Mary Hilliker has been mentoring yoga therapists for the last 8 years in their individual client work, development of therapeutic groups and workshops, personal practice, and professional transformation. Mary owns and operates River Flow Yoga Teacher Training School, a Yoga Alliance RYS-200 and RYS-300 in Wausau, Wisconsin.
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PART 1: An introduction and an overview of the case studies
In this video, certified yoga therapist Mary Hilliker introduces the subject of working around trauma with individuals and therapeutic groups and gives an overview of the case studies she will be covering in this series.
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PART 2: Using micromovements, langhana breathing, and personal mantra to deal with the trauma of a vehicular accident
In this detailed video, Mary shares her experience working with a student who sustained serious physical and psycho-emotional injuries after being hit by a car. She explains how simple micromovements, langhana breathing, and personal mantra helped her student make very slow yet gradual progress.
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PART 3: Using breath-centered asana, segmented breathing, and five senses meditation in a therapeutic group
In this detailed video, Mary talks about working with a young male who suffered burns and physical injuries at a worksite and experienced depression, sleeplessness, and trauma triggers. He used breath-centered asana, segmented breathing, and five senses meditation to understand his triggers, manage sleep disturbances, and mend his relationships.
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PART 4: Using standing poses, brief breath retention with lengthened exhale, and mantra to regain personal strength
In this detailed video, Mary describes working with a student with stress symptoms from a violent work environment who experienced tightness in the chest, sleeplessness, rumination, anger, and feeling unsafe. Mary used standing poses, brief breath retention with lengthened exhale, and turning intention onto a mantra to help her student sleep better, improve her energy level and regain her sense of personal strength.
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PART 5: Conclusions and lessons learned working with clients and small groups around trauma
In this video, Mary shares her observations about the importance of assessment and reassessment to discern individual differences in students and their response to practices, particularly when working within therapeutic groups. She emphasizes the importance of calibrating the tools to the needs of the student and suggests self-care techniques for yoga therapists who work with trauma.
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Working with Individuals & Small Therapeutic Groups around Trauma (with Mary Hilliker and Olga Kabel)
Check out the highlights from the talk, including ideas on how to form therapeutic groups and which frameworks to use in your assessments.
