Kelly Thistlethwaite
SYNTHESIS CLINIC REFERRAL NETWORK MEMBER
Trauma Informed Yoga and Breathwork for Birth Trauma Support
Matrescence coach
Kelly
My name is Kelly Thistlethwaite, and I am a trauma informed Yoga and Breathwork practitioner specialising in perinatal (birth) trauma.
Everyoneβs motherhood journey is different. And sadly, a large percentage of women experience trauma at some point throughout their motherhood journey.
I work on a somatic (body) and nervous system level and encourage you to discover your bodies innate wisdom to heal.
A somatic and nervous system approach to healing trauma:
The foundations of my approach are firmly set in the teachings of the Polyvagal Theory and the importance of a felt sense of safety, connection, and nervous system regulation to move towards healing.
βWhat most people do not realise is that trauma is not the story of something awful that happened in the past, but the residue of imprints left behind in peoples sensory and hormonal systems. Most trauma-sensitive people need some form of bodyβoriented psychotherapy or bodywork to regain a sense of safety in their bodies.
β Bessel can der Kolk
I Help You To:
Understand the effects of stress/ trauma on your body and nervous system
Understand and communicate your felt experiences
Identify when you move through different nervous system states
Increase awareness of dysregulation
Regulate your own nervous system
Build capacity
Increase resilience
Enhance your sense of safety, connection, and joy
Nervous system education and regulation happens slowly and requires patience but donβt worry, Iβll be guiding you every step of the way.
Some examples of perinatal experiences which I can offer support during/following include:
Difficult pregnancy experiences
Birth trauma
NICU experiences
Baby loss (miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, TFMR, stillborn, SIDS, child loss)
Pregnancy after trauma/loss.
Diagnosis of illnesses
Reactivation of previous trauma as a result of perinatal experiences (developmental, childhood, early adulthood experiences)
Common complaints of my clients include:
Anxiety and panic attacks
Depression
Fatigue
Digestive, immune system and adrenal dysfunction
Headaches
Persistent pain (often unable to be resolved with other medical/physical therapies)
Decreased ability to activate muscle in the body with no medical explanation
Reduced sensation or a disconnection/dissociation with a body part with no medical explanation
Sleep quality (difficulty sleeping when have the opportunity)
Emotional instability
Social avoidance and overwhelm
Hypervigilance and struggling to relax
Reduced concentration and focus and memory
Anger and resentment
Relationship breakdowns
Difficulty bonding with baby/child
Trauma-Informed Yoga
Yoga weaves breathwork, mindfulness and physical poses into practice to connect the breath, body, and mind to turn your attention inward.
This combination allows you to gain awareness whilst aiding nervous system regulation. Both of which help to build capacity and connection which are essential elements of healing from trauma.
Why Yoga is Effective in Trauma Treatment
Yoga helps you to:
Feel empowered to make choices (trauma limits this feeling)
Increases a sense of safety within your body
Relax any anxious thoughts allowing to engage in the present moment and connect with your body
Creates a positive, compassionate relationship with your body, mind and self
Self-regulate and process sensations and emotions
Release stored trauma memories (within your capacity and with a sense of safety and control)
And much more
Trauma informed yoga sessions language, music, smells, postures, and layout (if in person) are all considered to reduce triggering and enhance a sense of safety throughout.
Clients are always in control of the pace and content of sessions and all client journeys start with education of the nervous system and orienting to establish a foundation of understanding, awareness, and capacity before journeying through movement and breathwork.
Trauma-Informed Breathwork
Breathwork is one of the main tools that I use when working with clients.
It almost sounds to simple doesnβt it. Too easy. Not direct enough. But it is the most direct way to heal.
Our breath is the key to our health.
Every system in the body relies on oxygen. Our health is governed by our ability to reduce stress and inflammation in the body.
Breathwork helps to put the brakes on any acute stress responses in the body which positively impacts our mental and physical well-being.
Not only does this reduction in acute stress response allow us to move through our current situation with more ease- it also helps to shift old stress responses that are held within our body.
Itβs the most powerful method of healing I have learnt and I love to share it with my clients.
This is often the missing piece to healing. The last turn of the key. The final release needed to fully process and release the stress and trauma in our systems.
I work slowly with clients, starting first with nervous system education and building awareness and capacity. We then build a breathwork practice up slowly which enables stored stress to be lifted and processed safely.
Matrescene & Motherhood Support Coaching
I am also a Matrescence Coach and Mama Rising facilitator and I am honoured to support women through one of the biggest transformations and shifts in identify they will ever experience - becoming a mother.
Matrescence coaching can help you if you often feel:
Lost within or outside of your role as a mother
Like you are trying to do it all-be an amazing mother and successful business women, and failing at both
Guilty for wanting or doing anything for ourself
Overwhelemed with responsibility
The need to be perfect
Resentful within your relationship
Miss the Women you used to be and the life you used to lead
Bad for not liking every minute
Alone and unable to talk about your feelings due to fear of judgement and shame
I give you space to think and reflect and to be seen, heard and validated - this is rare within motherhood.
I share the wisdom and insights from some of the leading motherhood studies and Matresence activists across the globe which will give you language to understand and communicate the way that you feel aswell as some space to breathe.
We will discuss how mothering has become progressively more intensive over the last 50 years with less support available. How mothers often have a believe that they can do all equally s before and if they struggle to keep up-they are failing. And how women often keep going in silence, until they reach burnout.
There is another way.
Since becoming a mother myself I have experienced birth trauma first hand and felt the effects physically, emotionally and mentally.
I was never officially diagnosed with Anxiety, post natal depression and PTSD but did experience them. For me my healing began when my little girl started nursery and I had the regular time, rest and space to identify just how much I had struggled.
I have also experienced a missed miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy and again have used all the tools which I teach and also have support from other therapists which I have surrounded myself with to help me heal. My passion is to support women throughout their motherhood journey to feel happy, healthy, confident and empowered. I believe that we can all heal and recover from our experiences at any stage in our lives and be the women and mothers that we desire and deserve to be.
Please contact Josephine, our Womenβs Health Clinic Coordinator, to discuss the programmes and book in.
Please contact Josephine Lowe, our Womenβs Health Clinic Coordinator, for further information about any of our womenβs health services or if you are unsure what will work best for your individual situation.