Trauma-Informed and Trauma-Responsive Yoga Teaching: A Universal Practice - Paperback

by Catherine Cook-Cottone (Author), Joanne Spence (Author), Shirley Telles (Foreword by)

This essential manual meets the increasing need for yoga teachers to be trauma-informed and trauma-responsive, and aware of how poses, breathwork, and meditation can impact the body. In detailing all aspects of trauma as it relates to yoga teaching, this guide lays a strong foundation in fostering trust and building authentic connections with students safely and confidently.

Yoga teachers will benefit from a number of yoga practices for self-regulation, self-determination, and agency, as well as guidance on polyvagal theory, communication, setting boundaries, and yoga teacher self-care. It also includes a de-escalation protocol for in-session trauma responses and how to cultivate a trauma-informed teaching environment.

Written by an internationally renowned author duo, this is a universal resource for yoga teachers looking to empower themselves and their clients from all demographics and in all settings.

Author Biography

Catherine Cook-Cottone, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist, yoga therapist, and professor at University at Buffalo, SUNY. She has written 10+ books and over 100 research articles and chapters on mindful self-care, yoga, embodiment, self-regulation, eating disorders, and trauma. She is a trauma therapist and conducts trainings internationally on trauma-informed and responsive yoga. In 2018, she was awarded the American Psychological Association's Citizen Psychologist Presidential Citation. She lives in Amherst, NY.

Joanne Spence, D.Min, ERYT-500, C-IAYT is a certified yoga therapist and founder and director of Yoga in Schools. Joanne trains and teaches internationally in a range of settings, including teaching yoga in prisons, hospitals, schools, churches, and sometimes on street corners. She has more than thirty-five years of clinical experience as a mental health professional and twenty-plus years as a teacher and practitioner of yoga. She is the author of two books and book chapters. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA.