By Karla Cloete
Edited by Humairaa Mayet & Imaan Moosa
What is trauma-informed yoga? Counsellor Candice Clark tells us how physical activity can be a form of healing.
Candice Clark grew up in Johannesburg, which is where she lives and works as a trauma-informed yoga instructor and counsellor.
She is a determined, compassionate and encouraging teacher. Outside of her work, she loves horse riding, cooking and her dogs.
“Yoga came to me at a point in my life when I was totally burnt out, depressed and confused,” she said. “Through yoga, I slowly started to find the peace I hadn’t experienced in years – maybe decades.”
She melded her background in psychology with the practice of yoga and pursued a year-long yoga teacher training intensive. Clark also has a master's degree in public health which she implements into her yoga practice every day. From creating evidence-based programs and interventions for groups to assessing her clients, she could never have guessed how impactful this education would become later in her life.
Candice also trains facilitators and this is how she defines trauma-sensitive yoga for them:
Trauma-sensitive yoga provides a non-verbal, safe and empowering whole-body practice for trauma survivors; to develop effective, accessible tools and resilience in their trauma recovery journey.
But why would a yoga instructor need to know anything about trauma?
Trauma has for many years been severely underestimated. Yet it underlies most physical and mental health challenges. Many, many individuals don’t realise they are carrying deep trauma in their bodies – both from previous generations (as the field of epigenetics teaches us) and from life experiences that they may not define as traumatic but that have accumulated physically and psychologically.
Clark feels the current approach to trauma can be far too cognitive, and often neglects the body.
Bottom-up processing in the form of trauma-sensitive yoga is shown in academic research to be highly effective.
She says that trauma-sensitive yoga can fill the gaps in mental healthcare. Where many can’t afford mental healthcare, this practice can be delivered cost-effectively. This is the topic of her master's thesis.
If you’re looking to become a yoga instructor and specialise in trauma, Clark recommends beginning with your own therapy process and finding a local facilitator.
I often say in our training that we can only take our clients as deep as we, ourselves, are willing to go. It is so important to be working through and resolving our own trauma to be an effective facilitator.
In a trauma-informed yoga class, one can expect the facilitators to be very gentle and compassionate. The focus of the class will be more on the internal experience and emotional processing than trying to contort in convoluted poses.
It’s simple. If you struggle with PTSD, chronic stress or have health challenges rooted in trauma, these kinds of classes may be ideal for you. You don't need any experience, just an open mind!
Yoga at its core invites all in and invites all to partake in it. It can be practiced cross-culturally, particularly when we are cognisant of our local context and how to adapt to that context while still honouring our roots.
You can learn more about Candice and her training on her website.
Comments