Best 3 Yoga Services for Trauma in NYC:

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Here I describe some of my favorite practices to engage in specifically at yoga studios—although they can also be found elsewhere, such as holistic healing centers, meditative centers, or even facilities that focus on sound meditations. These are the ones I most familiar with and those that I have enjoyed the best!

Here is a list of yoga studios in NYC that often offer these services, if you are located in NYC.

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• Sound Meditations          
  Sound Meditations offer a powerful way to sit in stillness, to begin to regulate our nervous system and mind. The main principles of it are that sound can be so powerfully healing and enhance the way of just doing meditation alone. It will usually be structured through some breathwork to begin the session and open up your body and mind to be in a more meditative state, and then the sound practitioner(s) will play various instruments, such as TIbetan bowls, wind chimes, gongs etc. Finally, at the end, there usually is an opportunity for those who participated to share their feelings of the sound. There are many different sound meditation teachers in NYC, and many offer their services at a variety of businesses, most of the time yoga studios. More description of the structure of sound meditations can be found here.
• Yin Yoga / Restorative Yoga          
  Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga are similar but slightly different. Vinyasa Yoga is the one most commonly offered and offers focused on yang energy, so on activating energy, versus yin energy, which is the opposite, a deactivating / calming energy. Vinyasa will include common poses such as downward dog, upward dog, mountain pose etc. whereas Yin Yoga will focus on more stationary poses, stretching the muscles in deep positions that can be held anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, slightly activating them still to calm them. Restorative yoga, on the other hand, features deep positions for 5 to 10 minutes as well, but focuses less on activating the muscles and feeling sensations, focusing more on restoring the body and mind by just being.
  
  Both of the Yin and Restorative practices can be powerful ways to find rest, especially in a world that focuses on yang energy and Vinyasa. Furthermore, this can be extra useful and important for those suffering from trauma as it allows the opportunity to feel held by your own body and for you to be supported as sensations arise etc. Some yoga teachers will also provided guided meditation, visualizations (imagine a halo of light around your body), or breathing exercises throughout, which can be very powerful to feel held and regain a sense of self-worth, of self-love. These classes usually have a nice, calming ambience and environment, with dim lighting and calming scents such as essential oils.
• Acupuncture and Reiki          
  Acupuncture, a Chinese-originated modality, is another tool that can be useful, an energy work modality that uses needles in your body to move energy throughout and regulate your mind / body / nervous system.
  
  Reiki, a Japanese-originated modality, also works to move energy through the body, but using lifeforce energy moved without needles, by the practitioner, enabling healing.
  
  More extensive information can be found on both of these modalities across the Internet.