Trauma-Informed Yoga for Pain Management: A Practical Manual for Simple Stretching, Gentle Strengthening, and Mindful Breathing

This ground-breaking book offers a trauma-informed guide for everyone seeking guidance on body-based strategies for pain management. Centred around principles of building a sense of safety, supporting empowerment, and maintaining simplicity, this book takes an evidence-based approach offering clear and inclusive programs of practice. Trauma-Informed Yoga for Pain Management first explores the complex science of pain, including the Polyvagal Theory and the science of breathing. It also explores why simple stretching, gentle strengthening, and mindful breathing are effective tools for pain management. The book then presents clear ways in which to make any program trauma-informed. The final section commands half of the book and provides many easy-to-use practices, ranging from two to ninety minutes. These trauma-informed practices are designed for anyone seeking to manage pain through stretching, strengthening, and breathwork. Supplemental materials are included to support any program: handouts, audio recordings, and many other materials. This pioneering and practical guide meets people where they are, setting everyone up for success as they learn pain management strategies and ways to heal.

Yael Calhoun, MA, MS, E-RYT is an long-time educator and author with a background in teaching yoga as a tool to address trauma, stress, pain, special needs, and compassion fatigue. She is a writer and series editor of over 20 books and training manuals. In 2007, she cofounded GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit organisation dedicated to bringing the benefits of yoga to underserved populations and to those who serve them.
Yael started the trauma-informed yoga program at the Salt Lake City Veterans Adminstration in 2010, which then expanded to pain management. The programs for refugees have been translated into six languages. She has presented nationally including at the United Nations Global Summit and the Trauma Resiliency Council. Yael runs continuing education training and workshops for yoga teachers and clinicians. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.