Lessons from the Mat: When Yoga Becomes a Teacher for Life
How Yoga Supported My Own Trauma Healing, Nervous System Regulation, and Resiliency
Yoga is often described as a physical practice, but through a therapy and trauma-informed lens, yoga becomes something much more meaningful. Beyond flexibility and strength, yoga offers powerful life lessons that support emotional healing, nervous system regulation, and a more compassionate relationship with the body.
For many people, especially those with trauma histories, traditional talk therapy is essential, but not always sufficient on its own. Yoga meets us in the body, where trauma is often stored, offering lessons that gently translate into everyday life.
Below are key life lessons learned from practicing yoga, viewed through a trauma-informed and therapeutic framework.
If you’ve ever spent a decent amount of time around me, you know that I love yoga and you might even know that I’m a yoga teacher. This year (2026) is the 10 year anniversary of completing my first yoga teacher training program. I became a student after I went to a class shortly after my dad died. I had taken a few yoga classes at college and afterwards here and there, but the vibe was just different in this studio. I felt at home and at peace in that class. I felt welcomed and included. I kept returning to classes and and became to realize how helpful it was in helping me to work through the loss of my dad (in addition to starting to work with a therapist of course). A seed was planted in that first year, but I didn’t quite realize it yet. As I’ve been sharing with my yoga students since December, winter is the time for planting seeds. We may not be aware of what’s happening under the ground, but things are happening under the surface.
Fast forward a couple of years and that same teacher (shout out to my ‘omie’ Isabelle) from that first class announced she was going to lead a yoga retreat in Italy later that year. Hmmm… yoga, wine, and pasta in an Italian villa in Tuscany? Sure! I signed up immediately and sent a deposit. That retreat in Italy was when I knew I needed to start teacher training and about a year later I was in my first yoga teacher training program. I taught my very first class in February of 2016. I almost quit before I even started the program because a few months before the training started, I experienced another extremely traumatic and unexpected loss… the loss of my boyfriend (just shy of our 10 year anniversary together).
I really questioned my life choices at that point… did I really need to continue with this yoga training at this time? Just months after my partner had died (and 4 years after my dad died). Many phone calls later with the teacher (yes, same one from Italy and that first class in the studio) and I decided to go through with my original plan. Spoiler alert: that teacher is now one of my best friends.
Here are some things that I’ve learned from my 15 year practice of yoga and 10 years of being a yoga teacher and almost 20 years of being a therapist.
Presence Over Perfection: Healing Begins with Awareness
In both yoga and therapy, the goal is not perfection (I know, that was a tough one for me too), it’s awareness and curiosity. Perfection does not exist. Yoga invites students to notice sensations, emotions, and thoughts without judgment. This mirrors trauma-informed therapy, which prioritizes curiosity over criticism and safety over performance.
Life lesson: Healing starts by noticing what is happening, not forcing change. Be curious about what you notice.
Off the mat, this can support:
Reduced shame and self-judgment
Greater emotional awareness
Increased self-compassion
For trauma survivors, perfectionism often develops as a survival strategy. Yoga gently challenges this by reminding us that simply showing up is enough.
Learning the Difference Between Discomfort and Harm
One of the most important therapeutic lessons yoga offers is learning to distinguish between discomfort and danger. Trauma can sensitize the nervous system, making neutral or mildly uncomfortable experiences feel threatening. It takes a while to learn that not everything is a tiger coming to attack us.
Yoga teaches practitioners to move slowly, check in, and respond rather than push. I remind my students that if they are experiencing pain, to let me know so we can make adjustments; if they are experiencing discomfort, take a couple deep breaths and see what happens next. It can also let us know when to ask for help and support. I have ZERO shame now in using props in my practice. Sometimes the floor needs to be higher up and that’s what the block is for! Asking for help and support doesn’t mean that we are weak.
Life Lesson: You are allowed to pause, modify, or stop. You are allowed to receive help and support. You are allowed to ask for help and support.
This lesson helps with:
Rebuilding trust in bodily cues
Developing healthier boundaries
Knowing when to ask for help and support
Reducing dissociation and overwhelm
Yoga reinforces the idea that empowerment, not endurance, is the goal.
The Breath as a Tool for Nervous System Regulation
From a trauma-informed perspective, breathwork is not about control, it’s about choice. Gentle breath awareness in yoga supports regulation of the autonomic nervous system and helps bring the body out of fight, flight, or freeze. It can also slow down racing thoughts. One of my meditation teachers loves to say “as is the breath, so is the mind.” I remind myself of that and share that with my students. Thank you Michael for saying.
Life Lesson: Breath is a portable grounding resource. It’s always available. It’s also vital to us.
In daily life, this supports:
Anxiety reduction
Emotional regulation
Increased window of tolerance
Yoga offers a somatic entry point into healing that complements therapeutic work.
“Letting Go” Without Forcing Release
I actually hate the phrase “letting go,” but it is more of a setting it down, what don’t I need to carry with me daily anymore? Trauma-informed yoga emphasizes that release cannot be demanded ,it must be invited. Whether it’s a muscle holding tension or an emotion surfacing, yoga teaches that letting go happens when safety is present.
Life Lesson: The body releases when it feels safe and supported enough, not when it is pressured.
This lesson helps clients:
Reduce self-blame during healing
Honor their own pacing
Cultivate patience with the process
In both yoga and therapy, forcing change often recreates harm rather than healing.
Healing Is Not Linear—and That’s Not a Failure
Some days on the mat feel grounded and connected. Other days feel restless, disconnected, or emotional. One day a pose is easy for me, the next it’s almost impossible (I’m looking at you half moon!). Trauma-informed therapy normalizes this fluctuation, and yoga reinforces it experientially.
Life lesson: Feeling like you’re not moving forward or even taking a slip or slide back is not the opposite of healing, it’s part of it. It’s ok and normal to have good and bad days, easy and hard days. It’s all part of the process.
This understanding supports:
Reduced frustration during setbacks
Increased tolerance for uncertainty
Greater trust in the healing process
Yoga helps dismantle the myth that progress should always be visible or measurable. Yoga is about how we feel, not what we look like.
Your Body Is Not Broken
Trauma often creates a sense that the body is unsafe, unreliable, or “wrong.” Yoga, when practiced through a trauma-informed lens, focuses on reclaiming the body as a source of information rather than a problem to fix. This is very important when working with trauma, body image issues and eating disorders.
Life Lesson: Your body adapted to survive.Your body is not the problem. Your body is a resource.
This lesson supports:
Improved body image
Increased interoceptive awareness
A more compassionate relationship with physical sensations
Yoga encourages collaboration with the body instead of control over it. Yoga means “to yoke.” Yoking the mind and the body.
Stillness Can Feel Unsafe—and That’s Okay
In trauma-informed yoga and therapy, stillness is approached carefully. For some nervous systems, slowing down can initially increase distress. Yoga teaches that rest can be built gradually and with choice.
Life Lesson: Stillness is a practice, not a command.
This lesson helps individuals:
Explore stillness safely
Develop consent with rest
Redefine rest as regulation, not collapse
Yoga validates that there is no “right” way to relax. It’s ok if sitting in sukhasana while silently meditation doesn’t help you relax. We can find something that does!
Taking Yoga Off the Mat and Into Daily Life
From a therapeutic perspective, the real power of yoga lies in how its lessons translate into daily life. Yoga becomes a rehearsal space for boundaries, self-trust, emotional regulation, and self-compassion. Look at how you approach your practice and your poses, do you leave before savasana? Always doing heated, power flows? As many chatarungas as possible? What about those that always just do restorative? Are you fearful of getting uncomfortable? Do you power through or ask for help? Do you think props make you look weak?
Yoga supports therapy by helping individuals:
Stay present during difficult emotions
Respond rather than react
Build safety within the body
Together, yoga and therapy create a holistic approach to healing that honors both mind and body.
Final Thoughts: Yoga as a Companion to Healing
Practicing yoga through a trauma-informed and therapeutic lens reminds us that healing is not about fixing ourselves—it’s about reconnecting with safety, choice, and compassion. It’s about connecting out body and mind. Yoga does not replace therapy, but it can deeply support the therapeutic process by teaching us how to listen to and trust our bodies again.
The most powerful life lesson yoga offers may be this: