My journey with trauma-informed Pilates

Something I Don’t Talk About Enough

In 2018, I was diagnosed with PTSD.

I was in therapy, doing the work, trying to figure out how to exist in a body that felt like it was constantly bracing for impact. My therapist suggested I try trauma-sensitive yoga—classes specifically designed for people whose nervous systems needed something gentler, something that honored where they were instead of pushing them past their limits.

I went. And I loved it.

Not because the movements were groundbreaking or because I suddenly “healed” (spoiler: trauma doesn’t work like that). But because for the first time in a long time, I was in a space where I had choices. Where I could pause. Where I didn’t have to explain myself or apologize for what my body needed.

I wanted to create that kind of space for my own clients, so I dove into a training program headfirst and, over the next year, became a trauma-informed Pilates instructor.

It’s something I don’t mention nearly as much as I should. Not because it’s not important, but because it’s personal. It’s woven into how I move through the world, how I understand my own body, and how I show up for every single person who shows up to a session with me.

The Science Changed Everything

In my therapy sessions, my counselor would talk about how different parts of the brain just stop functioning the same way when we’re in a trauma response. How the body goes into fight, flight, freeze, or fawn mode—and how none of that is a choice. It’s automatic. It’s survival.

I wanted to understand it deeper. I was also getting intrigued by pain science and the mind-body connection, and trauma-informed training felt like the right entry point. So in early 2023, I completed my certification with Beth Sandlin through Trifecta Pilates.

And here’s what shifted for me personally: I used to freeze or fawn when I encountered a trigger. I wouldn’t know what to say. I couldn’t hold my own boundaries. That showed up as people-pleasing—saying yes when I meant no, overextending myself, trying to make everyone comfortable even when it cost me my own sense of safety.

Understanding the neuroscience behind that response didn’t make it go away. But it gave me language for it. It gave me permission to recognize it as my nervous system doing what it was designed to do, not as a personal failing.

I could give myself grace.

How It Shows Up in My Teaching

Once I understood trauma responses in my own body, I couldn’t un-see them in the studio.

I started noticing when a client’s breath would shift. When someone would go quiet and still, even though I’d asked a question. When a person would push through pain because they thought that’s what they were supposed to do.

And I realized: movement can be healing, but it can also be re-traumatizing if we’re not careful.

So trauma-informed teaching, for me, looks like this:

• Offering choices. Every exercise has options. You get to decide what feels right for your body today.
• Asking for consent before touch. I never assume it’s okay to adjust your body without asking first.
• Honoring your pace. If you need to pause, you pause. If you need to skip something, you skip it. There’s no “keeping up” here.
• Creating emotional safety. Sometimes movement brings up feelings. That’s okay. You’re not broken. This is just your body processing.
• Recognizing that healing isn’t linear. Some days you’ll feel strong. Some days you’ll feel fragile. Both are valid.

I’m not a therapist. I can’t “fix” trauma. But I can create a space where your nervous system gets to feel safe. Where you have control. Where movement becomes something empowering instead of something you have to endure.

If This Resonates With You

If you’ve been looking for a place where movement feels less like a test you have to pass and more like a conversation with your own body, I’d love to work with you.

I offer private Pilates sessions (both in-person in Franklin, TN and virtual) where we can work together at your pace. You’ll have choices in every exercise, permission to pause whenever you need to, and space to move without judgment or expectation.

Request your private session and let’s create a movement practice that finally feels safe.

Want to learn more first? Here’s a detailed page explaining our trauma-informed approach.