"[A] rare combination of solid scholarship, clinically useful methods, and passionate advocacy for those who have suffered trauma." —Rick Hanson, PhD, author of Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom From elementary schools to psychotherapy offices, mindfulness meditation is an increasingly mainstream practice. At the same time, trauma remains a fact of life: the majority of us will experience a traumatic event in our lifetime, and up to 20% of us will develop posttraumatic stress. This means that anywhere mindfulness is being practiced, someone in the room is likely to be struggling with trauma. At first glance, this appears to be a good thing: trauma creates stress, and mindfulness is a proven tool for reducing it. But the reality is not so simple. Drawing on a decade of research and clinical experience, psychotherapist and educator David Treleaven shows that mindfulness meditation—practiced without an awareness of trauma—can exacerbate symptoms of traumatic stress. Instructed to pay close, sustained attention to their inner world, survivors can experience flashbacks, dissociation, and even retraumatization. This raises a crucial question for mindfulness teachers, trauma professionals, and survivors everywhere: How can we minimize the potential dangers of mindfulness for survivors while leveraging its powerful benefits? Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness offers answers to this question. Part I provides an insightful and concise review of the histories of mindfulness and trauma, including the way modern neuroscience is shaping our understanding of both. Through grounded scholarship and wide-ranging case examples, Treleaven illustrates the ways mindfulness can help—or hinder—trauma recovery. Part II distills these insights into five key principles for trauma-sensitive mindfulness. Covering the role of attention, arousal, relationship, dissociation, and social context within trauma-informed practice, Treleaven offers 36 specific modifications designed to support survivors’ safety and stability. The result is a groundbreaking and practical approach that empowers those looking to practice mindfulness in a safe, transformative way.

A groundbreaking yoga program that takes full advantage of the body-mind connection. Drawing on her extensive training in yoga therapy, dance, and meditation, Bija Bennett has created a groundbreaking yoga program that takes full advantage of the body-mind connection. Based on the classical eightfold path of yoga, Emotional Yoga offers a broad range of simple body-mind techniques that can positively affect our emotional well-being, including the dynamic interplay of movements, breathing exercises, meditations, lifestyle skills, rituals, gestures, and healing sounds. Each technique is presented in a way that is true to Bennett's background in the tradition of Viniyoga, which allows the reader to adapt the program to his or her specific needs.

"This groundbreaking book provides guidance to counselors working with Native Peoples and other vulnerable populations. Including an important new chapter devoted to working with veterans, the second edition presents case materials that illustrate effective intervention strategies for prevalent problems, including substance abuse, intergenerational trauma, and internalized oppression"--

"This book teaches children how to use mindfulness to cope with big feelings and tricky days by noticing their emotions without judging them and using self-soothing techniques. It also has a note to caregivers at the back of the text to help them assist the child in further learning about mindfulness and how they can check in with their emotions"--

Wouldn’t it be great if your child could exercise, have fun, and build concentration skills all at the same time? In 2006, the Little Flower Yoga program was developed by teacher and certified yoga instructor Jennifer Cohen Harper, when her successful use of yoga in her kindergarten classroom led to requests by other students, teachers, and administrators for yoga programs of their own. Harper slowly began to teach more and more yoga classes, and eventually recruited other yoga teachers with education backgrounds to continue growing what had become a flourishing program. Little Flower Yoga for Kidsoffers this fun and unique program combining yoga and mindfulness in an easy-to-read format. Written specifically for parents and kids, the book aims at teaching children to pay attention, increase focus, and balance their emotions—all while building physical strength and flexibility. Based on a growing body of evidence that yoga and mindfulness practices can help children develop focus and concentration, the simple yoga exercises in this book can easily be integrated into their child’s daily routine, ultimately improving health, behavior, and even school achievement. The book details the five main components of the program: connect, breath, move, focus, and relax. Drawing on these components, Harper shares practical activities that parents can use with their children both on a daily basis and as applied to particularly challenging issues. And while this book is targeted to parents, teachers may also find it extremely useful in helping students achieve better attention and focus. For more information about this innovative program, visit www.littlefloweryoga.com.

Presenting ways in which Restorative Yoga can contribute to healing emotional wounds, this book invites yoga teachers, therapists and practitioners to consider the psychological impact of ethnic and race-based stress and trauma. It aids in the process of uncovering, examining, and healing one's own emotional wounds and offers insight into avoiding wounding or re-wounding others. The book describes how race-based traumatic stress differs from PTSD and why a more targeted approach to treatment is necessary, as well as what can trigger it. It also considers the implications of an increasingly racially and ethnically diverse and global yoga community, as well as the importance of creating conscious yoga communities of support and connection, where issues of race and ethnicity are discussed openly, non-defensively and constructively. By providing a therapeutic structure that assists those directly and indirectly impacted by ethnic and race-based stress and trauma, Restorative Yoga for Ethnic and Race-Based Stress and Trauma provides valuable tools for aiding in the processing of stressful experiences and in trauma recovery.

Trauma-informed yoga guidance for survivors, instructors, and mental health professionals. Trauma-Informed Yoga for Survivors of Sexual Assault provides a comprehensive overview of how to offer yoga to survivors of sexual assault in a safe, effective, evidence-based, and healing way. Transcending Sexual Trauma through Yoga founder Zahabiyah A. Yamasaki draws on the framework of trauma-informed care and trauma-informed yoga program development and curriculum, while also weaving in personal narrative and inspiring survivor stories. She explores practical considerations for survivors, as well as for yoga teachers, mental health professionals, educators, and other healing professionals who are interested in integrating trauma-informed yoga into the scope of their work and/or healing. This book expands the scope and framework for healing and fills a much-needed gap in service delivery for survivors. Yamasaki provides holistic, trauma-informed, body-based, compassionate, and culturally affirming options for survivors as they navigate what is oftentimes a lifelong and nonlinear process of healing. A companion card deck of affirmations, Trauma-Informed Yoga for Survivors of Sexual Assault: Practices for Healing and Teaching with Compassion, is also available, both as a stand-alone item and in a discounted set with the book.