Professional Development in Trauma Informed Care

100-hr Yoga Teacher Training

 Where.

Pre-recorded content available anytime in your home, office, on the road!

Statement of Training Intent.

Develop skills and integrate a trauma informed lens to support people to reclaim a sense of safety within their body. 

• Support people to reclaim a sense of safety within their body 

• Land based connection for personal and collective healing

• Learn how trauma impacts the nervous system

• Mindful movement for optimal expression of health 

• Reduce harm, foster collective care, and work towards social justice 

This requires a broader and somatically grounded conversation - engage with practices that support personal, interpersonal and collective healing. 

***This training includes continuing education credits with Yoga Alliance.

Contact Us.

Please reach out with any questions to tiponandoffthemat@gmail.com

Your Facilitators.

“The time spent in this training, with these facilitators,

is a gift to yourself.”

TIP Participant

 “I thank Lydia so much for providing the tensegrity series and the zoom extension in the pandemic.

I personally have moved from not really caring for the tensegrity series when first introduced to it years ago, to being VERY taken with it. The focus and depth of it has had a profound effect on my entire being.

It is truly all inclusive, as Lydia has explained, and it makes so much sense to me.

Lydia has a real knack for creating refreshing and novel sequences which address so many aspects of one’s essence.” 

- Bev Hughes Rowely

“I've had the pleasure of knowing Sarah Kinsley for over a decade in multiple capacities. Sarah has assisted me on dozens of 5 day silent meditation retreats and Yin Yoga teacher trainings, acting as both co-teacher and on site therapist. I have witnessed her guiding and supporting students with a high level of skill and capacity. Sarah is incredibly compassionate, wise and warm. Her ability to embody both professionalism and humanity make her a trustworthy guide in the delicate art of integrating Psyche and Spirit. 

Sarah is a dedicated practitioner and life long learner, an eternal student with endless curiosity and humility. Her brilliance and expertise would be of great benefit to any training program.” 

- Carly Forest

“I did the 20-hour TCTSY training with Nicola. I am a 500 EYRT yoga teacher and I specialize in therapeutic yoga for students with injuries and health conditions.  This training was incredible, and allowed me to understand the neurological and physiological realities that are playing out in students’ bodies based on their past histories.  I feel that this is a MUST DO workshop for all yoga teachers, and I would love to see a day where this becomes a standard method of treatment for clinicians working with cases of complex trauma. 

I would like to thank Nicola, and all of the other members of the TCTSY group, for taking the time to develop such an incredible system that I know is going to become a revolutionary new standard in trauma care!”

- Erin Jacob, C-IATY, E-RYT500, RYS200, YACEP

Braided Practice Video.

Contact Us.

Please reach out with any questions to tiponandoffthemat@gmail.com

Investment.

The value of this on demand training will be announced shortly.

*2 scholarships are available at a 50% reduced rate from the community price tier.

Registration.

COMING SOON!

$2600 $675 CAD - Supporter

$2400 $600 CAD - Sustainer

$2200 $525 CAD - Community

*If the registration block does not appear, please click here to register: Trauma Informed Practice: on and off the mat

**We offer a self-determined way to invest in the training based on your access to financial and social resources. All participants receive the same access training material and content.

The scale is based on your self-determined access to resources, privilege, & social capital. In your self-determination, please consider your positionality of privilege. You are encouraged to self-assess this based on aspects of your personhood (e.g. race, gender & sexual identity, socio-economic status, educational background, able-bodied-ness, etc.) that do, or do not, grant you access to social and financial capital.

Please choose the self-determined amount to register with your payment.

If you have any questions please scroll down to the FAQ section, reach out to tiponandoffthemat@gmail.com, or subscribe to the newsletter.

Financial Opportunities Available.

Scholarships

* If you recognize your positionality impacts access to this training, there are 2 scholarships available for 50% reduced rate from the community tier. Please take time to apply providing some insight into your reason for a scholarship request.

These places are for people who fulfil the following criteria:

• Those whose positionality impacts access

• Those who would not otherwise be able to afford to attend the foundational training

• Those intending to bring a movement practice and trauma informed lens back to their community

  Thank you so much for taking time to fill out the application! We value hearing from you and unfortunately cannot support all requests.

THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING YOUR POSITIONALITY!

The scholarship application can be found here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is trauma informed yoga?

This anti-oppressive approach to healing supports recovery from individual and collective long-term trauma through movement, present moment experiences, and choice.

Q. What is tensegrity?

The Tensegrity Series is a sequence of movements done mostly in a supine position (on your back) with your legs and arms moving gently from a contained abdomen and spine. It can feel more like mindful bodywork than classical yoga forms, since there is continual movement in the sets of exercises.  It is designed to break down adhesions, rehydrate, tone, strengthen and bring more flexibility and function to the body's connective tissue system (fascia). The series sets an intelligent foundation for all yoga and movement practices, and is a full practice in and of itself.  It is accessible to everyone. 

“Lydia was the first teacher to help me connect the dots between mega flexibility and over activation within my nervous system. I took some classes with her on the tensegrity series and the practice felt like a tune up and a warm hug: grounding, insulating, and nourishing. Lydia's knowledge about anatomy and her insights into ways we can experientially deepen into our body through curiosity and listening was super helpful - it led me to a stronger awareness of my joint space and connected me more clearly to some of the "noise" my body was producing in motion. One of the things I value most about this practice is how it highlights the relationship between ease of movement, strength, and tensional balance in the body in a way that benefits my whole posture practice as well as other disciplines of movement and physical activity that I take.”

Q. What are mindfulness-based practices?

Dr. Jon-Kabat-Zinn (2003), founder of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR), describes mindfulness as “…the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”

Mindfulness is an ontology (a way of being) that can be established by all humans. Throughout time and space, cultures have developed skills and techniques to become more awake and aware of their internal environment (thoughts, emotions and body sensations) and their external environment (known through the senses) and the connection between the two. This may be referred to as meta-awareness: the ability to notice what we notice while being cognizant of the ever changing nature of reality.

Mindfulness-based practices (MBP) are the specific practices used to cultivate this skill within us to be aware.  Formal practices include: breath meditations, body scans, loving-kindness/compassion meditations, and mindful movements. Informal practices include being mindful (aware) of doing everyday things; for example, washing the dishes, biking to work or engaging in conversation.  While practicing MBPs one is invited to adopt an attitude of curiosity, non-abandoning, and non-interfering to what is being noticed in the present moment as best as possible while offering ourselves, other beings, and the planet kindness and compassion (Forest, 2017).   

Q. What credentials will I gain in this 50-hr training?

• 50-hr Continuing Education Hours with Yoga Alliance

Q. What will I be prepared to teach at the end of this training? 

• The integration of a trauma informed lens into yoga, movement practices and diverse contexts. 

• Applied skills for practicing and guiding mindfulness-based practices. 

• An understanding of the tensegrity series for personal practice and basic skills for facilitating the series from a trauma informed lens.

Q. Will I be able to teach a trauma sensitive yoga class after this training?

You will be able to integrate a trauma informed lens into a yoga class (ie: Trauma Informed Yoga Class).  You will not be able to teach a trauma sensitive yoga class due to Trauma Center-Trauma Sensitive Yoga is a trademarked modality with specific protocols requiring additional training.

Q. Will I be a certified Tensegrity Instructor?

You will be able to integrate tensegrity movement into your classes after this training, however this is not a tensegrity certification process.

Q. Will I be certified to teach Mindfulness-based Practices?

You will be able to integrate mindfulness-based practices with a trauma informed lens into your professional context.  This is not a regulated field with a regulatory body, you are encouraged to remain within your scope of practice.  

Q. What objectives will be fulfilled by the end of this training?

• Land-based connection

• Social justice framework

• Nervous system education

• Understanding of oscillating movement to support releasing of fascial adhesions

Q. What are the prerequisites to take this training? 

A 200-hr Yoga Teacher Certification, or the completion of previous TCTSY Foundational Training with Nicola, or a regular yoga home or studio practice over a duration of time.

Q. Do I need insurance once this training has been completed? 

As a certified yoga teacher, you are required to have liability insurance.  If you are registered with another regulatory body, please check on insurance requirements. 

Q. What are the specific training dates and times?

This training is available on demand, meaning you can access the content at your own pace in alignment with your schedule. All the material is pre-recorded and documents will be available.

Q. How much of the training dates can I miss? 

If the timing works for you, we suggest attending all the live sessions. The live sessions will be an opportunity to connect with the facilitators and ask any questions that might arise, engage in discussion around the content and participate in an embodiment practice. If you are in a different time zone and can't make those times, the facilitators will be available via email for any questions or comments that might arise.  We appreciate being informed about any absences.

Q. How much of this training will be recorded? 

The entirety of the training is recorded for your learning.

Q. How might I prepare myself for the training?

Although the workshop is facilitated in a respectful and professional manner, it can be emotionally, physically, and intellectually demanding. This is not a trauma processing program, therefore we recommend creating a self-care plan for our time together during the modules or accessing your supports between sessions, as there is the possibility of being activated and dysregulated by course or discussion content.