Author: Celeste Mendelsohn, C-IAYT, ERYT500

My journey into yoga and the integration of its principles into recovery from trauma and C-PTSD is a personal one. My family life, growing up, was chaotic and sometimes violent. I learned to live on ’Red Alert’ trying to stay safe and keep my mother safe. I am in long-term recovery from C-PTSD and am the daughter of, and also the ex-wife of people with use disorders who, I believe, also had trauma in their childhoods. I've been practicing Yoga for 26 years, starting initially because of a physical problem diagnosed at the time as Fibromyalgia. Chronic pain can be an ongoing issue for trauma survivors. Yoga allows me to move, stretch and return to strength and balance daily. I have a deep spiritual connection with movement and breath. I’ve found that regular yoga practice enhances all areas of my life. I teach Yoga for Trauma and SUD in treatment centers for use disorders and also with a trauma outpatient center. Working with trauma and use disorders, using the tools of yoga therapy, gives me insight and a connection with something greater than myself every day, as I see people transform and heal their lives, thanks to the same tools that helped me to heal. Yoga Tarana - Treating Trauma with Yoga is an ongoing work of love. Tarana means recovery or rescue, in Sanskrit, and I believe with all my heart that yoga and the training I’ve received, rescued me from a life of “repeating the same mistakes and hoping for a different result” that is the earmark of Complex PTSD. My ongoing mission is to make these valuable tools for serenity more accessible to everyone and to give trauma survivors a broad spectrum of information through online workshops and webinars, online courses and inperson retreats (when that is viable once again). My intention is to help others as I have been helped - realizing the mental, physical and spiritual benefits of integrating this dynamic philosophy and practice into their lives. TRAINING • IAYT certified yoga therapist • ERYT500 certified Yoga Alliance • BALM Coach • Meditation Teacher with davidji • Yoga of Recovery with Durga Leela • Yoga of 12-Step Recovery with Nikki Myers • Trauma Aware Yoga with Hala Khoury • Yoga of the Heart with Nischala Joy Devi