What is Trauma?
Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.. Jean Paul Sartre
Trauma effects large scale of the society and literally rewires the brain. So it often leaves us with mental or physical problems. Trauma studies are personally important for me in my journey. Unfortunately I witness that trauma is commonly misunderstand and mistreat in professional care. Trauma lodges in the body, so as a teacher working on movement and creativity I found out that understanding trauma makes a big difference in my practices.
Since 2008 I am studying on psychological trauma, especially on interpersonal trauma. I convinced that basic training in the biology, anatomy, and physiology of trauma phenomena should be a mandatory part of movement teaching. Without an understanding of how the body itself is altered by trauma, teachers and carers may be unintentionally doing harm.
My personal teaching approach in yoga and movement practices is a combination variety of disciplines:
As a theatre professional my education was already included mindful physical trainings, anatomy, mythology and philosophy.
As a consecutive translator I had a change to work with experts on psychiatry, physiotherapy, and neuroscience. I attend Family Constellation Therapist Training for 3 years, unfortunately I had to drop in my senior year due to relocation in USA.
I had the privilege to attend trainings lectured by Bessel van der Kolk The Body Keeps Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma & Introduction to Trauma Sensitive Yoga lectured by E-RYT David Emerson & E-RYT, LMHC Jennifer Turner and Trauma for Performing Artists lectured by Peter Levine and Betsy Polatin. Applied Polyvagal Theory in Therapeutic Yoga lectured by Dr Arielle Schwartz and Dr Stephen Porges. I have ongoing trainings related with trauma and body like Neurosystemics CARE training.
All these experiences guide me to restructure my own way of teaching yoga and movement.
With my colleagues and long last friends Ela Tüner (E-RYT 500) and senior physiotherapist Görkem Dizdar (E-RYT 200 ) we created an approach called Neuro – Developmental Yoga. This approach is based on scientific and universal understanding of movement and specifically designed for physiotherapists and mental health professionals.
Trauma-Informed Educational Workshops
- Trauma-Informed Movement & Yoga
- Trauma studies for performing artists
- Trauma-Informed care
- Care for Careers
- Trauma-Informed movement practices & acting
- Attachment Theory, ACE, and Trauma Informed parenting
- Trauma-Informed schools
Trauma-Informed Movement and Yoga
My personal approach to yoga is a combination of my movement experience and a variety of disciplines: My higher education as a theater professional included bodywork, anatomy, mythology, and philosophy. As a consecutive translator, translating mental health, physiotherapy, and neuroscience specialists in their training has greatly contributed to my understanding of movement.
In my yoga trainings, I blend different movement approaches such as Feldenkreis, Alexander, Bartenieff and practices aimed at increasing and strengthening the nervous system flexibility such as Trauma Knowledgeable Yoga, Yoga, and Applied Polyvagal Theory, and Somatic Release.
“The past lives within us. Our past lives within us, often in ways we are unaware of. All of the times we’ve been left alone, shouted at, hurt, neglected, abused, misunderstood, challenged, or otherwise traumatized leave scars on our bodies that can last for years and decades.
The question is not whether these memories exist in us, but how they live in us.”
– Peter Levine