Samara first became interested in power of yoga in healing and therapeutics living and working abroad with the United Nations in conflict and crisis settings. While she had practiced yoga for years, working in such contexts with one foot in a life at home, and the other experiencing harsher realities of conflict-affected environments, she searched for a way to find more center and grounding. Yoga and meditation became a cornerstone of self care, a way to connect, to process emotions and experiences, and to maintain balance in the midst of extreme circumstances. Returning home to the United States, yoga also became a bridge to support the transition to a life at home.
Samara first formally studied trauma-informed yoga when she trained in Mindful Yoga Therapy, originally developed for Veterans and other trauma sensitive populations, with Suzanne Manafort and the Give Back Foundation, which includes Yoga Nidra. She has also studied Yoga Tune Up® and the Roll Model®, which include specific techniques for self-care including those designed to activate the Vagus nerve and the Rest and Digest system. She has also completed 40hrs of training with David Emerson and Jenn Turner on trauma sensitive yoga at the Trauma Center at JRI, advanced studies with Lisa Danylchuk on teaching trauma-informed yoga, and yoga for trauma and self-regulation with Hala Khouri.
After returning to the United States, Samara began teaching yoga for veterans with Connected Warriors, supporting access to trauma-informed yoga for female veterans at the Manhattan VA. She is passionate about supporting aid workers' access to yoga and meditation so they can be well and serve well, and continues to teach classes for staff at the United Nations. Samara is also working with Exhale to Inhale, an organization providing weekly trauma informed yoga classes at domestic violence shelters. For more information and links to veterans and aid worker mental health and wellness programs, see the Good Stuff tab.
Samara co-founded Feet on the Ground, with Emily Pantalone, an organization dedicated to supporting individuals and communities affected by trauma in building resilience from within through the breath and movement of yoga. For more information on Feet on the Ground, visit our website.
Trauma-Informed Yoga
Yoga for trauma is designed to create an enabling environment where students can learn practical tools, movement, breathing, and other practices which support them self-regulate and feel safe, empowered and have a greater sense of ownership over their life experiences. Everything in a trauma-informed yoga class is optional and empowers students to make decisions which are best for them. The goal is build resiliency and cultivate, through practice, a feeling of being comfortable in their own bodies and feeling safe, which in turn promotes confidence and healthy relationships.
Trauma-Informed Yoga Classes
Samara provides both private classes tailored to the specific needs of the student as well as offers trauma informed group classes, including:
Private yoga sessions are tailored to your specific needs and utilize a unique mix of different methodologies to support you in healing and/or fitness goals. Samara works with clients individually Tu-Th-W after 6pm and weekends.
Please email Samara directly for any questions regarding trauma informed yoga or to schedule a class that is tailored for your specific needs: samara.e.andrade@gmail.com.
Samara first formally studied trauma-informed yoga when she trained in Mindful Yoga Therapy, originally developed for Veterans and other trauma sensitive populations, with Suzanne Manafort and the Give Back Foundation, which includes Yoga Nidra. She has also studied Yoga Tune Up® and the Roll Model®, which include specific techniques for self-care including those designed to activate the Vagus nerve and the Rest and Digest system. She has also completed 40hrs of training with David Emerson and Jenn Turner on trauma sensitive yoga at the Trauma Center at JRI, advanced studies with Lisa Danylchuk on teaching trauma-informed yoga, and yoga for trauma and self-regulation with Hala Khouri.
After returning to the United States, Samara began teaching yoga for veterans with Connected Warriors, supporting access to trauma-informed yoga for female veterans at the Manhattan VA. She is passionate about supporting aid workers' access to yoga and meditation so they can be well and serve well, and continues to teach classes for staff at the United Nations. Samara is also working with Exhale to Inhale, an organization providing weekly trauma informed yoga classes at domestic violence shelters. For more information and links to veterans and aid worker mental health and wellness programs, see the Good Stuff tab.
Samara co-founded Feet on the Ground, with Emily Pantalone, an organization dedicated to supporting individuals and communities affected by trauma in building resilience from within through the breath and movement of yoga. For more information on Feet on the Ground, visit our website.
Trauma-Informed Yoga
Yoga for trauma is designed to create an enabling environment where students can learn practical tools, movement, breathing, and other practices which support them self-regulate and feel safe, empowered and have a greater sense of ownership over their life experiences. Everything in a trauma-informed yoga class is optional and empowers students to make decisions which are best for them. The goal is build resiliency and cultivate, through practice, a feeling of being comfortable in their own bodies and feeling safe, which in turn promotes confidence and healthy relationships.
Trauma-Informed Yoga Classes
Samara provides both private classes tailored to the specific needs of the student as well as offers trauma informed group classes, including:
- Trauma Informed Flow: this class includes no physical adjustments or music and everything in the class is optional. Students are offered opportunities to notice sensations and make movement choices based on them. It is designed to support students in having a greater sense of agency over their experience and cultivating greater interoception (one's sense of the physiological condition of their body).
- Mindful Yoga Therapy (MYT): originally developed for Veterans to support the transition into a more empowered life of strength and resilience. It is offered in many Veterans Associations throughout the United States, but also been helpful in supporting individuals dealing with eating disorders, stress & anxiety disorders, drug & alcohol addiction, domestic violence, and other types of trauma. MYT is an embodyoga®-based program and is taught in a 12 class format (once per week for 12 weeks or twice per week for 6 weeks) using 5 tools: Pranayama (breathing), Asana (postures connected with breath), Yoga Nidra, Meditation, and Gratitude to support healing and recovery from trauma.
- Yoga Tune Up® and the Roll Model® techniques, including Diaphragm breathing and the Coregeous ball, can help reduce tension held in the body and activate the Vagus nerve, which is an essential part of the parasympathetic nervous system, called "rest and digest.” When activated this nerve in turn releases anti-stress enzymes and hormones such as acetylcholine, vasopressin, and oxytocin which support down regulation.
- Mindful Flow: focuses on cultivating inner strength through yoga, meditation and pranayama, emphasizing the mind-body connection, and encouraging physical, mental and emotional health and wellness.
Private yoga sessions are tailored to your specific needs and utilize a unique mix of different methodologies to support you in healing and/or fitness goals. Samara works with clients individually Tu-Th-W after 6pm and weekends.
Please email Samara directly for any questions regarding trauma informed yoga or to schedule a class that is tailored for your specific needs: samara.e.andrade@gmail.com.
Trauma informed yoga and healing sessions should be considered complementary therapies, which are not a substitute for working with a mental health care professional.