Welcome to Day 4 of Embody & Bloom: The Foundation Yoga Series, exploring trauma-informed yoga for heart opening and emotional release. This is a trauma-informed yoga series designed to gently support sexual trauma survivors in reconnecting with their bodies through safety, presence, and choice.
If you like, I welcome you to explore the full series overview and all seven practices here: Embody & Bloom: Foundation Yoga Series.
Your heart space is the area of love, the kind we give to others and ourselves. This can become guarded after trauma, leading to physical feelings of tightness or emotionally creating distance from others. When we open this area and send it awareness and compassion, we can start to release the armor around here, leaving us feeling lighter and more open to healthy connection.
If you’d like to explore a more full body focus for release and softening, I invite you to explore Day 3: Soften and Release.
Our heart space after trauma
Our hearts and chest can hold so much after trauma. Our heart space is one of our most vulnerable areas, and so we may consciously or unconsciously make small adjustments over time to feel more protected in this area.
A few signs of a closed heart space are:
- chest tightness
- shallow breathing
- shoulders rounding inward
- feel like it’s uncomfortable or difficult to feel open or connected
- emotional distance or numbness
These are protective patterns our bodies learn over time, and not something that signals there is something wrong with us. When we allow awareness, care, and softness, our bodies will gently unwind when they feel ready to.
What to Expect in This Trauma-Informed Yoga Practice
This 25 minute trauma-informed yoga class explores gentle heart opening through slow movement, restful poses, and grounding.
I invite you to explore this class however you like, knowing I am simply a guide. You can end early, take breaks, skip ahead, or do anything that allows you to feel the most supported in each moment.
We’ll explore:
- Grounding (1:25)
We begin today’s class seated, and I spend a few moments explaining a little more about this area, either resting your hands anywhere you choose or placing them on your heart. . - Heart Opening Movement (4:10)
We move into heart opening movements including cat/cow, child’s pose, sphinx, bridge pose, constructive rest, and supine butterfly. - Seated Twist/Grounding (21:10)
We explore a seated twist then end the practice seated, taking a moment with our hands on our hearts. - Closing (23:20)
Who This Practice Is For
This practice is supportive if you:
- Feel guarded or closed in your chest area
- Feel emotionally distant from others
- Have tightness in your heart or upper body
- Wish to explore a gentle, trauma-informed heart opening practice
- Prefer slow, grounded movement with rest
This is a trauma informed yoga practice, which means everything I offer is optional. I welcome you to move at your own pace and explore the poses in a way that feels right for your nervous system, body, and energy levels.
There are no props required and this class is supportive for all experience levels. There are no standing postures in this practice.
Trauma-Informed Yoga for Heart Opening and Emotional Release (Day 4 Class)
If you’re ready to begin, I invite you to practice with me on YouTube below, or explore this class in my free private platform if you prefer a more supported, calm, and contained space to move through the classes. This is a gentle space for you to return to your body at your own pace and in your own time.
If you’d like to continue the series, I invite you to join me for Day 5, where we’ll explore gentle embodiment to rekindle your mind and body connection.
