Application of yoga in residential treatment of traumatized youth.

Background: The Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute has adapted a form of Hatha yoga into a trauma-sensitive adjunctive component of intervention for use with complexly traumatized individuals exhibiting chronic affective and somatic dysregulation and associated behavioral, functioning, and health complaints.

Objectives: This article explores the use of yoga with traumatized youth (aged 12-21 years) in residential treatment.

Design: A review of the literature on the somatic impact of trauma exposure provides a rationale for the use of yoga with this population and highlights an emerging evidence base in support of this practice.