Trauma-informed yoga isn't a style of yoga — it's a way of teaching. It draws on the framework developed by the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts (now part of the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at JRI) and translates what we know about trauma and the nervous system into how a class is held. Five core principles sit at the centre of this approach.
Principle 01
Choice
Every shape, every breath, every prop is an option — not an instruction. Participants are continually invited to choose what is right for their body in this moment, including the choice to opt out.
For someone whose history has involved having choice taken away, simply being given a real, ongoing choice is itself a regulating experience.
Principle 02
Agency
Agency is the felt sense of being the author of your own experience. Trauma-informed yoga supports agency by handing decisions back to the practitioner: where to place a blanket, when to rest, how deep to go, when to stop.
The teacher facilitates; the practitioner leads. Even small acts of agency in a yoga class — “I'll bend my knee”, “I'll keep my eyes open” — can rebuild a sense of authorship in the body over time.
Principle 03
Invitational Language
Language is the most direct tool a teacher has. Trauma-informed yoga uses invitational cues — “if you'd like”, “you might”, “when you're ready” — instead of commands.
This isn't softness for its own sake. It's a way of keeping the practitioner inside the decision, rather than asking them to obey a voice from the front of the room.
Principle 04
Shared Authentic Experience
The teacher practises alongside the group rather than performing for it. There is no demonstration of the “correct” pose, no scanning for who is doing it “right”.
This shared, horizontal way of being in the room lowers the power differential and removes the spotlight, which can be especially important for people who have felt watched, judged, or unsafe in their bodies.
Principle 05
Non-Coercion
Nothing in a trauma-informed class is pushed. There are no adjustments, no hands-on assists, no pressure to “try the full expression”. Sensation is information, not a target.
Non-coercion respects that the body has its own pacing for what it is ready to feel — and that pacing is the practitioner's to set.
Why these principles matter
Together, these five principles create a yoga space that prioritises safety, choice, and reconnection with the body — rather than performance or achievement. For people living with the impacts of trauma, that shift can be the difference between a practice that overwhelms and a practice that helps them come home to themselves.
If you'd like to experience a trauma-informed practice, you can read about TC-TSY at The Quiet Body or view current offerings.