The Centre for Trauma & Embodiment in Brookline, Massachusetts, introduced Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) in 2003 to support individuals on their healing journeys. TCTSY is a clinically validated and compassionate intervention designed to help those living with complex trauma or chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD. Supported by more than 10 peer-reviewed studies and numerous independent analyses, this evidence-based approach provides a compassionate path to healing for individuals such as war veterans, survivors of sexual assault, and those who have experienced the enduring effects of childhood abuse.
Over 30,000 People Worldwide
In 2019, more than 30,000 individuals around the globe used TCTSY as an adjunctive treatment for PTSD and complex trauma.
What makes TCTSY unique:
TCTSY is the first yoga program specifically designed and clinically validated as an effective treatment for complex trauma and complex PTSD. Participants in TCTSY classes are encouraged to have a support system or network outside of TCTSY to ensure additional care and connection.
TCTSY is deeply rooted in Trauma Theory, Attachment Theory, and Neuroscience. TCTSY recognizes how complex trauma can disrupt a person’s ability to make independent and empowered choices. Classes provide a nurturing and supportive environment, allowing individuals to reconnect with their sense of autonomy and inner strength. As a supportive, adjunctive treatment, TCTSY complements primary clinical care, offering space to process any insights that may arise during sessions.
How it’s taught:
Classes are designed to empower participants to make choices that feel right for their own bodies, using gentle guidance through yoga forms, breath awareness, and interoception (awareness of internal sensations).
Participants are encouraged to make the practice their own, with no pressure to look or feel a certain way. The instructor practices on their own mat to model personal space, while all guidance is provided verbally—ensuring a safe, supportive, and touch-free environment.
Connecting with Your Body
In TCTSY, physical shapes and movements are explored as an opportunity to gently notice and connect with sensations in the body. Each person’s experience is entirely unique, and there is no right or wrong way to engage with a yoga shape.
Empowering Your Connection
During the practice, you’ll be gently invited to explore making choices about how to engage with a shape, such as turning to the right or left. These choices are guided by noticing what you feel in the moment and considering what you’d like to feel, fostering a deeper connection with your body and its needs.
Honoring Our Bodies
Subjective experiences are central to TCTSY, and practicing alongside others becomes an exploration of "being and allowing the other to be."
This relational dynamic is a core aspect of TCTSY, offering a space to experience connection and presence that contrasts with the dynamics often found in trauma relationships. It creates an opportunity to practice safety, respect, and non-trauma.
TCTSY Practices
In TCTSY, there is no right or wrong way to engage with a shape, and the practice is intentionally designed to prioritize safety, autonomy, and non-judgment.
Key practices
- Facilitators do not adjust or change a participant’s shape, as this is a no-touch practice where your body is entirely your own.
- Facilitators refrain from judging participants and often practice with their own eyes closed.
- Facilitators remain in their own space and do not move around the room.
Because the practice tries to avoid traumatizing dynamics:
- Every shape is offered as a genuine invitation, with no expectations.
- Language is simple and avoids metaphors or imagery, recognizing that associations with these can vary.
- The practice excludes music, Sanskrit, incense, candles, yoga props, or any elements that may carry unintended meanings.
- No interpretations of a client’s experience are offered, as individuals are encouraged to connect with and trust their own perceptions.
- Facilitators do not inquire about participants' past experiences, respecting their privacy and autonomy.
- Facilitators practice alongside participants, focusing on their own sensations and choices, offering a genuine presence that fosters trust and authenticity.
Safety and Stability
We understand how challenging it can be to reconnect with the body. For this reason, it’s essential that TCTSY clients are in therapy and feel relatively stable and safe in their current lives.
TCTSY may not be suitable
- If you have experienced a hospitalization for trauma-related issues within the past six months.
- If you are not currently in an established therapeutic relationship (4-6 months) where you can verbally process your experiences.