They might sound technical at first, but in reality, they’re deeply human. They’re the invisible threads that allow us to stay steady in our own nervous system, and to meet others with presence, safety, and attunement.
As yoga teachers, we are not just guiding people through postures. We are inviting them into stillness, into sensation, into breath. Places where old stories, emotions, and even trauma can surface.
And in those moments, it’s not the perfect cue or the “right” adjustment that matters most. It’s your ability to regulate yourself and offer regulation to others.
What is Self-Regulation?
Self-regulation is your ability to monitor and manage your energy states, emotions, thoughts, and behaviour in a health way. To notice your own emotional and mental state: your stress, your tension, your triggers, and to bring yourself back to grounded presence. Self-regulation involves taking a pause between a feeling and an action and allows us to stay calm under pressure.
Your ability to self-regulate as an adult has roots in your development during childhood. Learning how to self-regulate is an important skill that children learn both for emotional maturity and later social connections. In essence, maturity reflects the ability to face emotional, social, and cognitive threats in the environment.
What is Co-Regulation?
Co-regulation is what happens when one nervous system meets another. It’s the way we humans calm, attune, and anchor one another through presence. It is a process between two or more people that aims to help manage immediate, in-the-moment emotions and foster self-regulation skills. This is achieved through the process whereby one nervous system calms another, producing a consistent cycle that is calming and provides emotional relief for both sides.
Co-regulation refers to the collaborative and supportive relationship between the yoga teacher (space-holder) and the participants in the class. As a trauma informed yoga teacher, you practically lend your regulated nervous system to your students to help them self-regulate.
Why This Matters in Yoga
When students come to class, they’re not just bringing their bodies. They’re bringing their whole nervous system, their stress, their stories, their unprocessed emotions.
Some might feel anxious lying still.
Some might dissociate during long holds.
Some might cry, become frustrated, or need to move away from a pose.
If you as a teacher aren’t resourced in your own regulation, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or unsure how to respond.
This is where many teachers end up: caught between wanting to help and fearing they’ll do harm.
But when you know how to self-regulate and co-regulate, you can:
- Stay present instead of panicking
- Hold the space without absorbing someone else’s suffering
- Guide the class with in a grounded and centered way, even when emotions arise.
A Few Simple Techniques
I don’t want to give away my whole training here, but let me share a taste of what’s possible.
For self-regulation, one of the great tools is orienting: gently turning your head and eyes to notice the space around you. It’s a reminder to your nervous system that you’re here, now, and safe.
Another is lengthening your exhale, or feeling the support of the surface beneath your body (grounding) are gentle ways to tell your body it is safe.
For co-regulation, sometimes it’s as simple as your tone of voice. A slower, softer voice helps students’ systems slow down too. Sometimes simply sitting near someone with grounded presence is enough. Or guiding them through a few rounds of slow breaths.
It’s not about doing more. It’s about being more attuned.
How I Ground Myself Before Teaching
Before every class I teach - whether it’s a TTC, a workshop, or a drop-in session - I have a little ritual.
I sit. I breathe. I observe the movement of my chest and belly with the breath, sometimes I place my hands on my body to feel this subtle movement. I feel my body on the ground. This way I bring myself back from whatever chaos the day has brought.
Because if I walk into a room scattered and dysregulated, my students will feel it, their nervous system will pick it up. But if I am steady, grounded, and connected, they feel that too.
(And if you’re curious about this, I’ll be sharing my personal centering + grounding practice as a free bonus video, something you can use before you teach or even before you step into a challenging life situation.)
Why This Is Central to My Trainings
This is exactly why I created my trainings the way I did.
In the 100HR Trauma-Informed Yin & Meridians TTC, we go deep into these skills: not just the theory, but the embodied practice of regulation, space holding, and trauma awareness.
And for those who don’t want to commit to 100 hours, I designed the 30HR Trauma Awareness TTC, a way to learn the essential trauma-informed tools of attunement, regulation, and space holding, and to weave them into your teaching (or practice) right away.
Because here’s what I’ve seen:
Teachers who know how to regulate themselves create classes where students feel safe to explore and transform.
Teachers who don’t, often end up burning out, doubting themselves, or unintentionally doing harm.
And I don’t want that for you.
Closing Reflection
At the end of the day, self-regulation and co-regulation aren’t just “techniques.” They’re a way of being with yourself and others.
When you can meet your own self with kindness, you can meet others with compassion.
When you can anchor yourself, you can become an anchor for others.
When you regulate, you give others permission to do the same.
That’s the heart of trauma-informed yoga.
And if this resonates, I’d love to walk this path with you whether through my 100HR Yin TTC or the 30HR Trauma Awareness Course. Because the yoga world doesn’t need more perfect sequences or flashy cues. It needs more grounded, steady, compassionate teachers who know how to create and hold safe spaces.
If this resonated with you, and you feel called to explore this work more deeply, here are a few gentle next steps you can take:
Try out my 5-Minutes Centering & Grounding exercise
Download my free eBook: Meridians & Emotions and Yin Yoga
Watch my free Trauma Awareness Webinar: Trauma Informed Yoga Foundations
Join my next live 100HR Trauma Informed Yin Yoga & Chinese Meridians Teacher Training in Thailand:
14-23 Dec 2025
20-29 Jan 2026
2-11 Mar 2026
Join the waitlist of my online self-paced 100HR Trauma Informed Yin Yoga & Chinese Meridians Teacher Training launching December 2025
Join the live 30HR The Art of Trauma-Informed Space Holding course in Thailand:
4-8 Oct 2025
Join the waitlist of the online self-paced 30HR The Art of Trauma-Informed Space Holding course launching in early 2026
Check out what my previous graduates share about their experience:
Teacher Training Demo Video:
Work with me 1-1
Subscribe to my channels, so you don’t miss future episodes:
Youtube
Podcast