The Body Awareness Workbook for Trauma: Release Trauma from Your Body, Find Emotional Balance, and Connect with Your Inner Wisdom

Move past trauma, balance your emotions, and reconnect with your body’s innate wisdom in The Body Awareness Workbook for Trauma.

There is a piercing epidemic of trauma in the world today. Every few days there are reports of another tragedy, of more lives lost to gun violence, loved ones and family homes lost to floods, hurricanes, or fires. Women have come to speak openly about the trauma of sexual assault, and we are finally talking openly about the trauma inflicted on people of color, on transgender people, and immigrants. But now that this trauma is out in the open, how do we heal?

For years, we’ve understood the connection between trauma and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. But somatic psychology has recently shown that our bodies hold on to trauma, and trauma can manifest in physical symptoms, such as pain, hormone imbalance, sexual dysfunction, and addiction. In addition, we now know that developmental trauma—trauma that emerges when basic childhood needs are not met—can result in profound emotional stress and lead to serious diseases.

Building on this knowledge, this cutting-edge guide offers simple skills for connecting and calming your body, balancing your emotions, and rewiring old patterns of reactivity for better self-regulation. The mind-body approach in this book is designed to guide you away from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma and toward posttraumatic growth. Using these exercises, you’ll learn how to reconnect and relate to your body—and yourself as a whole—in a new and healthy way.

If you’re ready to move past your trauma and rediscover your body’s innate capacity for healing, growth, vitality, and joy, this unique guide will help light the way.

Julie Brown Yau, PhD, is a psychologist with more than thirty years of experience in somatic and spiritual traditions. Her unique approach blends clinical experience, psychology, physical and subtle body energies, and spiritual perspectives in discussing and healing trauma. She is director of education and program development at Compassionate Care ALS, where she incorporates her knowledge of somatic depth psychology, grief counseling, and contemplative practices to work with individuals and families facing catastrophic illness and death. Julie has a private practice in Laguna Beach, CA, working specifically with developmental trauma.

Foreword writer Lisa Genova, PhD, graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude from Bates College with a degree in biopsychology, and received her PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University. Genova has captured a special place in contemporary fiction, writing stories that are equally inspired by neuroscience and the human spirit. She is author of the New York Times bestselling novels, Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, and Inside the O’Briens.