Principles (SAMHSA care + TCTSY) – trauma-informed yoga

From the book – Chapter 24: Gita, Ramayana and Hindu Traditions on the Mind

Principles (SAMHSA care + TCTSY)

Safety: predictable room, lights that stay on if needed, exits visible, no surprise touch.
Choice and agency: invitational language — "You might..." / "If you like..." / "You can stop." Opting out is success, not failure.
Interoception over appearance: notice weight in the feet, not whether the pose looks correct.
Present moment: no forced recall of the event. Sensation now, then a choice.
Effective action: if a sensation is too much, change the shape, open the eyes, stand, leave.
Collaboration and trust: teacher is not a guru-controller. Preview what comes next.
Cultural, historical, and gender respect: no spiritual bypassing; no claiming the pose will "release stored trauma" as a guarantee.

Arjuna in the Exam Hall – Rohan Deshmukh, nineteen, from Pune, was preparing for a competitive engineering exam. His family had spent years and savings on coaching. A week before the exam,…
Dasharatha’s Grief, Rama’s Steadiness – When Gopal Iyengar, seventy-three, of Thanjavur lost his wife of fifty years, he stopped speaking at meals. His son Venkat found him staring at her chair,…
Sita’s Courage and the Gentle Choice – Anjali Sharma, thirty-one, from Varanasi, left a harmful marriage after years of cruelty. She was physically safe now, living with her parents, but her body did…
The Restless Mind of Mohan – Mohan Pillai, forty, a shopkeeper in Kozhikode, found his mind jumping like a monkey. He replayed an old quarrel with his brother, feared losing his business,…

Bhagavad Gita 2.48 – Established in yoga, perform action, abandoning attachment, equal in success and failure. Equanimity is called yoga.
Bhagavad Gita 2.62 – Dwelling on objects, attachment arises. From attachment, desire; from desire, anger.