NELSON-based
Embodied Healing Group Program
Reconnecting with your body after sexual trauma
The next group series begins 29 April 2026 in Nelson.
Embodied Healing is an eight-week Trauma Sensitive Yoga group series to re-connect with your body and find your way home to yourself.
Living in survival mode leaves us vigilant and disconnected from our bodies, and so connecting to our bodies in a way that’s sensitive to the impacts of trauma is a worthwhile process. This program is an evidence-based approach that provides conditions for safety when engaging in body-based trauma treatment. It's ideal for those who wish to show up, exactly as they are, without needing to find language to explain or articulate what is happening. Because abuse is about power, supporting choice (agency) and non-coercion is at the heart of TCTSY, making it a key complementary treatment for complex trauma. Embodied Healing is a safe, experiential group, where the power resides with the participant, not the facilitator.
“I feel more awake and stopped numbing”
In the field of trauma healing, body-oriented treatment options are becoming a valuable part of treatment. Key trauma theorists including Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine and Judith Herman have explored how we can use somatic or felt experiences - including trauma sensitive yoga - as part of our healing process.
My Trauma Sensitive Embodied Healing programs are a body-oriented approach integrating evidence-based Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) and Yoga Therapy specifically developed to support healing from symptoms of complex trauma, developmental trauma, PTSD and mental health challenges. This program can be particularly supportive for clients who may benefit from body-based resources alongside talk therapy, including those experiencing dissociation, trauma-related pain, or difficulties with emotional regulation.
Across 8 weeks, each session includes:
60 minutes of Trauma Centre Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY): a choice-based movement practice supporting participants to reconnect with bodily sensations, develop interoceptive awareness, and build trust in their internal cues — without pressure, performance, or correction.
30 minutes of integration: guided art therapy, journalling, grounding, and reflective processes linked to body-befriending themes, shared over a cuppa. Weekly themes include cultivating safety within, taking support, be-friending yourself, honouring your unique rhythm and resting within.
A pre-group intake session is offered to answer any questions you may have.
Participants are welcomed into a respectful and inclusive therapeutic environment where pacing, choice, and internal experience are prioritised.
You’re welcome to contact me via jen.holmes-beamer@nelsonclinic.nz to learn more or to register.
Why is it useful to feel my body?
Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TC-TSY) has been developed by the Justice Resource Institite’s Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts specifically for survivors of complex trauma or chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). TC-TSY draws on trauma theory, attachment theory, neuroscience and hatha yoga.
Research studies by Bessel A. van der Kolk and colleagues have shown that this particular approach to yoga (TC-TSY) significantly reduced PTSD symptoms in 8-weeks for many participants. This approach to yoga was also found to improve functioning by increasing tolerances to physical and sensory experiences and to increase emotional awareness and affect tolerance (Bessel van der Kolk et al, 2014).
In the face of traumatic experiences, disconnecting from and not feeling the body can be a useful strategy for survival. However, in the long term, not being able to feel or tolerate feeling the body can impact physical, social and psychological well being, quality of life and relationship self and others.
Over the past year, we have begun informally tracking MAIA (Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness) outcomes within our Nelson groups, with the intention of contributing to meaningful, measurable outcomes. This has also informed preparation for presenting this work at an upcoming international conference with the Trauma Centre for Trauma and Embodiment, where TC-TSY was developed and researched as an evidence-based clinical intervention for complex trauma and dissociation.
Within our small local groups, we are seeing encouraging shifts in attention regulation, emotional awareness, and trust in the body, which appear to support and extend the gains being made in individual therapy. This reflects not only increased awareness of bodily sensation, but a growing sense of safety and confidence in being present within oneself. It complements individual therapy by building nervous system regulation, embodied safety, and agency, which are often impacted by complex trauma.
You’re welcome to come along and experience how Embodied Healing can support your journey.
For more information and resources about TC-TSY click here.
Participant Feedback
Details
When: Weekly on Wednesdays 9:15 – 10:15 OR 10:15 – 12:15. Limited to 10 participants.
Where: In-person in Nelson at Koru Studio (Trafalgar Street).
Who: The practices are available to all, with options to practice from a chair, the ground, on a yoga mat, or a combination of both. This group is suitable for individuals with mild to moderate mental health issues including PTSD with an approved ACC SCS claim and are currently engaged in SCS therapy. We are committed to providing inclusive spaces. We offer women-centred groups and groups open to adults of all genders.