Mindfulness Based Yoga is an integrative therapy suited to clients wishing to practice:

  • emotion regulation - changing the intensity of one's emotional experiences
  • distress tolerance - staying with a challenging experience without becoming overwhelmed
  • mindfulness - noticing one's physical sensations, emotions &/or thoughts, even as they change, with an attitude of compassion & acceptance.

Learning these skills and practicing them is done through the use of yoga forms & the breath. Clients also have opportunities to discuss & reflect on their experiences. 

It is in this respect MBY is an integrative practice containing elements of talk, cognitive & yoga therapy.

In MBY we also recognise the therapeutic contribution of:

  • body conditioning - having the opportunity to positively & constructively condition one's own body
  • self-knowledge - understanding how one's own body & brain work, including how both adapt to trauma

For this reason MBY integrates:

  • increasing strength & flexibility
  • improving balance, co-ordination & posture
  • recovery from & prevention of physical injury
  • learning about one's functional anatomy*
  • learning about yoga & trauma psychology, physiology & neurochemistry*
  • re-framing the experience of touch through the exploration of physical adjustments &/or partner work**

Decisions about which of these options to focus on is discussed in an initial assessment & re-visited throughout the course of an 8 week term.

MBYT is generally offered in individual sessions. Under some circumstances it may be offered in small groups of 2 - 10 people.

MBY is not considered useful if:

  • you have needed a hospitalisation within the last 6 months, for trauma related experiences

*Study into these areas is conducted through a combination of recommended reading & guided observations of one's own body/breath

**please note that all physical adjustments & partner work are done at the clients own discretion - consent is always sought

These classes are trauma informed classes. As such, we understand that the content may be triggering. We encourage students to take any necessary steps in their self-care.