Not Your Usual Stretch, Not Your Usual Session
What is it The Trauma-Conscious Yoga Method?
The Trauma-Conscious Yoga Method℠ (TCYM) is a healing approach that blends gentle, trauma-conscious yoga with somatic (body-based) therapy practices to support your whole self—body, mind, and nervous system. Developed by therapist and yoga teacher Nityda Gessel, TCYM combines elements of somatic psychotherapy, such as Somatic Experiencing®, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and EMDR, with accessible yoga and mindfulness practices. It’s designed to meet you exactly where you are, moment by moment, and adapt to your needs as they shift during our work together.
Unlike traditional yoga or trauma-informed approaches that simply acknowledge trauma, TCYM is trauma-conscious, which means we stay actively attuned to your emotional, physical, and energetic experience throughout each session. It’s about creating a space that is not only safe, but also responsive, empowering, and deeply compassionate. This method is also rooted in social justice, honoring the impact of systemic oppression, generational trauma, and collective wounds. We recognize that trauma comes in many forms and affects us all—so we don’t label or rank your experience as “big” or “small.” Your story matters, just as it is.
Through gentle movement, breathwork, mindfulness, and guided self-inquiry, you’ll reconnect with your body, reclaim your inner wisdom, and begin to heal from the inside out. TCYM draws on yogic philosophy, Buddhist psychology, neuroscience, and somatics, offering a truly integrative path toward embodied healing and self-discovery.
How Does It Help?
The Trauma-Conscious Yoga Method℠ (TCYM) is a flexible, somatic approach that supports trauma healing, emotional regulation, and self-connection for trauma survivors, deep feelers, and really, all humans navigating life’s challenges. I integrate TCYM into a variety of settings, including individual therapy sessions, intensive therapy work, therapeutic yoga groups, general yoga classes, and one-on-one private yoga sessions.
As both a licensed therapist and registered yoga teacher, I offer a unique space where emotional support and embodied healing come together. You don’t need to have any experience with yoga or a formal trauma diagnosis, just a willingness to show up as you are. I became certified in TCYM as a Level 1 Practitioner in 2021 and completed Level 2 in 2023. Since 2022, I’ve had the honor of serving as a Teaching Faculty Member and Alumni Group Consultation Facilitator with the Trauma-Conscious Yoga Institute, and I’ve witnessed the profound shifts this work can create. It continues to be a joy and privilege to share this practice with others through a heart-centered, justice-oriented lens.
Sessions/Classes may involve education around trauma and your nervous system, body-based techniques for grounding and emotional release/regulation, self reflection, meditation, intentional breathing practices, as well as physical yoga postures or somatic movement practices.
Through these practices, you may experience increased body awareness, mental clarity & calmness, relief from chronic stress patterns, a quieter mind, as well as sharper attention and concentration. You may also experience emotional and energetic release, which can be an intense and powerful experience. The energy released may be from traumas experienced in this life and/or from traumas passed down generationally through epigenetics (a process by which our DNA is altered by the lived traumas of our ancestors.) I’m here to gently guide and support you through this deeply personal and healing experience.
My Specialities for the Trauma-Conscious Yoga Method are:
- Painful Childhood Events
- Generational Trauma
- Cycle Breaking
- Intense Feelers / Borderline Personality Symptoms
- Highly Sensitive Persons / Empaths
- LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy
