Befriending Your Body

A hopeful space for acceptance, connection and healing

Carolyn Goossen

Trauma Informed Yoga Facilitator (TCTSY-F) & Founder

Our bodies carry our emotions. When we practice befriending our bodies, we may begin to see, hear and value how they are for us and not against us.

Integrating yoga shapes, forms and movements, Carolyn creates space for intuitive experiences of awareness, non-judgement and empowerment, cultivating an authentic, attuned and compassionate relationship to your body.

  • Trauma Centre Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) is an evidence based, body centric approach to recovery for survivors of PTSD and C-PTSD.

    While many public yoga classes use physical hands-on or verbal adjustments, external expression or appearance to influence a participant's physical form (ie. doing it “right”), Carolyn uses TCTSY to invite participants to focus on their internal experiences, be in charge of themselves, and make choices based on a felt sense of their own body.

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  • After suffering a life-changing traumatic brain injury for the second time, practicing yoga was the only physical activity that Carolyn had access to. The practice of yoga helped Carolyn strengthen her body, heart, mind and soul and instilled a passion to create a safe space for others to connect, repair and strengthen the “whole” of their bodies.

    She completed Level 1 and 2 of Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy Training for her own healing and to help foster a therapeutic space for participants, giving an opportunity to see how their bodies have been working WITH them, keeping them safe, as opposed to against them. After completing her 200 RYT and 300 RYT in Postural Yoga with Daniel Clement (Open Source Yoga), Carolyn knew that in order to facilitate a safe space, being thoroughly trauma-informed was not only important, but necessary, and graduated as TCTSY Facilitator in 2021.

    All of Carolyn’s yoga facilitation is rooted in being trauma informed, with an understanding of complex trauma, attachment theory and neuroscience; holding a safe space for participants to awaken to the messages of their body, make choices about their body in the present moment, establish trust, and ultimately find strength, safety, agency and compassion within their whole being.

    When Carolyn is not facilitating TCTSY you can find her by the ocean looking for whales or on the pickleball court trying to out-dink her opponent.

Offerings

  • Coming Soon

  • If you’re interested in one-on-one TCTSY sessions with Carolyn, reach out here.

  • If you’re interested in Carolyn facilitating a TCTSY session for your group, reach out here for more information.

Get in Touch

Participant Feedback

“My experience with Carolyn allowed me to be with “me” in whichever way I needed to in the movements of yoga, allowing the needs of the pain and body memories to be released.”

“Carolyn really created a safe space for us to share. She took the time to make sure we felt heard. It's clear that she has a wonderful gift of connecting with others.”

“This was exactly what I needed when I needed it as I moved through some of my body’s toughest terrain. The openness to shift through trauma was done with so much ease.”

“This was integral to my development and progress as an embodied woman. Carolyn provides a great atmosphere for physical, emotional and a spiritual sense of awareness.”

“And I said to my body softly, I want to be your friend.
It took a long breath and replied, I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.”

— Nayyirah Waheed