Why Being Trauma-Informed is Important to Me

I recently started a club on Clubhouse called Trauma-Informed Wellness, where I hope to connect trauma-informed practitioners and share knowledge.

Why? To put it simply, being trauma-informed is important to me because being human is important to me.

Part of being human is experiencing pain and suffering.

Another part of being human is responding and growing through the suffering.

And I want to respond to that pain and suffering in a way that reduces harm and is conducive for healing. I say "healing" here, but really I want to offer space for folks to feel into their wholeness as they desire. More on that in a moment.

In a yoga context, being trauma-informed means holding a space where students can come as they are and leave feeling empowered in their own bodies.

It sounds simple enough, but for those who are trauma survivors, being intentional in language and space setting matters a lot.

In a meditation context, being trauma-informed means teaching in a way that won't be too overwhelming or frustrating for people, but rather offers an opportunity for spaciousness.

Although it's gaining in popularity, a practice such as meditation isn't as accessible as one may assume. Being asked to sit and stay still with their minds can feel awful for some people.

Trauma-informed teaching includes offering options and rather a prescriptive tone of "You should be feeling this..." there is an element of curiosity for individuals to explore how the practice feels for them.

The goals in trauma-informed practices aren't about competing with yourself or your peers or "doing it right", rather it is about choice-making.

In this moment, I am feeling my breath calmly. And I can choose to stay here.

In this moment, I am feeling anxious and my heart beating faster. And I can choose to open my eyes and feel into my hands.

I think being trauma-informed should be the norm. A lot of what makes a teacher trauma-informed versus not is simple decency in my opinion (i.e. asking for consent before touching a student).

I also think being trauma-informed should extend beyond the interpersonal. It is relational, sure. It's how the teacher facilitates and holds space for you.

And it needs to be looked at on a collective level too.

For instance, I think harmful systems can create a lot of trauma.

I think living in poverty, growing up in an abusive household, and enduring racism and colonialism can all be traumatic.

I know in time, research will have more to say about these topics. But even now, I firmly believe people should be allowed to feel into their wholeness and examine how these systems impact them.

To be trauma-informed means to also dismantle and disrupt harmful systems, in my opinion.

For instance, I've often felt like the typical wellness space doesn't welcome racialized people.

There's an unspoken commitment to whiteness and a quiet elitism.

You show up and there are unspoken rules and etiquette you sort of pick up.

You try to minimize all the parts that are you, so only the acceptable part shows up. The parts that are happy and peaceful.

You practice not fully in the moment, but in hopes that you're "doing it right" with the promise that it should be rewarding... And when it doesn't reward you with promises of peace or bliss, you only have yourself to blame.

If you try to give feedback that something feels off... you're met with confusion if not outright denial.

It couldn't be the teacher's lack of competency or the studio culture, it could only be you.

Disrupting this means showing there's another way; and that's what I try to do with my classes and how I mentor teachers.

There are many ways to show up as a human. Being trauma-informed is important to me because being human is important to me.