Trauma-Informed Yoga (TIY)
Overview
Our methodology is self-empowering and provides survivors with the resources necessary to reconnect with their bodies, calm their nervous systems, and decrease levels of stress. Most importantly, once experienced, our methodology can be used anywhere and at any time.
Since 2018, Exhale to Inhale been conducting its own surveys in partnership with the New School for Social Research to measure the impact of our methodology. We measure stress, bodily pain, and sense of agency before and after an ETI class.
The data shows that students feel a statistically significant improvement across each wellness measurement.
Effects of Trauma-Informed Yoga
91%
decrease in anxiety
96%
decrease in stress
86%
decrease in bodily pain
Why Trauma-Informed Yoga?
Every 68 seconds, an individual experiences sexual assault.
Trauma affects both the body and mind, impacting the nervous system and often, creating a sense of disconnection. Many survivors struggle to access traditional therapy due to stigma, financial barriers, or discomfort with talk therapy. Trauma-informed yoga provides an accessible, empowering alternative to engage survivors and promote broader healing.
Trauma-informed yoga offers survivors a powerful, body-based path to healing. Through breath, movement, and choice, it helps regulate the nervous system, rebuild a sense of safety, and foster reconnection—supporting both physical and emotional well-being. By offering accessible, inclusive practices, survivors of all backgrounds and abilities can engage in healing on their own terms.
Exhale to Inhale is working towards a world in which every survivor has access to the healing practices of trauma-informed yoga.
Trauma-Informed Yoga: A Capacity Building and Wellness Strengthening Intervention for Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence and Affiliative Staff
Sarah Beranbaum and Wendy D’Andrea | New School for Social Research
Exhale to Inhale and the New School for Social Research are proud to announce the publication of our work in the Violence Against Women Journal in October 2023. Launched in March 1995, Violence Against Women is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal that focuses on gender-based violence against women in all forms and across cultural and national boundaries, publishing a wide range of articles,
This evaluation examines the impacts of Exhale to Inhale’s trauma-informed yoga (TIY) on stress, somatic complaints, and self-efficacy among female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and affiliated staff in community-based domestic violence agencies. A two-phase study design was employed, the first of which collected data from in-person group classes and the second from remotely taught classes due to COVID-19 safety restrictions. Collected over 3 years, 526 female survivors (n=361) and staff (n =165) from 66 domestic violence agencies completed surveys revealing improved stress, somatic complaints, and self-efficacy following a single TIY session. TIY serves as a capacity-building intervention that is suitable and adaptable for survivors of IPV and the staff at domestic violence agencies.