Victoria Downs

Trauma Informed Yoga Instructor offering group classes as well as private sessions

Very simply, trauma affects your WHOLE mind-body system. Instead of seeing trauma as a specific mental state (eg. flashbacks), Trauma Informed Yoga utilizes body-based therapeutic methods that address the entire person: mind/body/spirit.

One of the world's foremost researchers and expert on traumatic stress, Bessel van der Kolk, MD explains "Trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body. Unresolved trauma rewires the brain and leaves its effects in our bodies. The trauma is stored in our body and can present in a myriad of ways: everything from chronic pain, gastrointestinal issues, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders to name a few.

Trauma results from an event that you were unable to escape. The fight or flight response floods our body with hormones to help us get away from danger. Afterwards, these hormones subside. Trauma occurs when we are not able to get away. Trauma survivors are often stuck in a stress-based fear response that was created during the actual trauma. Examples of traumatic events are: physical/sexual/emotional abuse, domestic violence, natural disasters (floods, fires, etc), unexpected or violent death of someone close, a car accidentswar (terrorism, refugee), neighborhood violence, racial oppression, major surgery/life-threatening illness.

What are the health benefits?

1. It can improve the mind-body connection.
2. It calms the nervous system.
3. It emphasizes being aware in the present moment.
4. It helps reclaim a sense of control which is often lost due to the traumatic experience.

Victoria completed Bridging Mind and Body's 40 hour Trauma Informed Yoga Instructor course in the fall of 2020.