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Lesson 5: Trauma-Informed Principles: Empowerment

gabrielle 17 June 2024

The fourth principle explores creating opportunities and the building of resources to empower the individual.

“I only had one goal, and that was to attend and to do the best that I could on the day, that’s my goal. My life tends to be so challenged and so screwed that that is the one goal I can give myself and I can actually deliver on it.” – DV Survivor

Encouraging participants to make decisions every step of the way can help reignite a sense of control over self and life: which posture to start in, when to rest, which option to take in different poses, how many breaths to stay for.  This helps participants – notably trauma survivors – to feel back in control of their mind and body.

Knowledge is power: it can be very effective to provide information on the purpose of the specific yoga tools used, for example, a longer exhale breath can help soothe the nervous system and help improve heart rate variability.

The yoga program can gradually build upon previous weeks with teachers adding to the sequences to inspire a sense of achievement over the course of the program.  Yoga can facilitate change by allowing participants to experience a recurring process of challenge and progress in a safe environment. This enables a sense of agency to be developed: very beneficial for people recovering from trauma and for people feeling vulnerable or facing challenges.

Our work with domestic violence survivors – and all the research – demonstrates that bringing together women with a shared experience can be very powerful. 

Language to promote empowerment:

DisempoweringEmpowering
I need you to all meet me in tadasana now.Tune into the innate wisdom of your body and release when ready.
See if you can do another 3 repetitions.You are the expert of your own body.
Come into down dog and maybe your heels reach the floor behind you.Make a choice that honours where you are at today.
Aim to reach your toes.Move within your range of comfort.
Stay for 10 breaths.Come out of the posture whenever your body asks you to.
We’re going to flow down to the floor now.Choose a way to come down to the floor.
(Contributed by Natalie Haider, inspired by “Connecting”, Lucy Karnani & Jill Danks, 2018)

Goal: Empower people by inviting choice and control.