You can live an empowered life after trauma.
Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) is an adjunctive treatment for PTSD and/or complex trauma. It can help you heal from your past wounds and reconnect with your body so you can:
√ More easily make healthy choices in your life
√ Feel more at ease in your body
√ Experience greater acceptance of yourself and your body
√ Increase your connection to self and others
Choice-Making
Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga is an opportunity for you to be in complete control of your body in the present moment. You are welcome to make choices and notice feelings in your body on your own terms.
Interoception
You may decide to notice feelings or sensations in your body during this practice. By noticing your body and beginning to feel sensations in your body you can actually rewire your brain to believe in your essential
worthiness.
Safe Space
To help create a safe environment for this practice, you will be in your own space on the mat and class size will be limited. When in person, Jen will not move around the room and there will be no physical assists or adjustments.
Shared Experience
Jen will engage in the practice with you, offering a shared experience of movement and choice. This helps build the ability to connect with and trust others.
Adjunctive, Evidence-Based Treatment for Complex Trauma
TCTSY is a body-based modality that has been proven* as an effective adjunctive treatment for psychological trauma. It is an opportunity for you to be in complete control of your body in the present moment. You are welcome to make choices and notice feelings in your body.The intent of this practice is to engage the neural networks in the brain impacted by trauma. Through the process of interoception, feeling and moving the body, we can reconnect the damaged neural networks. Interoception is a learn-able skill we can practice together to help you heal.
* TCTSY is a SAMHSA approved, evidenced-based protocol for treating PTSD and Complex Trauma developed by leading researchers in the field of trauma and psychology. TCTSY is based on clinical trials performed at the Trauma Center at JRI in Brookline, Massachusetts by psychiatrist and leading trauma researcher Dr. Bessel van der Kolk and yoga teacher David Emerson. Click here for access to the research of and clinical trials for TCTSY.
Is This Class a Fit for You?
If you have ever felt empty, disconnectedness, or a sense of hopelessness in relationship to your body, you are not alone and it doesn't mean anything is wrong with you. These feelings may be due to the impact past trauma has had on your body.
As a result of traumatic life events, the parts that connect your brain and your body may have become disrupted.
Because of this, your body may tend to numb or shut down sometimes making it scary or challenging to feel.
You may feel worthless or that your life is a shell of what you hoped it would be.
You may feel overwhelmed with a variety of issues including anxiety, depression, numbing, or seemingly unexplainable body aches and pains (to name a few).
There is a way to shift this!
This class is meant for anyone who self-identifies as a woman having experienced trauma. Whether you have experienced physical, verbal, or sexual abuse or neglect, TCTSY can help you integrate the fragmented parts of yourself to help you feel more whole and at ease in your body. These small group sessions are designed to help foster a sense of safety creating space for healing.
This class is slow-paced and offers basic yoga shapes, starting with some basic seated movement followed by common standing yoga forms and then seated shapes, ending with time for rest. No prior yoga experience is required. Since TCTSY is all about choice, a number of options are given for each shape and you are also welcome to choose your own.
Note that since this is an adjunctive treatment for trauma, the focus is more on the experience than on the yoga itself, which may be different from other yoga experiences you have had.
Payment Plan Possibilities
Choose Your
Payment Plan
You are welcome to choose to pay for the entire ten week series in one payment at a discount or can pay over three months. You have a choice.
10 week series
Single Payment Option
$97
Ten weekly one hour LIVE virtual Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga classes with Jen
Access to recordings of the live classes for three months including Jen's library of TCTSY classes
Option to join the TCTSY Community for continued access to the TCTSY video library (monthly membership)
10 week series
20 + Members Team
3 Monthly Payments of $36
Ten weekly one hour LIVE virtual Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga classes with Jen
Access to recordings of the live classes for three months including Jen's library of TCTSY classes
Option to join the TCTSY Community for continued access to the TCTSY video library (monthly membership)
What people are saying about TCTSY with Jen:
"This has been transformative for me. I am really believing I have a choice. It's helped me get more in touch with what my body is telling me - those feelings."
"This has been transformative for me. I am really believing I have a choice and can make choices for myself. It's helped me really get more in touch with what my body is telling me - those feelings. I now know it's not all in my head. My body has things to say - my intuition. I don't have to know because the body does the work. It does matter to be consistent with it {TCTSY} even if you just lay on your mat {during class}, to give it an opportunity to work."
Mary
Frequently Asked Questions
How does TCTSY differ from other forms of yoga?
TCTSY is not focused on the yoga forms themselves, but rather utilizes yoga forms as opportunities for choosing to move (or not move) our bodies on our own terms as well as potentially notice our bodies' sensations (interoception). It is an evidenced-based protocol to help rewire neural connections that have become disrupted from trauma.
Is TCTSY a form of psychotherapy?
No. TCTSY is an adjunctive treatment for psychotherapy and works well as a complement to psychotherapy. In TCTSY there is no talking or verbal processing of the trauma and no need to go into the story of what happened. Instead the focus is on the present moment experience. That is, we strive to not engage the cognitive part of the brain at all during this practice.
What if I become triggered in class?
Emotions may come up in class as they do in the rest of life. Jen will offer grounding techniques to help re-center if you become dysregulated. Also, you will be invited to participate in a way that is useful for you from moment to moment. If you need special attention, Jen will be available during class and if anything arises afterwards you can connect with your psychotherapist.
What should I wear for class?
Since there are opportunities for movement in class, comfortable clothes are recommended. Please consider wearing modest clothing in the shared space with other trauma survivors.
What about classes for men?
If you identify as a man or trans-man you may be wondering why there is not an offering for men and how you can access TCTSY.I created Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) classes only for women because many of the women I serve have abuse histories with abuse done at the hands of men (particularly sexual abuse). Therefore, it was too triggering to have both men and women present for TCTSY. Because I am also a full time therapist, I only have time to offer one class per week so I focused on women since that is who I have the most experience and expertise with. If you are male identified and would like to find a TCTSY offering, you are welcome to check with other TCTSY facilitators in your area follow this link: https://www.traumasensitiveyoga.com/facilitators/united-states.
How do I know I have the "right" type of trauma for this protocol?
TCTSY was developed for people with a history of complex trauma and/or with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, you do not need to have a diagnosis of PTSD to participate. If you are uncertain about whether or not this protocol would work for you, send me an email so we can touch base on your situation and needs.
Can I still participate if I'm not in psychotherapy?
Yes. TCTSY is an adjunctive treatment best experienced as a complement to traditional psychotherapy. However, based on date from a recent TCTSY study at Veterans Affairs in Georgia as well as anectdotal evidence over years of practice, this is no longer a requirement.
What about confidentiality?
All participants and the facilitator (Jen) agree to keeping participants in the series confidential including any and all information revealed throughout the series. Note that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed via Zoom. Also note that as an LICSW, Jen is a mandated reporter so if you share with you that you are an imminent danger to self or others, have hurt a child, or are gravely disabled, Jen may need to make the required legal reports. If you have additional concerns about confidentiality, email Jen.
Why do I need to complete an intake assessment?
TCTSY is an adjunctive treatment for complex trauma and PTSD. Since people with a trauma history may be in different places with their treatment, it is important to check-in and assess if this is a fit clinically at this time. For example, if you have just been discharged in the past few months from an inpatient psychiatric facility and are working on stabilization, doing trauma treatment will likely be contraindicated.
Why 10 week series?
In July 2022 I shifted to offering TCTSY in 10 week series only. My intention for this shift is that it is in line with all of the studies that show TCTSY to be an effective treatment for PTSD. Thus, in order to increase the likelihood that you experience the chances you seek, I have created 10 week series to follow the protocol as it was studied.
Previously, I offered TCTSY in monthly series to make it more accessible but found this was not allowing enough time for the protocol to work since most participants only participated in four weeks.
I have additional questions. How can I get them answered?
If you have additional questions after reading through this website, you are welcome to email me directly at jen@pathwaystowellnessllc.com. Note that I usually respond within 2-3 business days; my business week runs Monday through Friday and I do not check email on weekends.
Meet Your TCTSY Facilitator
Hi. I'm Jen Barnes
I have a passion for helping women heal and live in a way that feels meaningful and enjoyable. Often this means helping women first heal from past trauma, from things that were done to them that still interfere with enjoying life now.
Unresolved trauma can show up in so many ways; ultimately it stems back to the body where trauma is held. That is why I love being able to offering Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY); it is an opportunity to help people reconnect with their bodies and heal from past trauma in the process.
A little bit about me... I am certified (2016) as a Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator, a certification that I renew yearly with a teaching video observed by Co-Director and Founder David Emerson, Co-Director and Founder Jenn Turner, or a member of the leadership team from The Center for Trauma and Embodiment; the feedback they offer continues to help me grow in my effectiveness as a teacher.
Additionally, I earned my Masters in Social Work from the University of St. Thomas and the College of St. Catherine in 2005 having become an LICSW in 2008. I completed my initial EMDR training in 2014 with John Hartung and became EMDR certified in January 2018.
I have been teaching yoga since 2009, and became a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT200) in 2010 and a E-RYT (i.e., have taught more than 1000 hours of yoga) in 2015. Currently, I am an RYT500.
In 2019, I completed my Level One training in Internal Family Systems (IFS); I'm scheduled for my Level Two training in Internal Family Systems (IFS) with a focus on Complex Trauma in January 2024. In 2022 I became certified in Meditative Movements™️.
My continuing education has been focused on bringing the body into trauma therapy, IFS, EMDR, and working with the body through the autonomic nervous system. I have a full time private practice in Minneapolis, MN and also offer online courses and coaching.
I love my home in Minnesota where I am close to family and friends.
TCTSY Info Session Recording
Watch this video to meet Jen hear more about Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY).
Interested in Getting Started?
Click here to take the online intake assessment.
Site:
www.pathwaysuniversitymn.com
Text
612-474-1700
Email:
jen@pathwaystowellnessllc.com