. These people are usually leaning on their personal lived experience rather than education.
Oversharing. If you as the practitioner start getting worried about your teacher, the roles have flipped.
Asking inappropriate questions. Trained professionals will know what questions are helpful to ask and what questions are off-limits.
Teachers who look startled by something you told them about your experience (e.g. how you felt when something happened, your knee-jerk reaction to an event, etc.). If they understand trauma, they will understand the very normal and very wide range of experiences, emotions, and responses to it.
Poor boundaries. This can look like asking students to hang out socially, asking students for advice in a personal matter, oversharing (e.g. talking about dating life, too many details about personal traumas, etc.), connecting with students on social media from a personal account, etc.

Be kind, speak up.
If you find a teacher with red flags, please be kind. Most people are doing their best and have good intentions. However, if you are able to say something directly to the teacher or to a supervisor (like a studio manager), please do so. Blasting someone on social media without having a conversation is never appropriate.

Example: “When you asked me how my brother died it made me really uncomfortable. I wanted to let you know that I’m going to seek out another teacher.”

There are always more teachers out there, and now you have some good vetting questions to ask. When you do meet a teacher, notice how they make you feel. Are you calm? Do you feel anxious around them? Do you feel safe? Are they making eye contact with you? Does it seem like they know what they’re talking about? At the end of the day, the teacher that you feel comfortable with is a great teacher to continue working with.

Photo by Marissa Lewis on Unsplash