October 1–6, 2025 | 5 Days, 5 Nights |
35-Hour Continuing Education Accredited Program
This 5-day Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher Training is designed for yoga teachers and mental health professionals who wish to deepen their understanding of trauma and integrate sensitive, body-based practices into their work. With a maximum of 10 participants, this course ensures a close-knit, focused experience. Upon completion of the course, each participant will receive a certificate for 35 hours continuing education accredited by Yoga Alliance.
Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score, recognizes yoga as a vital, evidence-based tool for trauma recovery. This training explores how trauma affects the body and mind, and how yoga can support healing through compassionate, informed teaching. You’ll leave equipped to adapt your classes or practice to better serve those impacted by trauma, grounded in both science and yoga’s timeless wisdom.
Note: This course is intended for professionals enhancing their skills, not as a personal healing retreat for those experiencing trauma.
Course Overview
This 35-hour program combines theoretical insights with practical application, offering a comprehensive foundation in trauma-informed yoga.
Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TSY), rooted in hatha yoga, offers a gentle way to address trauma’s lingering effects. As Emerson and Hopper describe in Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga (2011), it emphasizes safety and self-awareness, empowering individuals to reconnect with their bodies. At AyurYoga Ashram, we weave this approach with traditional yoga philosophy, providing a balanced, authentic foundation for your teaching.
Theoretical Foundations
- Understanding trauma and its mental and physical effects
- Neuroscience of trauma and brain anatomy
- The ‘Window of Tolerance’ framework
- Polyvagal Theory and the central nervous system
- How trauma is stored in the body
Yoga Philosophy and Trauma Informed Yoga
- Applying Samkhya philosophy to trauma
- Engaging the Annamaya Kosha (physical body)
- Exploring samskaras and vasanas in the context of trauma
- Connecting Polyvagal Theory with the gunas
Principles of Trauma Informed Yoga Teaching
- Supporting autonomy and choice
- Creating a safe, welcoming space
- Using invitational, non-directive language
- Developing interoception (body awareness)
- Encouraging effective, self-directed action
Practical Trauma Informed Yoga Workshop
- Structuring trauma-sensitive classes
- Techniques in asana, pranayama, meditation, and relaxation
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion, you will:
- Earn 35 hours of continuing education, accredited by Yoga Alliance
- Adapt your teaching to be more trauma-informed
- Reflect on your own experiences through a trauma lens
- Gain practical tools to address dissociation and dysregulation
- Respond to challenging student behaviors with empathy and professionalism
This training offers a meaningful step forward in your professional journey, enhancing your ability to support others with sensitivity and skill.
Who This Course Is For
- Yoga teachers seeking to integrate trauma-informed practices
- Mental health professionals interested in body-based approaches to trauma care
Limited to just 10 participants, the course provides a rare opportunity for focused learning. It is not a therapeutic program for individuals seeking personal trauma recovery but a training for those committed to helping others. Spaces are allocated first-come, first-serve.
Daily Schedule
- 6:00 – 6:30 AM – Morning Meditation
- 6:30 – 7:00 AM – Hot Lemon Ginger Drink
- 7:00 – 9:00 AM – Guided Yoga and Pranayama Practice
- 9:00 – 10:00 AM – Brunch
- 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM – Trauma Informed Yoga Theory
- 1:00 – 2:00 PM – Lunch
- 2:30 – 3:30 PM – Sharing Circle (offered on 2–3 days)
- 4:30 – 6:30 PM – Trauma Informed Yoga Workshop
When to Arrive/Depart
Arrive on the first day by 10 am. Orientation will be at 2 pm and a yoga class will be offered at 5 pm. All meals included.
Depart on the last day by 10 am. Breakfast is included.
Meet Your Lead Teacher: Kali Buttrick, Therapist
Kali Buttrick brings a wealth of experience and a deeply personal perspective to this training. As a therapist specialized in trauma, Kali’s approach centers on reconnecting with the body and using nature as a healing ally. Her journey began with significant childhood trauma, intensified by psychiatric interventions, which sparked a lifelong commitment to exploring innovative paths to recovery. This personal experience fuels her authentic, relatable teaching style.
A sought-after trainer and speaker, Kali shares her expertise with mental health professionals and clinical settings worldwide. She collaborates with The Natural Psychiatrist in Greenwich, London, where she researches, designs, and delivers workshops on mental health and wellbeing.
Kali’s connection to AyurYoga Eco-Ashram began in 2022, where she experienced a profound shift in her understanding of somatic healing. Supported by the ashram’s nurturing community and guided by her yoga teacher Marcela, she found that yoga allowed her to release trauma held in her body – a breakthrough that went beyond intellectual processing. This transformative moment inspires her to lead this course, offering you the same depth of insight and care she discovered here.
With only 10 spots available, this course offers a unique chance to learn in a small, dedicated group under Kali’s guidance. If this resonates with your professional path, we invite you to join us. Spaces are limited and filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Reserve your spot from the Book Now page.