“I believe that we all have the capacity to overcome adversity. However, this requires that we have compassionate support and intelligent guidance.”

The Atlas Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher Training Program is an extension of the Atlas 200hr Yoga Teacher Training Program. Since the program was established in 1997, we have endeavoured to be sensitive to the issues of trauma, internal and external bias, and listen to the experiences of our students. Over the years we developed a philosophy of yoga teacher training that was student focused and emphasized the experience over form and tradition.

Early in my yoga teacher training I was fortunate enough to happen upon the “Inner Quest Intensive” at the Kripalu Centre for Yoga and Health. At one time it was a required program for the 500hr YTT certification and at the time that I took the program it fit into my schedule and budget and I headed in with no idea what I was in for. During this program we addressed family of origin issues, the iceberg of trauma and grief, and so very much more. At the time I was in the process of waking up to the abusive relationship that I was in, the issues around addiction that I had grown up in, and my enabling nature. Needless-to-say, it was exactly what I needed to continue my yoga path to healing and integrating the past with the tools and techniques of yoga that would help me to move forward, live my dharma and generational healing. This is definitely an oversimplification but as Aruni often says on the last day of the program, “Don’t try to explain this to the ticket taker at the MASS Pike.” In other words, if the person we are talking to did not have the same transformational experience they may not understand our enthusiasm. Our teacher training programs are sensitive to the needs of our students and our teachers in training are taught good inclusive, permissive language and practices that help yoga practitioners to explore the depths and breadth of a healing path with yoga.

Over the past few years, we recognized the inadequacy of the amount of time that we have to spend on important issues in trauma sensitive training and the idea for this course was born. The Atlas Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher Training Program is an important extension of the training required to become sensitive to the needs and underlying complex issues our clients are coping with and to expand our tool box with affirmative, empirically validated, clinical interventions for basic to complex trauma, chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other elements of the human experience that we are still discovering. The program is included for all of our yoga teacher training programs. In the future it will be a required course.

In a growing number of professions, including yoga teachers and therapists, firefighters, law enforcement, trauma doctors and nurses, child welfare workers, and therapists and case managers, it is now understood that working with people in trauma — hearing their stories of hardship and supporting their recovery — has far-reaching emotional effect on the provider. The condition has numerous names: secondary traumatic stress (STS), vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue. The symptoms are similar in some ways to post-traumatic stress disorder: withdrawing from friends and family; feeling unexplainably irritable or angry or numb; inability to focus; blaming others; feeling hopeless or isolated or guilty about not doing enough; struggling to concentrate; being unable to sleep; overeating or not eating enough; and continually and persistently worrying about students, when they’re at home and even while asleep.

Program at a Glance

Are you ready to transform your teaching, therapy or counselling practice? Are you committed to transforming pain and challenges into growth, meaning, change and resilience? Are you ready for the transformation that comes from doing yoga to heal trauma from a holistic and body based unified approach?

Then we wholeheartedly invite you to the 100hr Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher Training Certificate Program. This is a continuing education course designed with certified yoga teachers, therapists and coaches in mind.

This unique hybrid online and in-person options certificate program is designed for individuals, practitioners and educators wanting to explore a somatic yoga approach to trauma-informed teaching, managing, counselling: including a deeper understanding of the body’s relationship with  social, environmental, developmental, relational, spiritual, and cultural wounding and healing.  The director and lead instructor of the program, Denise Davis-Gains, has been studying with the leaders in this field for more than 2 decades. The intention of this program is to offer a holistic framework for understanding and working with trauma from a body-centered perspective, using the kosha model of understanding human experience. This extraordinary program offers a collection of practical tools, approaches to language and communication and sound pedagogical resources that will help access the innate wisdom that guides the healing process for yourself and your work with others.

Hear from Denise about the program

Trauma can occur when:

• There is too much too soon

• There is too much for too long

• There is not enough for too long

• Power and agency have been taken away from the person or collective

• The stressors outweigh the resources available to navigate them

• When our primal protective instincts, intuitions, and responses are thwarted

• There is not enough time, space, or permission to heal 

It is essential that we consider social, developmental, and cultural factors when reflecting on a client’s trauma history.

The symptoms of trauma may occur immediately or emerge over time from the compounding stress and challenges of processing and adapting to the experiences of life. Symptoms of trauma emerge as the body and mind attempt to cope with and resolve the stressors. 

The effects of trauma may include: 

• Physical symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, tightness in the body, muscle tension, digestion challenges, and constrictions around the breath. 

• Emotional symptoms such as flatness / inability to feel fear, anxiety, panic, overwhelm, loss of choice, difficulty feeling comforted, anger, and shame.

• Psychological symptoms such as dissociation, mental rumination, low self worth,  negative self talk, self blame, memory challenges, depression, and loss of interest in activities. 

• Relational / Social symptoms such as isolation, loneliness, relational and attachment reenactments. 

Trauma can lead to feelings of powerlessness, helplessness, and groundlessness. It interferes with our ability to feel real in body and mind, it disrupts our very sense of existence, and takes us away from the present moment. However, as Dr. Peter Levine, creator of Somatic Experiencing says “Trauma is a fact of life. It does not have to be a life sentence.”  

Symptoms are the gateway to healing trauma. Our job as practitioners and educators is to listen and hear the messages and wisdom encoded in the body.

Who is this program for?

This program is a certification process that distills an educational pedagogy to integrate into a variety of modalities such as:

• Yoga Therapists / Yoga Teachers•

• Social Workers

• Mental Health & Pastoral Counselors

• Movement and Music Therapists

• Coaches

• Physicians (MD, DO, ND, DC & others) & Physician Assistants

• Nurses & Nurse Practitioners

• Psychologists

• Emergency Medical Personnel

• Meditation Teachers

• Educators, School Teachers

• Massage Therapists & Body Workers

• Acupuncturists

• Hypnotherapists

• Kinesiologists

• Complementary & Alternative Medicine Professionals

• Clergy & Religious Leaders

• Other Wellness Professionals and for personal interest

Curriculum

We had fun creating a curriculum around the kosha model - using 7 kosha model and a pedagogy of caring.

• The Program starts with sharing the course pack and an orientation to the program.

• Each module is based on one of the koshas and includes a lecture, experiential practice(s), time for Q&A and 30mins for group break out room integration and practice.

• There is an orientation section, an introduction and resources section, 5 modules and a final section on integration and the asmitamaya kosha.

• There is recommended reading and for the CEC’s there will be required reading and highly recommended reading. Most readings will be contained within the course pack as well as pdfs, powerpoint presentations and any audio visual materials. Any books that are recommended will be available at local libraries.

• There are journal prompts to integrate the work that we are doing and to encourage group discussion.

• There are other homework assignments for those who require CECs. Those assignments include writing class plans, teaching experiences within small groups and giving each other feedback.

Be a Part of the Evolution of Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher Training

Trauma-informed yoga is on the rise, and for good reason. Trauma-informed yoga is a style of yoga that is adapted for those of us who have experienced traumatic events in our lives.

In a recent study of vulnerable populations conducted by National Library of Medicine, they demonstrated that after a single trauma informed yoga class, people reported feeling fewer negative emotions, increased self-regulation, improved sleep, less feelings of shame, and decreased disassociation and flashbacks. …click below to finish reading this blog post…

Testimonials … what people are saying about Atlas & Denise

“I was interviewing a new yoga teacher, she was teaching a class and I was there to evaluate the class and decide if she was right for our fitness centre. Part-way through the class I realized that she was an Atlas Yoga School teacher and that Denise had trained her. Her language, precision in alignment, permissive cuing and general awareness of the student experience, expertise in the practices and ability to communicate in a caring and open way all reminded me of the clearly identifiable style of teaching we knew dearly as Atlas Yoga. I had to call Denise to tell her what a great teacher she had trained.” ~ Marian McTeer, Vice President of Operations, Good Life Fitness

”I had the pleasure of hiring Denise to teach yoga for the Ontario Fitness Council. She develop a yoga certificate program for fitness professionals and we were so happy with the program, the quality and content of the training that we asked her to write the manual for all yoga teacher training programs for the Ontario Fitness Council.” Angela Walzak, Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University

”Simply put, Atlas Yoga Teacher Training and Denise transformed my life. I was struggling with anxiety, depression and severe panic attacks and through the process of beginning to practice yoga, meditation and mindfulness, enrolling in the yoga teacher training program was a game changer. The more I practiced, the more my life and mental health changed. Don’t get me wrong, there were set back, but overall I am a different person than when I began and I am an advocate, sharing these same practices with other, leading in my work that is unrelated to yoga and have just been asked to manage the entire IT department - I could not have done that without the support of the studio community and the practices.” Yoga Teacher and IT Manager of the Science Department, major Canadian University.

F A Q

When … Start any time and join our community of Trauma Informed Yoga Teachers, Coaches and Therapists.

Format … Live on-line, recorded sessions or a combination of both.

Tuition … Scholarship price 967.00 CDN, Fair Market Value 1167.00 CDN and Pay it forward price 1467.00 CDN.

Length of Course and time commitment …The course will be a 100hr Certification. Approximately 50hrs of lectures, 20hrs of discussion/journaling, 20 hours of reading, viewing video, homework and 10 hours of group and/or partner work. The live on-line version runs over 10 weeks and the recorded on-line version can be done at your own pace or a hybrid. We suggest that you try to finish all components within 3-4 months to get the most from the program.

FREE STUDENT INFO SESSION

Friday, October 25 , 2024 12pm EST

STUDENT ORIENTATION
FALL 2024 - Saturday, November 23, 2023 12-3pmEST

WEEKLY CLASSES
November 2023 - February 2024

• Thursdays 6-9pm

1 INTEGRATION SESSIONS the Director

Open discussion with the director of the program and special guests. Discuss, Q&A on the course content and anything that is coming up for participants.

• around mid-way through the program

Movie - The Wisdom of Trauma w/ Dr. Gabor Maté

• Dates: TBA included in your tuition

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
Time to discuss the material, readings, experiences and get support. Sessions will be led by TA’s and will have the support of BIPOC and LGBQTIA+2S hosts.
Dates: week 3 and 8

Registration … all three prices will remain available scholarship, fair market value and pay it forward.

Will there be an orientation session?
Yes, Saturday, November 23th, 2024

Do I need to attend live or am I am able to watch the recordings?
All live sessions will also be recorded and students may watch in their own time (more information below). Please note, captioning is only available during live sessions.

How can I interact with the instructors? Will I receive guidance?
During each of the live sessions, the instructor will have a Q&A period where you may ask questions. Community connections will also be offered with one of the teaching assistants of the program and special guests. A private online community forum (Slack) will be provided for this certificate program.

What are the homework requirements?
If you want to receive the certificate there will be approximately 20-30hrs of reading, journaling and discussion to complete the course requirements. You can also just take the course without doing the homework for personal interest or professional development. We are very aware of different styles of learning and you are able to discuss with the Director how best to complete your homework for certification.

Do you offer scholarships?
See the registration process to get your scholarship - no application required.

Who is this course designed for?
This program is a certification process that distills an educational pedagogy to integrate into a variety of modalities such as: Yoga Therapists / Yoga Teachers, Social Workers, Mental Health & Pastoral Counsellors, Movement Therapists, Coaches, Physicians (MD, DO, ND, DC & others) & Physician Assistants, Nurses & Nurse Practitioners, Psychologists, Emergency Medical Personnel, Meditation Teachers, Educators, Massage Therapists, Acupuncturists & Body Workers, Hypnotherapists, Kinesiologists, Complementary & Alternative Medicine Professionals, Clergy & Religious Leaders, other Wellness Professionals.

Is there a deadline for registration?
Registration is open until the day before the student orientation for the live online version of the course. Early enrolment will get early access to the course pack, reading materials and our community space. Registration is ongoing for those who would like to take the course using the recordings.

Do you offer refunds?
We offer a Registration Guarantee which means that if you register but decide the course isn’t right for you, we’ll refund your course fee - no questions asked - up to 48 hours before the course start date.

How can I access the online course and recordings?
ZOOM FOR LIVE SESSIONS: The live portion of the certificate program will be offered online using the video conferencing platform Zoom, in meeting format, to allow instructors and students to interact, ask questions and participate in breakout sessions.

ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORM: Once you register, you will receive access to our online learning platform which will include all the information about the certificate, including:

• Detailed schedules

• How to access the live sessions via Zoom

• Recordings of all live sessions uploaded within 48 hours of the end of the live session

• Supporting materials provided by your instructor

ACCESSIBILITY | Video / Audio: Within our online learning platform, you may watch the video within your online library or download the video or audio to your computer. You will have lifetime access to the content.

ACCESSIBILITY | Live Captioning / Transcripts: Captioning during live sessions and transcripts will be offered in English.

ACCESSIBILITY | Reading Lists: The reading list will include items available at the public library or will be provided as a PDF where possible. PDFs of the instructor’s presentation will also be provided where possible. We try to include a variety of content to support individual learning styles.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• Good language to create an inclusive, permissive, safe environment.

• The difference between implicit and explicit permission.

• How to create a pedagogy of care in your professional yoga practice.

• Recognize and embody key principles of somatic yoga and trauma healing approaches.

• Understand the interconnections between individual trauma healing and collective liberatory practices.

• Explore the latest evidence-informed approaches to treating and healing individual and collective trauma.

• Understand how to engage practical mind-body therapy tools to support trauma processing.

• A deeper understanding of how Polyvagal Theory provides an essential foundation in trauma reprocessing.

• Discover and experience techniques to offer co-regulation, a key precursor to self-regulation in working with trauma individually and collectively.

• Practice and apply tools that build or strengthen emotion and sensation tolerance.

• Discover how “top-down” and “bottom up” interventions can speed up or slow down the pacing of trauma informed yoga practice.

• How trauma can lead to holding patterns and survival responses within the individual and collective body.

• Understand the dynamics of post-traumatic hyper-arousal or hypo-arousal states, especially in ecological and cultural contexts.

• Gain a road map to facilitate resilience.

• Identify self- and collective-care practices to navigate boundaries, energy sustainability, and vicarious trauma.

• How to explore safe human contact that invites the potential of deeply rewarding intimate human relationship.

• How to give voice and recognition to the BIPOC and the LGBQT2S experience.

Program Intentions

• To inspire and prepare participants for practice and integration of trauma informed yoga tools.

• To foster a deep understanding of both yoga, somatics and trauma from psychological, social, environmental, cultural, and historic perspectives

• To create a beautifully organized and structured course with high quality content and lectures that shares the trauma informed yoga in a variety of models, frameworks and lenses.

• Explore the foundations of trauma informed yoga, while providing a breadth of tools offered by various somatic therapy practices in relation to working with trauma.

• Integrating an understanding and treatment of trauma informed yoga on the individual and the collective levels.

• Create opportunities for participants to connect as a community and connect in dialogue and practice.

• Sessions will include practical skills that can be applied to integrate the educational material.

Program Schedule & Details at a Glance

The live on-line program will run from September - November, 2023. All sessions will be recorded and students may watch at their own pace. You can also take the course at any time using the recorded session.

Registration Deadline and Course Access: November 24, 2023 12pm

Student Orientation: November 25, 2023 12-3pm

Weekly Classes:
Thursdays 6-9pm, 2023/24

• A detailed schedule will be provided when registering

1 INTEGRATION SESSIONS the Director

Open discussion with the director of the program and special guests. Discuss, Q&A on the course content and anything that is coming up for participants.

• Dates: TBA

Movie - The Wisdom of Trauma w/ Dr. Gabor Maté

• Dates: TBA

• included in tuition

COMMUNITY SESSIONS:
• After each module - Option to stay 30 minutes after the class ends to connect with students and discuss the class in small breakout rooms.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
Time to discuss the material, readings, experiences and get support. Sessions will be led by TA’s and will have the support of BIPOC and LGBQT2S hosts.
Dates: TBA

Because of the complexities with international time zones, we have only listed Eastern Time (EST) above. Please check how this translates into your local Time Zone here.

HOMEWORK  

There are readings, journaling/reflection prompts for each module for those who would like CEC’s.

LEARNING PLATFORM FORMAT

ZOOM: The live portion of the certificate program will be offered online using the video conferencing platform Zoom, in meeting format, to allow instructors and students to interact, ask questions and participate in breakout sessions.

ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORM: The online learning platform will host all the information about the course including:

• Detailed schedule and reminder emails of upcoming sessions
• How to access via Zoom
• Recordings of all sessions are available.
• Supporting materials such as PDFs of the reading material and presentations

ACCESSIBILITY

VIDEO / AUDIO: Within the online learning platform, students may watch the video within their online library or download the video or audio to their computer. They will have lifetime access to the content.

LIVE CAPTIONING / TRANSCRIPTS: Captioning (multiple languages now available in zoom) during live sessions and transcripts will be offered English.

READING LISTS: we will provide required or recommended readings.
• Required readings will be available freely online or in PDF format.
• Recommended readings are optional and for futher exploration. They may include books, online articles etc.
• PDFs of the instructor’s presentation will also be provided.

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Below are the requirements to receive the Certificate of Completion:
• Attend the live sessions or watch the recordings
• Integration Activities
• Complete the Self-Evaluation

REGISTRATION / ENROLLMENT / TUITION

Enroll for the certificate program by choosing one of the two payment options— full payment, or a two-month payment plan. The 2022 prices are yet to be confirmed but we expect that we will offer a scaled pricing structure starting from 967CDN for the Partial Scholarship Plan, 1167CDN for the Full Tuition Plan and 1467CDN for the Angel Investor plan.

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