You may understand exactly what happened to you. You may have talked about it in therapy, read the books, and named the patterns. And still, your shoulders tighten in certain rooms, your breath goes shallow without warning, or you feel strangely absent from your own body.
This is not a failure of effort. Trauma is held in the body as well as the mind, and healing often needs to include both. Trauma-sensitive yoga offers a gentle, body-based path toward that kind of healing. At Creating Space Therapy, Joslyn Barajas, LCSW, is completing the Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) Facilitator Certification Program and offers trauma-informed yoga in her work with clients navigating trauma.
Trauma-sensitive yoga is a body-based approach that uses simple yoga forms, breath, and present-moment awareness to help trauma survivors rebuild a sense of safety and choice in their bodies. Rather than focusing on perfect poses, it centers what you notice and what you choose.
Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga, known as TCTSY, is the original model of this approach. It was designed specifically as a clinical support for people living with complex trauma and PTSD.
TCTSY began in 2002 at the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts. Clinicians and yoga teachers, including David Emerson, explored how yoga could support people living with the effects of psychological trauma, and early pilot studies followed between 2003 and 2006.
Today, TCTSY is a program of the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at Justice Resource Institute, which trains and certifies facilitators around the world. The model draws on trauma theory, attachment theory, neuroscience, and hatha yoga. Ongoing research, including a 2021 study with women veterans, continues to support it as a meaningful partner to trauma therapy.
When something overwhelming happens, the nervous system shifts into survival mode to protect you. Sometimes it stays there long after the danger has passed. You might feel constantly on alert, numb, or disconnected from physical sensations altogether.
Talking about an experience can bring real insight, but the body often needs its own way to learn that it is safe now. Trauma-sensitive yoga works from the bottom up, helping the body experience safety directly rather than only thinking about it. Learn more by reading our article titled, When Your Body Feels Stuck in Survival Mode. Learn more about our approach to Somatic Therapy.
Every person’s healing looks different, and TCTSY never sets a goal for how you should feel. Over time, many people find that trauma-sensitive yoga supports
Trauma-sensitive yoga can be a meaningful part of care for people living with complex trauma, PTSD, or the lasting effects of difficult early experiences. It can be especially helpful for those who have talked through their story many times and still feel stuck.
No yoga experience, flexibility, or particular body type is needed. You also do not have to share the details of your trauma to participate.
Joslyn Barajas is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and trauma therapist at Creating Space Therapy. She is currently completing the TCTSY Facilitator Certification Program, a 300-hour training through the Center for Trauma and Embodiment, and brings trauma-informed yoga into her work with clients navigating trauma.
In Joslyn’s sessions, movement is always an invitation and never a requirement. Clients decide what feels right for their bodies, moment by moment.
I chose to pursue TCTSY because trauma can feel complex and abstract. TCTSY simplifies it for me. TCTSY brings healing back to the body and makes it feel accessible. At its core, it’s about making small, gentle choices that are accessible to you, making a larger impact in your internal world.
Joslyn Barajas, LCSW
Creating Space Therapy is a niche psychotherapy practice specializing in trauma therapy and grief counseling for adults, teens, and children in Geneva and Naperville, with online telehealth available to Illinois residents statewide. Recognized as the Best Mental Health Practice in Batavia in 2025, we have spent five years earning the trust of the Fox Valley community as a go-to resource for complex trauma care. Our certified trauma therapists go beyond traditional talk therapy to address the way trauma lives in the body, the nervous system, and the patterns that keep people feeling stuck. Using EMDR, somatic therapy, parts work, and polyvagal-informed approaches, we help clients move from surviving to genuinely healing, at a pace that honors their readiness and their resilience. If you’re ready to experience real-time change, we invite you to schedule a free 15-minute consultation call or learn more about us at creatingspacetherapy.com.
No. Sessions use simple, accessible forms, and you can participate seated in a chair. Every movement is optional.
No. TCTSY uses invitational language, avoids hands-on adjustments, and focuses on your internal experience rather than how a pose looks. We will explore these differences in our next article in the series.
TCTSY is designed to work alongside trauma therapy rather than replace it. Many clients find it deepens the healing they experience through other approaches like somatic therapy and EMDR.
Healing does not have to happen only in your thoughts. If you are curious whether trauma-sensitive yoga could support your healing, we invite you to schedule a free 15-minute consultation. Creating Space Therapy serves clients at our Geneva office and through online telehealth across Illinois.
