Trauma Sensitive Yoga Project, LLC

06/01/2026

This year in our Gentle Yoga class, we’ve been talking about the Yamas and the Niyamas. The Yamas are ways of interacting with the world, while the Niyamas are ways of interacting with ourselves. We’ve finished talking about the Yamas in May and in June, we’ll start talking about our first Niyama, Saucha, which is often translated as cleanliness.

Through simplicity and continual refinement (Saucha), the body, thoughts, and emotions become clear reflections of the self within. Saucha reveals our joyful nature and the yearning for knowing the self blossoms. - Nischala Joy Devi

It isn’t just referring to hygiene, although cleanliness of one’s surroundings and one’s own body is a part of it. It is also referring to cleanliness or purity of mind, emotions, and energy, which can be achieved through breathing practices, meditation, and, of course, yoga. The phrase mentioned above, continual refinement, reflects the ongoing nature of this. It is something we must practice– again and again. We shower, go through our day, gather some dirt, oil, and sweat, and the next day, we must do it again. We clean our clothes and homes and after some time, they get dirty and we must do it again. But we get better at it. I am reminded of little toddlers and kids, who get food all over their faces, high chairs, and floors before they slowly learn how to get the food into their mouths and keep it over their plates. We get better at things like cooking, so we aren’t making such a mess as we go along. Our practices become refined.

This is a practice that gets refined with our mind, emotions, and energy as well. We have a negativity bias, which may be worsened by who or what we surround ourselves with. We have to choose to learn to cultivate a more positive mindset through gratitude or other practices that help us achieve this. This doesn’t mean we don’t or shouldn’t experience “negative” emotions, but eventually we learn how to respond instead of react. This, too, is something that gets refined. It takes time, and we mess up. But we come back – again and again. Our energy might be more activated, or maybe more immobilized, but we can shift into a state of balance with practices that can cultivate equanimity. It is continual refinement, a lifelong practice.

What is Gentle Yoga? Each monthly series we practice a different breathing technique, movement sequence (physical postures/asana), and meditation or relaxation technique. This is a beginner-friendly, trauma-informed series that focuses on grounding and centering in the body. This practice uses th...

06/01/2026

Yoga meets us where we're at and brings us back into a state of balance, and it does this without expensive equipment, medication, or other substances.

If you are in any type of recovery, or are looking for practices to support your well-being, I hope you will join us for our monthly Yoga for Wellness session at Blue Line Dr. in Athens.

05/11/2026

We offer choice by using invitational language, normalizing all options, offering clear structure (with freedom within), inviting sensory awareness, encouraging the invitation to notice, modeling permission, and acknowledging capacity.

05/04/2026

When our nervous system is regulated, we're in an optimal state of arousal. We feel safe, connected, relaxed, and engaged. Trauma narrows this window. We spend more time feeling immobilized and depressed, or, we spend more time feeling stressed, anxious, or fearful.

Yoga and somatic practices widen this window. When we spend more time engaging in practices are grounding, centering, and stabilizing, we spend more time in our optimal state of arousal.

The more we practice being in this state, the wider this window gets. A wider window means we strengthen our capacity to handle stress and a develop a greater ability to come back into a regulated state after something activates us.

05/01/2026

05/01/2026

We’ll be talking about Aparigraha in our Gentle Yoga class this month. Aparigraha refers to the concept of non-possessiveness, non-greed, and non-attachment. Aparigraha can be translated to "not taking more than one needs." It’s not the thing itself that can cause a problem; it’s our relationship to it. We can get rid of something in the physical sense, but if we’re still holding on to it on a mental or emotional level, then we’re still attached to it. Therefore, this is often taught in terms of letting go. It teaches that there’s nothing external that we need to hold on to, as we are already whole and complete as we are.

What is Gentle Yoga? Each monthly series we practice a different breathing technique, movement sequence (physical postures/asana), and meditation or relaxation technique. This is a beginner-friendly, trauma-informed series that focuses on grounding and centering in the body. This practice uses th...

04/27/2026

I love this quote. Treatment implies that there is a cure, or that there is some pill you can take to "fix" trauma, or that there is some sort of one-size-fits-all treatment regimen.

There isn't.

Healing happens throughout a person's lifetime and it looks different for everyone. I think healing itself is a practice. We're all learning for ourselves what that looks and feels like.

04/21/2026

Trauma Sensitive Yoga invites the participant to listen to what their own body needs. We learn to listen to and feel our sensations so that we can respond in a way that feels useful to us. When we practice this on the mat, we become better able to practice this off the mat and into the world as well. We learn how to trust our body's signals and how to reconnect to our intuition. In this way, we regain a sense of agency and a locus of control.

04/06/2026

In our Gentle Yoga class in April, we’ll be discussing Brahmacharya, which is often interpreted as “abstinence,” but it’s an invitation to live a balanced life and to do everything we want in moderation. It encourages us to use our energy toward growth, cultivating self-discipline and equanimity in our physical, mental, and emotional lives. It’s a practice that continuously unfolds, shaped by our own reflections and changing needs.

We'd love to have you join us!
https://www.tsyproject.com/offerings/gentle-yoga-9de588ef-99de-45e6-a80c-d7e5de9f4193

03/02/2026

This month in our Gentle Yoga class, we’ll be talking about Asteya, which is often translated to “non-stealing,” but another way of understanding it is to abide in our innate sense of abundance with a generous heart and gratitude for what we have already. It teaches us that we have no need to take from anyone else, because we are already full and complete as we are. This ethical principle invites us not to limit ourselves to only respecting other people’s material possessions, but to honor their time and value their needs and rights as well. For example, “not stealing” would encompass being on time for appointments so that you are not stealing another person's time. It would involve being generous with your time and attention so that when you are having a conversation with someone, you are being fully present and available for them. At its core, it invites us to live our lives from a place that feels plentiful, thankful, and kind.

What is Gentle Yoga? Each monthly series we practice a different breathing technique, movement sequence (physical postures/asana), and meditation or relaxation technique. This is a beginner-friendly, trauma-informed series that focuses on grounding and centering in the body. This practice uses t...