Heather Hagaman MA C-IAYT is the Director of Beloved Yoga’s Befriending Therapeutic Programs with a specialization in Trauma and Recovery in Reston. She has a Masters in Psychology from Marymount University and is a board certified Yoga Therapist. Heather also holds a Certification in Trauma Sensitive Yoga from David Emerson and Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk (Kripalu).
Heather is a pioneer in the new field of Yoga and Trauma Recovery. This emerging field utilizes Trauma Informed Yoga and Meditation to help people start to move beyond PTSD, Addiction, Anxiety, and Depression and start to build fulfilling lives. There are numerous studies now that show that Yoga compliments addictions and trauma recovery. Heather has worked extensively with psychotherapists and health practitioners to assist clients in reaching their wellness goals.
Heather believes that recovering from trauma requires healing of the mind, the body and the breath. Many people in addictions recovery have experienced traumatic stressors from childhood. These events can create havoc in one’s nervous system and set up a maladaptive coping system for years to come. Yoga helps to move the stuck energy in the body; it helps release the issues that live in our tissues. Once released, a person can begin to learn yogic tools to self regulate and to self soothe. Yoga helps one to pause and not run from the feelings but flow with them as energies. Yogic tools help the person to stay present, breathe and grounded rather than to reach and run to the outside world for an instant fix.
By creating a non-judgmental and confidential environment, Heather holds sacred space to help her clients connect and feel safe in their own bodies. This space encourages clients to experience inner connections and a way back to wholeness. Clients are given enormous control in their sessions and are encouraged to approach their practice with curiosity and mindfulness. This approach assists her clients in developing body awareness through intereoception (the sense of the physiological condition of the body) to cultivate the feeling of being grounded and embodied. Grounding invites you to sense your body, notice your tension patterns, and surrender the weight of your physical body into gravity to feel the support of the earth. As a resource for trauma recovery, grounding can help you reclaim a sense of safety, feel rooted in the present moment, and strengthen your resilience.