Trauma-Informed Virtual Yoga Group

This series is intentionally designed to support trauma recovery through gentle movement, mindfulness, and community. Each element of the group helps create a sense of inner steadiness, self-trust, and connection without requiring you to revisit the past or share your personal history. Here’s what you can expect:

• Foster Inner Security: Utilize yoga and mindfulness techniques to promote a sense of predictability and safety within the body, without delving into explicit trauma processing.

• Ignite Empowerment: Offer choices that promote autonomy and encourage participants to listen to their needs and internal cues.

• Develop Body Awareness: Learn how to tune in and notice sensations without judgment, enhancing your body awareness and ability to tolerate sensations that may have previously felt uncomfortable.

• Community and Connection: This intimate group size of 8-12 participants fosters a sense of safety, community, and mutual support. Sharing experiences and learning together can be incredibly powerful and affirming, helping you feel less isolated in your healing journey.

• Compassionate and Supportive Environment: Sessions provide a predictable and compassionate space designed to nurture your journey towards healing while reducing stress and anxiety. Our trauma-informed therapists are trained to pay close attention to signs of discomfort, ensuring that you can explore your feelings in a way that honors your experiences.

• Holistic Healing Approach: Through a curated combination of gentle yoga asanas, grounding exercises, and psychoeducation you will learn how to reclaim a greater sense of safety in your body and create space for a gentle healing process. Our goal is to help you reconnect with your body, improve your mind-body connection, and enhance your overall emotional well-being.

Designed by a Trauma Specialist and Yoga Practitioner

This group series is led by Dr. Jessa Navidé, a licensed clinical psychologist and certified yoga instructor with deep expertise in trauma recovery and mind-body healing. Her approach bridges psychological insight with somatic practices, offering a powerful and compassionate path for reconnecting with the body after trauma. Drawing from advanced training in trauma-informed CBT, acceptance and commitment therapy, and integrative somatic trauma therapy, Jessa brings clinical depth and a calming, attuned presence to her work.

Her yoga background includes a 200-hour certification from Goa Yoga Shala in India and trauma-informed training through Three and a Half Acres Yoga (THAY), a nonprofit dedicated to bringing healing practices to under-resourced communities. She has taught both virtual and in-person trauma-sensitive yoga classes, helping students foster safety, embodiment, and inner awareness.

With her unique blend of clinical expertise and embodied practice, Jessa creates a space for healing that is both grounded and transformative.

What is trauma-informed yoga?

Trauma-informed yoga is a gentle and intentional approach to movement that supports anyone who has experienced stress, overwhelm, or painful life events—whether from a single incident or the kind of slow-building experiences that wear on you over time. It’s designed to help you reconnect with your body in a way that feels safe, supportive, and empowering, no matter what your past holds. It focuses on creating a compassionate and supportive environment where participants can deepen their connection to their bodies. The sequence is consistent and predictable, providing a safe way to begin shifting awareness inward to the breath and body sensation.

Key elements of the practice include:

1) creating a predictable environment to support going inward and attuning to body needs
2) offering options and encouraging people to choose what is most in alignment with their unique needs;
3) using invitational and strength-based language encouraging individuals to reclaim their sense of agency; and
4) developing body awareness by noticing sensations without judgment.

Who is this group for? Who is it not for?

This group will take place virtually over Zoom in the comfort of your home. We suggest having a yoga mat or a soft ground covering such as a towel or other material with good grip. Throughout the group you have the option to keep your camera on or off. Optional items you may like to have include but are not limited to: a blanket, a pillow, a block/stack of books, a small towel, and water. You are welcome to dress in a way that feels most supportive of a gentle movement practice. We suggest choosing a location in your home that feels most comfortable for you to be moving or mindfully resting.

Is this covered by insurance?

This group is not a medical/psychotherapy group, so you will not be able to bill insurance.

What does each group look like?

Each group will include 40 minutes of mindful movement/yoga practice followed by 20 minutes
of guided discussion around an identified weekly trauma-related theme or skill. Additionally, there’s an optional 15 minute processing space at the end of each group for those who would like to discuss their experiences. Weekly themes are subject to change based on the evolving needs of the group.

Will I have to share about my trauma?

No, we won’t explore trauma beyond what’s happening in the moment. In order to maintain a safe space, we ask that group members refrain from sharing details related to their past traumas.

Do I need to be in individual therapy while participating in this group?

We encourage all group members to be in individual therapy to have a space to process anything that may arise during the group, but it is not required.

Is everything I share confidential?

You’ll receive group norms, which includes that whatever is shared in the group stays
in the group. However, because we can’t guarantee confidentiality, we encourage group members to focus comments on the trauma-related theme or skill discussed in each group rather than sharing personal details.