Yoga For Trauma: The Inner Fire of Yoga

Host Liz Albanis explores Aparigraha. The yogic practice of non-attachment from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. How nature can show its importance. When nature lets go, it isn’t failing. It’s preparing, conserving energy, and making space for what comes next.  'Stuff' can quietly run your nervous system. There has been some evidence to show the linkage between clutter and mental health. Liz's experience of living with ADHD, the cycle of losing things, searching, and spiralling can be exhausting. Liz also shares how fear of burglary and a past experience can turn belongings into something you guard. Rather than something that supports you. Liz also reflects on what changed after the 2024 fire.  And the loss of irreplaceable items and how that kind of shock can put attachment into perspective without dismissing grief. 
Key Topics:

• Letting go of habits, thought patterns, and samskaras is often harder than donating a box of things. 
• How clutter and possessions can create suffering rather than joy
• Perspective shift that comes after a fire and unexpected loss 
• How a missing object can fuel resentment and rumination 
• Svadhyaya self-study as the starting point 
• Tips for letting go
• Powerful body-based metaphor for grasping and softening. 

Error: Please note:  the recording has not been edited to reflect this error, rather it is stated here.  Harris, G, (2019)  The Language of Yin - Luminary Press was incorrectly referenced as having the binding pose sequence. Gabrielle second book has this sequence! Harris, G, (2021)  The Inspired Yoga Teacher  - Luminary Press. More information: https://gabrielleharrisyoga.com/

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

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Host Liz Albanis is joined by Jane Hogan, the Wellness Engineer. A neuroscience-based mind-body educator who left a 30-year engineering career. After reversing debilitating rheumatoid arthritis symptoms through natural methods. Chronic pain can turn life into a constant negotiation: what you can do, what you have to cancel, what you dread waking up to. But what if the most important question isn’t “What’s broken?” What if it’s “What is my nervous system trying to protect me from?”
Key Topics:

• Chronic pain can be a learned protective response rather than proof that the body is broken. With Jane Hogan, we connect grief, stress, older patterns, and nervous system dysregulation to practical tools that help pain soften over time. 
• How grief, chronic stress, and long-standing patterns like perfectionism and people pleasing can keep the body in high alert, amplifying pain even when scans and blood work do not give clear answers. 
• The overlap between emotional pain and physical pain pathways,
• Why diagnosis labels and scans do not always explain chronic pain
• Nervous system dysregulation as a root cause 
• Yoga beyond asana, with breath and awareness as the bridge.
• Gratitude, forgiveness and emotional release as part of healing 
• Freedom talk journalling
• EFT tapping, and eye-movement based tools 
• Breath basics for mechanics and chemistry, including longer exhales.
• Visual and heart-focused breathing for pain relief 

About The Guest: Jane Hogan, “The Wellness Engineer,” is a neuroscience-based mind-body educator, health coach, and wellness leader, helping people release chronic pain by rewiring their brain and calming their nervous system. Through her Wellness by Design podcast, bestselling book Pain-Free on Purpose: Use Your Mind to Heal Your Body and Get Your Life Back, and her transformative programs Calm by DESIGN and Living Pain-Free, Jane has guided thousands of people to retrain their nervous systems, restore vitality, and return to a state of peace and possibility. Connect With Jane: https://www.thewellnessengineer.com Youtube Instagram Facebook 

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

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Host Liz Albanis explains one of the biggest and most important misconceptions about yoga. Yoga is supposed to help you sleep, so why do some nights end with you feeling calm after class but totally wired in bed? Many have heard the advice to “just go to yoga”. But this is not always the case. Especially when you’re living with insomnia, PTSD and high stress levels  or a nervous system that won’t switch off. The type of practice and the time of day matters more than most people realise.

Liz walks through what’s happening under the hood with trauma and sleep, including how hyper-vigilance and sympathetic nervous system dominance can keep the body on alert long after the danger has passed. We also get practical about breathwork. Fast pranayama and kriya techniques like Kapalabhati (Skull Shining Breath) and Bhastrika (Bellows Breath) can be powerful, mood shifting, and also overstimulating, with real contraindications and cautions for PTSD and other mental health conditions. If you’ve ever tried a “beginner” breathing video and felt spun out, you’re not imagining it.

Key Takeaways:

• Why insomnia and disturbed sleep are common with PTSD and nervous system dysregulation 
• Why yoga does not always switch on rest and digest 
• How hypervigilance and evening practice can keep the body “on” 
• Fast pranayama and kriya that can overstimulate including Kapalabhati and Bhastrika 
• Why YouTube breathwork is not always beginner friendly and the need for skilled guidance 
• Sleep-supportive breathing basics including nasal breathing and a longer exhale 
• How vinyasa flow and heated classes can raise heart rate and activation at night 
• Why active backbends can be energising and why forward bends can be calming 
• Yoga nidra benefits and why it can be too activating for some people 

The role of trial and error plus timing, stress, and hormones

If you want some help starting,  Liz invites the audience to look at:
https://www.lizalbaniswellness.com.au/freebies
For is a trauma informed meditation relaxation and PDF guide. Relax and Renew And Restore Interactive PDF that includes a wonderful pranayama  called Bee Breath Brahmari. 

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
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Host Liz Albanis talks with Angie Barrett about trauma-informed yoga, polyvagal theory, and playful movement. To explore why standard yoga and meditation can feel overwhelming for trauma survivors. Especially when stillness, breathwork, or classroom dynamics trigger freeze responses and body memories for some. Angie shares her background as a child abuse survivor. How betrayal later in life unlocked repressed memories. Why traditional “mind-only” approaches weren’t enough. They discuss the window of tolerance, trauma stored in the body. Trauma-informed yoga principles ( language, pacing, modifications, and nervous system education). Plus polyvagal theory’s ventral and dorsal vagal states. Angie explains how playful, intuitive movement and imagination can be supportive. Release stored stress, expand tolerance, and support recovery without forcing painful experiences. Including a guided swaying/tree exercise and practical tips for rhythmic, repetitive movement. As practical ways to widen the window of tolerance without forcing yourself through overwhelm. 

Key Topics:

• Angie’s story of repressed memories, betrayal, and body memories returning 
• Why calm environments can feel threatening after trauma 
• How standard yoga cues, stillness, and loud breathing can trigger 
• Trauma-informed yoga choices that reduce shame and increase agency 
• Window of tolerance basics and recognising when you are outside it 
• Play and imagination as a bridge to safety and connection 
• A guided play practice
• Red light green light as a simple nervous system model 
• Polyvagal theory an important part of trauma-informed yoga
• Three quick tips for when you are struggling 
About The Guest:
Angie Berrett (she/they) is a trauma-informed coach and founder of Angie Berrett Movement, where she helps women survivors of childhood sexual abuse reconnect with their bodies and begin to experience safety, freedom, and self-trust from within. After years of feeling disconnected, unlovable, and stuck in patterns that no amount of success could fix, Angie reached a breaking point in 2017 that forced her to find a different way forward. Traditional approaches weren’t enough—because the impact of trauma wasn’t just in her mind, it was in her body. Through her own healing, she discovered the power of play, movement, and imagination as tools to access and release what words alone couldn’t reach. This became the foundation of her ALT Method™ (Awaken • Liberate • Thrive), a body-based approach that helps women unwind survival patterns, reconnect with themselves, and step into a more embodied, self-led life. Angie is also the host of the podcast Healing Doesn’t Have to Be Heavy, where she explores a new way of healing—one that creates real change without staying stuck in heaviness.

Connect: https://angieberrettmovement.com

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Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Good news! You don’t need to be bendy, booked in, or even on a yoga mat for yoga to change your day. Host, Liz Albanis a yoga therapist and senior yoga teach, shares some tips. She has built s  yoga habit without rearranging her whole life: “yoga snacks” (tiny moments of practice you can do anywhere).  

Key Topics:

why short, consistent practices can be surprisingly powerful, especially when you factor in neuroplasticity and how the brain learns through repetition. 

Rather than relying on a couple of long yoga classes each week.  

Bee Breath, a go-to breathing practices, plus trauma-informed options that offer choice with an invitation to try. More details on the freebie page, in the interactive PDF Relax and Renew. In addition trauma informed interactive PDF.

https://www.lizalbaniswellness.com.au/freebies

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Want to make video and audio editing quicker and simpler? Get 50% off the first 2 months of the Descript Creator Monthly Plan. 

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What if the kindest cue you give is the one you don’t make? Liz Albanis continues her conversation with   trauma-sensitive yoga facilitator and empowerment coach Kristen Klipp.  To unpack how yoga spaces can either calm or inflame the nervous system. 

Key Topics:

• What teachers can do to lean towards being supportive. From the first welcome to the final rest, we focus on consent, language, and environment as the quiet architecture of safety.
• How consent tokens let students change their minds privately as their bodies shift moment to moment. 
• Directive cues with invitational language that gives back agency and reduces performance pressure. 
• Why staying on your mat can soothe hypervigilance
• How naming your movements prevents startle responses
• Why room setup, especially visibility of exits, matters more than perfect alignment. 
• Yoga props, including how straps and immobilising restoratives can echo restraint, and outline kinder alternatives that still support mobility and comfort.
• Generational trauma
• Kristen’s holistic toolkit that blends trauma-sensitive yoga, coaching, and chakra-based energy work. 
• Congestion in the root chakra mirrors lived instability.
• Grounding shapes and guided meditations may help move stuck emotions.  

The challenge common yoga teacher self-talk. Wanting students to match our flow, as a subtle control reflex.

Whether you teach or you practise, this is a field guide to agency on the mat. Fewer assumptions, more options, and a bias toward predictability, kindness, and self-trust. If the goal is regulation and reconnection, then every cue, prop, and pathway can serve that aim. Listen, reflect, and try one small change in your next class or practice, then tell us what shifted.

About the guest: 

Kristin Klipp is a Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator, Empowerment Coach, and Chakra Energy Healer. Kristin has been helping people for 9 years to discover their intuition, heal from trauma, and lead the life they were meant to live. Her company, Truth Lives Within, offers holistic healing sessions that allow clients to find their own inner wisdom and heal their wounds. Kristin has been dedicated to healing trauma after seeing how it has affected her relationships with her family. Kristin has seen how trauma is often swept under the rug and she is getting loud about trauma with her podcast, Get Loud. Find out more about Kristin by checking out her website, https://www.truthliveswithin.com.

Facebook: Instagram: 

YouTube:  TikTok: 

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Want to make video and audio editing quicker and simpler? Get 50% off the first 2 months of the Descript Creator Monthly Plan. 

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What if the bravest thing a yoga teacher can say isn’t “go deeper,” but “you have a choice”? Liz sits down with trauma-sensitive yoga facilitator and empowerment coach Kristen Klipp to unpack how choice, consent, and agency can transform a class.  From the first welcome at the studio door to the last shape on the mat.  Small decisions, words, pacing, predictability can add up to a nervous system that can finally exhale.

Key Topics:

• 300‑hour  Trauma CentrenSensitive Yoga Teacher (TCTSY) certification rooted in neuroscience and clinical evidence. 
• Generational trauma in plain language.
• Dissociation in a yoga 
• How TCTSY reframes teaching as a shared experience.
• Invitational cues instead of commands. Non‑coercion over compliance.
• Interoception that helps students feel what’s happening inside their bodies without getting overwhelmed. 
• Industry blind spots: unsolicited touch disguised as “assists,” heavy scents and dim rooms that spike anxiety, and the myth that “no one here has trauma.” If you’ve ever tensed when footsteps circle your mat or wished a teacher would simply ask before adjusting, this conversation will feel like a sigh of relief.

Practical takeaways for both teachers and students. Teachers get ready-to-use language for choice and consent, ideas to make classes predictable without feeling rigid, and ways to embed ahimsa in every decision. Students will learn how to assess a studio’s vibe in the first five minutes, start  a home yoga practice. and advocate for their needs without apology. This is yoga that welcomes every body. And every story it carries.

Scientific Research on Trauma Sensitive Yoga:

https://www.healwithcfte.org/research/

About the guest: 

Kristin Klipp is a Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator, Empowerment Coach, and Chakra Energy Healer. Kristin has been helping people for 9 years to discover their intuition, heal from trauma, and lead the life they were meant to live. Her company, Truth Lives Within, offers holistic healing sessions that allow clients to find their own inner wisdom and heal their wounds. Kristin has been dedicated to healing trauma after seeing how it has affected her relationships with her family. Kristin has seen how trauma is often swept under the rug and she is getting loud about trauma with her podcast, Get Loud. Find out more about Kristin by checking out her website, https://www.truthliveswithin.com.

Facebook: Instagram: 

YouTube:  TikTok: 

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Want to make video and audio editing quicker and simpler? Get 50% off the first 2 months of the Descript Creator Monthly Plan. 

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What if trauma recovery wasn’t a checklist, but a conversation with your body?  Host, Liz Albanis opens season two by reflecting on the first two anniversaries of the house fire which inspired this very podcast. The unexpected ways recovery unfolded. She shares the tools that helped, while naming what still lingers. As a way to create awareness and help others.

Moving to a quieter city eased the baseline hum. Fewer sirens, softer pace, better sleep. That shift didn’t erase trauma; it lowered the volume so she could hear her own cues. 

She shares what changed between year one and year two.

It’s a raw, practical look at what helps when triggers surge, why group classes aren’t always the answer, and how small rituals can outmuscle big fears.

Key Takeaways:

• Yoga needs to be somatic to release trauma.
• Yoga by itself is not enough.
• Yoga ideally meets you where you are. Not the other way around.
• Trauma recovery can be messy and embodied.
• Mantras for trauma recovery.
• Yoga can sometimes be more powerful in a particular location after experiencing a traumatic event.
• Myo-fascial release can help release stored trauma. And it's possible to do it yourself, if you know what you're doing and have the right tools.
• Liz believes the 'Yoga Tune Up Balls' are the best on the market for effective myo-fascial release. From her experience.
• It's normal to not feel ready to go back to a yoga class. Even if you're a yoga teacher.
• Anniversaries alone, can be a trigger in relation to trauma, like with grief.
• Grounding through flashbacks and sensory anchors.
• Trauma recovery and sleep.
• Trauma recovery, like grief is not linear.
• Managing triggers, apps, and hypervigilance with action. 
• The power of journaling to reveal quiet progress that anxiety hides. A practice that can help adapt, pause, listen, and let the body lead.

If you’re navigating recovery or supporting someone who is, expect clear tools, no perfectionism, and a lot of permission to do less. Tune in, share it with a friend who needs steady ground, and leave a quick review so others can find the show. Your story matters. Your pace is right. Subscribe for more trauma-aware yoga conversations and practical nervous system care.

* Content warning for trauma and natural disasters 

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Want to make video and audio editing quicker and simpler? Get 50% off the first 2 months of the Descript Creator Monthly Plan. 

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Welcome to Season 2 of Yoga for Trauma: The Inner Fire of Yoga . 

This season, we're diving even deeper into the intersection of trauma recovery through yoga. spotlighting powerful tools, practices, and lived experiences that support long-term healing. Whether you're a trauma survivor, a mental health professional, or a yoga teacher wanting to offer trauma-informed yoga, this season is made for you.

 Expect raw conversations from people here in Australia and overseas. Science-backed insights, and practical guidance on:

• Using somatic yoga for trauma to release stored tension
• Yoga for trauma release
• How yoga poses for trauma can gently support your nervous system
• Why yoga for mental health is far more than just movement
• What it really means to practice yoga for trauma survivors with empathy and care
• Trauma Aware, informed and sensitive Yoga approaches
• Nervous system regulation
• Advice and key takeaways for practitioners and yoga teachers
• Bonus trauma informed yoga practices
• Personalised approaches for trauma recovery, you'll learn how this practice offers agency, and reconnection with your body.

Season 2 premieres on 6 April 2026. Hit Follow so you don’t miss the journey back to wholeness.

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Want to make video and audio editing quicker and simpler? Get 50% off the first 2 months of the Descript Creator Monthly Plan. 

Instagram:  Youtube

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Want to make video and audio editing quicker and simpler? Get 50% off the first 2 months of the Descript Creator Monthly Plan. 

Instagram:  Youtube