Trauma-Informed Yoga Sequence For Tension Release (Beginner Friendly)

This quick trauma-informed yoga sequence softens tension, eases racing thoughts, and promotes overall relaxation. When you’re ready, I welcome you to join me and explore the poses.

What Is Trauma-Informed Yoga? 

If you’re new to trauma informed yoga (also known as trauma sensitive yoga), no worries. This style of teaching has these key elements: 

• Honors your lived experience as a trauma survivor 
• Avoids demanding and triggering language
• Empowers you to make choices that feel best for your body 
• Offers plenty of pose options. 
• Offers free and/or sliding scale offerings to make yoga accessible to all populations

These key differences allow you to focus more on your body to encourage tension release and process emotions with compassion.

Related Post: Trauma-Informed Yoga: Exactly How These 6 Pillars Support Sexual Trauma Survivors

Trauma-Informed Yoga Sequence

Before Beginning: 

Everything I offer is optional – feel free to skip anything that doesn’t serve you, end your practice at any time, and make any adjustments to make this a more comfortable experience for you. You are always in control of your practice. 

Here are three key elements of this sequence: 

• No props (unless you wish to add your own)
• All levels welcome
• I provide English and Sanskrit names for all poses

These yoga poses are meant to activate your parasympathetic nervous system to be able to soften your body and ease tension. This is healing for trauma survivors because you may feel like you’re always on edge and can’t relax. Allowing your body the space and time it craves will naturally soothe traumatic stress and allow you to feel like you can truly soften.

Trauma-Informed Yoga Sequence Steps

In a typical class, I offer invitational language for every pose. For this sequence, I give trauma-informed tips at the end of each pose section. This is to keep the pose instructions short and clear. This is a friendly reminder that everything you do in your yoga practice is your choice you don’t need to follow the steps perfectly or just because that was my instruction. 

Pose 1: Child’s Pose (Balasana)

• Steps:
  • Kneel on the floor, send your seat back toward your heels, and reach your arms forward.
  • Gently lower your forehead to the mat, allowing your heart and chest to relax toward the mat.

• Trauma-Informed Tips:
  • Option to have your knees as wide as feels comfortable
  • You might place a block under your head
  • Option to place a bolster underneath your body or in between your seat and heels
  • I welcome you to explore any arm variation that works for you

Pose 2: Cat-Cow Pose (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)

Cat Pose

Cow Pose With A Blanket and Block Between Thighs

• Steps:
  • Start in a tabletop position, wrists under shoulders and knees under hip points. Invite a small bend in your elbows, pressing into your knuckles. 
  • Cow: On your inhale, gently lift your chest and tailbone towards the ceiling. You might keep length in the back of your neck to avoid craning and protect your lower back.
  • Cat: Exhale, round your spine, drawing your chin to your chest, press the mat away, and draw your belly toward your spine

• Trauma-Informed Tips:
  • Some people prefer to inhale on cat pose and exhale on cow pose. You’re more than welcome to explore a breath to movement flow that works for you. 
  • Placing a blanket under your wrists and knees can provide extra cushion and support
  • You might choose to place a blanket over you for extra privacy and a sense of comfort and safety
  • Feel free to explore intuitive movement and go outside the lines of traditional cat/cow. You might send your weight forward and back, experiment with toes curled under the mat or tops of your feet flat to the mat, or shift your gaze to your left or right, creating a gentle side bend.

Pose 3: Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

• Steps:
  • While in a tabletop position, curl your toes, and lift your hips towards the ceiling
  • Option to keep your knees bent as you press into your knuckles, fingertips wide.  
  • Option to allow your head to hang freely between your arms.

• Trauma-Informed Tip:
  • Option to take child’s pose instead
  • You might explore placing your hands and feet at different widths (widening or shortening your stance)
  • Option to place blocks under your hands

Transition cue: If you like, gently place your knees on the ground to slowly lower yourself to the ground and on your belly. You could also go from plank to chaturanga, then lowering onto the mat if that is in your practice. 

Pose 4: Sphinx Pose (Salamba Bhujangasana)

• Steps:
  • While lying on your belly with your legs out long behind you, place your elbows under your shoulders, lifting your chest.
  • Keep your forearms on the mat, pressing gently into the ground to open your chest. Keep length in the back of your head if you have lower back pain (avoid craning your neck)
  • Imagine lengthening your tailbone toward your heels to soften any lower back discomfort

• Trauma-Informed Tip:
  • Option to place a blanket under your hip points if they dig into the mat
  • Option to rest a bolster between your forearms and chest for more support and a restorative sphinx. 
  • Can instead rest your head on overlapping hands
  • You might explore where you place your forearms, either holding them further/closer/or wider.

Transition cue: I invite you to press into your palms, finding tabletop pose, and take a cat pose. This is a counter stretch for the back bend and you might explore any other movements that feel nice for your body here. 

I welcome you to cross at your ankles to sit on the ground, sending your legs out long in front of you. 

Pose 5: Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana)

• Steps:
  • Sit on the mat with your legs extended long in front of you. Option to have your knees bent or straight.
  • Inhale, lifting through your spine and crown of your head
  • Exhale, gently fold forward, reaching towards your feet (it’s okay if they don’t reach).
  • Soften your head and neck, allowing gravity to naturally deepen the stretch over time and to your level of comfort. 

• Trauma-Informed Tip:
  • You can have as much of a bend in your knees as feels comfortable. 
  • Option to place your hands on your legs, or lay them along your legs with palms facing up for a more restorative fold. 
  • Option to sit on the edge of a folded blanket or bolster to encourage a straighter spine (this will promote deeper breathing)
  • This is a common pose that many people feel they need to prove how flexible they are. I welcome you to shift your focus to the sensations in your body and honor your natural limits. 

Pose 6: Supine Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)

• Steps:
  • Lie on your back with your legs extended. Gently shift your hips to the right, reel your knees to your chest, then send both knees to your left. 
  • Extend one or both arms out to the side
  • Gaze anywhere you like or to the right
  • Hold for several breaths, then switch sides.
• Trauma-Informed Tips:
  • Option to extend your bottom leg (one resting on the floor) straight for a deeper stretch
  • Option to place blankets under the shoulder opposite the twist (if your legs are to your left, the blanket or pillow would go under your right shoulder)
  • Option to place blocks, pillows, or blankets between your knees or underneath them. 
  • Explore any arm variation that works for you

Pose 7: Final Resting Pose (Savasana)

• Steps:
  • Lie flat on your back with your legs extended and arms resting by your sides, palms facing up.
  • Close your eyes or keep a soft gaze as you allow your body to soften on the mat
  • Stay in this pose for several minutes (or as long as you like), letting go of any remaining tension with each exhale.

• Trauma-Informed Tip:
  • This restful pose is deeply personal because everyone prefers to rest differently. There are many variations for Savasana, so I welcome you to read the blog post I dedicated just for trauma-informed Savasana below. 

Related Post: 12 Tips for Savasana After Trauma: Your Ultimate Guide to Trauma-Informed Savasana 

Ending Your Practice:

I welcome you to end your Savasana at any time. You may choose to wiggle your fingers and toes, then roll to one side. You might choose to rest your head on your arm before propping yourself up to a comfortable seat. 

You can end your practice here, or maybe place one hand on your belly and another on your heart, sending kind words to yourself before leaving your mat. No matter how your practice went for you, I welcome you to know that you took time for yourself today – and that always matters.

Overview

Thanks for joining me for this quick sequence! You can adjust this any way you like and even expand on it however you choose. Everything in your practice is your choice, and it’s celebrated to see students veer off the main path because it means they’re following their intuition. This is much more beneficial for rebuilding your mind body connection compared to perfecting poses based on someone else’s preferences. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day and take care.