Full Course Description

Neuroscience & Yoga in the Treatment of Trauma

Program Information

Objectives

Analyze the neuroscience research regarding the impact of trauma on the brain and nervous system as it relates to clinical treatment.
Analyze the “window of tolerance” and how to use it to inform treatment planning and interventions.
Provide psychoeducation to clients regarding the specific characteristics of yoga that help reduce symptoms of trauma.
Utilize yoga techniques to help improve clinical outcomes related to specific diagnosis.
Demonstrate specific yoga techniques to use with clients in individual and group treatment settings.
Teach clients about the clinical benefits, limitations and potential risks of utilizing yoga techniques in a clinical setting.

Outline

Neuroscience of Trauma

How the brain and nervous system are affected during trauma
Window of tolerance
Brain structures implicated in PTSD
Storage of traumatic vs. normal memories in the brain
Inability to process

What Makes Yoga Suitable for Trauma Survivors?

Brief introduction to yoga
Research findings and limitations
What yoga CAN and CANNOT accomplish in the treatment of trauma
Importance of focusing on the present moment
Increase the ability to tolerate pain and discomfort
Calm down the amygdala and sympathetic nervous system
Shift brain from negative bias to positive focus

Specific Yoga Techniques and Clinical Applications (with Lab)

Breath of Joy
Moving Warrior poses
Simple vinyasa (with visualization)
Meditation with mantra
Legs up the wall
Using yoga in individual treatment
Using yoga in group treatment
Limitations and potential risks

Educating Clients

Importance of personal yoga practice
Use neuroscience knowledge to explain the impact of trauma and usefulness of yoga
Referrals to appropriate classes
Teach one skill and encourage practicing it

Target Audience

Counselors, Psychotherapists, Social Workers, Case Managers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Other Mental Health Professionals, Occupational Therapists & Occupational Therapy Assistants

Copyright : 08/09/2018

Bringing Trauma-Informed Yoga into Mental Health Clinical Practice

Program Information

Objectives

Evaluate ways that autonomic nervous system dysregulation contributes to PTSD symptoms.
Determine symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder which can be decreased through a trauma-sensitive yoga practice.
Practice trauma-informed chair yoga postures for use in the individual or group psychotherapy session.
Determine the benefits of bringing yogic deep relaxation into the therapy session.
Utilize yogic strategies to help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in clients.
Apply applications of chair yoga and three-part deep breathing practices into your clinical work, using scripts and practice sessions.

Outline

The Yoga Tradition and Neuropsychology

Yoga, Patanjali and MIR’s
The importance of heart rate variability (HRV)

Embodied Psychotherapy

The Triune Brain: left out of traditional psychotherapy?
Regulating the brain’s trauma center
Tracking body sensation and breathing deeply
A frame of reference from Somatic Psychotherapy
Neuroplasticity and interpersonal neurobiology

Apply Trauma-Informed Yoga Postures in the Psychotherapy Session for PTSD, Anxiety and Depression

The evidence in evidence-based yoga practice
Yoga and polarities
Guided script for chair yoga:
- 5 trauma-informed chair yoga postures
- Guiding and integrating the poses into your existing treatment modality (EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, etc.)
Chair trauma-yoga:
- Tracking body sensation
- Gaining self-mastery
- Increasing self-regulation
- Expanding present-moment awareness
Experience a chair yoga warm up and posture sequence

Yoga and the Breath

Respiration and the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Breathing techniques to regulate the ANS and calm symptoms of trauma, anxiety and depression
Experience the three-part deep breath and script

Structure of the Embodied Psychotherapy Session or Group

Evaluating the client
Opening the session
Healing polarities:
- Inner/outer
- Sympathetic/parasympathetic activation
- Sensing/action
- Cognitive/somatic
Healthy symptoms of trauma discharge
Key points in making referrals to yoga classes

Therapeutic Value of Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep)

The benefits of sleeping while awake
Varieties of Yoga Nidra
Guided experience of Satchidananda’s Yoga Nidra
Discussion of Yoga Nidra script

Using Meditation

The relaxation response
Mindfulness meditation: open-focused meditation
A guided experience of both styles of meditation
The benefits of meditation in the trauma psychotherapy session

Case Study

Target Audience

Integrating Yoga Skills in Trauma Treatment: Mind-Body Interventions, Attachment, Mood & Self-Regulation

Program Information

Target Audience

Counselors, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Social Workers, Case Managers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Other Mental Health Professionals, Occupational Therapists & Occupational Therapy Assistants

Outline

Stages of trauma treatment
- A mind/body model
- Building skills: integrating yoga effectively at each stage
Emotional regulation through breath, movement, and imagery:

How yoga builds self-regulation – existing evidence and future directions
Yogic tools for self-regulation:
- Grounding postures
  - Warrior- standing and chair adaptations
- A gradual awakening from numbness
  - Opening the heart
- Sound & movement with breath – The rolling Om
- Create a safe internal haven, resetting from rumination
  - Bhramari – enhancing security through breath and mudra
  - Pratipaksha bhavana – imaging the opposite
  - Reversing cognitive trends through posture
Titrating exposure to inner sensations
- Individualizing the body scan
- RAIN – four steps for building interoceptive awareness
Deepening inner resources: establishing a secure attachment to the self:

Addressing the challenge of developmental trauma

The neurobiology of attachment ruptures

Replicating the conditions for secure attachment

Inner resource imagery for grounding and self-regulation

Postures for establishing secure grounding

Stemming the backdraft: Applying yogic strategies for self-soothing and self-assurance:
- Opening the heart to hold polarities – Anjali mudra
- So-Hum Meditation with movement – Connecting with the secure self
- Cultivating compassion through yogic approaches
  - Evidence linking yoga with compassion
  - Compassionate breathing meditation
  - A gentle yoga sequence for self-compassion

Transforming limiting beliefs through focusing on intentions and goals
- A six-step, embodied exploration for releasing limiting beliefs, moving forward with goals
  - Challenge the “It’s not going to happen” belief
  - Reframe step by step goal progression
- Identify and solidify meaningful goals through a visual meditation
  - Mandalas – the science and the application
    - Benefits of visual meditations
    - Therapist questioning to decode personal symbolism
    - Integrating the mandala experience through writing
Yogic deep relaxation – building the capacity for to reset
- Retraining the sympathetic nervous system through yogic deep relaxation
  - How deep relaxation works – the evidence
  - Relaxing deeply in fifteen minutes or less

Objectives

Utilize yogic practices as a gentle exposure strategy for addressing emotional numbing, triggering, and the overactivated sympathetic nervous system to improve trauma treatment outcomes.
Utilize specific contemplative based interventions to improve mood, strengthen emotional regulation, and build secure attachment.
Apply simple, effective movement and breath strategies to help clients to replace self-limiting beliefs with a focus on values based goals.