Trauma-Informed Training Could Change the Fitness Landscape For Good

In 2021, Leanne Pedante‘s husband died suddenly in a car accident. After the initial shock wore off, the fitness instructor felt an instinct to turn to movement — one of her go-to coping mechanisms. “I wanted the emotional release,” she says, turning to running and boxing. But her body needed something else.

“I had these other symptoms of my stress, my hair was falling out, my menstrual cycle completely stopped. These signs were telling me my body was already very stressed and doesn’t need to be at 90% heart rate for two hours,” she says. “In some ways, I felt like my body was betraying me.”

Pedante had to learn what she needed — including in her workouts — through trial and error. For instance, she went to the gym, but ended up crying in the parking lot after. “As a trainer, I knew that my body could only handle so much stress and strain before I started putting my health at risk, so I decided to pull back on intensity,” she says. “Rather than going on a run, I started going on long walks while listening to audiobooks and I found that it gave me a more stable experience, mentally and physically.”

As she learned to manage her grief, she realized some of her clients had also been struggling to find a release through their own personal tragedies. They were also trying to figure out what would (or wouldn’t) make their lives feel just a little more manageable, movement included. This made her even more curious about managing both what the body and mind need during times of trial.

She found a trauma-informed training certification course through The Arizona Trauma Institute and never looked back. Now, she applies trauma-informed practices into the fitness classes she teaches as a certified trauma and resilience coach and as head of VR fitness at Supernatural.

But she never would have known to take such a course if it weren’t for her personal experience. Most of the people leading us through various forms of movement and sport — from our third-grade little league coaches to adult pilates instructors — don’t learn specifically how to help clients who’ve been through trauma. Ahead, more on how trauma-informed training is changing the fitness landscape.

What Is Trauma-Informed Training?

Although there isn’t an official definition for trauma-informed training, Megan Bartlett, the founder of the Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport and one of the leaders in the space, defines it as: “A sport environment in which the conditions for healing, like safety, relationships, and agency are present. It’s an approach to coaching in which coach behaviors and decisions are influenced by an understanding of how the brain works, including the ways in which the brain responds to trauma or adversity.”

According to Bartlett, trauma-informed training can be beneficial in myriad scenarios: after a car accident; amid poverty or homelessness; after oppression through sexism, homophobia, or racism; after domestic or emotional abuse; for those dealing with eating disorders; or, as it was in Pedante’s case, after a death.

Of course, trauma can be complex and doesn’t always fall into clear categories. “When people think of ‘trauma’ they often think of acute, life-changing events like the loss of a loved one,” Pedante says. “But trauma comes in many shapes. Complex trauma may be a repetition of multiple events that accumulate in a giant response. Or there’s chronic trauma, like domestic abuse, that is ongoing over a long period of time. The thing that’s important to understand is that source and response don’t necessarily exist in a one-to-one relationship. Not everyone who experiences a stressful event will develop trauma. And not everyone who develops trauma can point to one moment where ‘it’ happened.”

That said, trauma can impact every aspect of our physiology and psychology, Pedante says: “I don’t think there’s anyone who makes it through life without being affected by some kind of trauma, so it feels like a disservice not to take it into account.” This is largely why there’s now a small-yet-growing movement to make coaching and training more trauma-informed.

Benefits of Trauma-Informed Training

When you’re listening to what your body needs, movement actually has the power to help people process their traumas, Bartlett says. “Sport is more uniquely suited to heal than many environments,” she says. “It has movement, positive relationships, it has the ability to engage in different levels of stress and recover from them.” This is true no matter whether you’re a little kid playing flag football or an adult learning how to grapevine in a dance cardio class.

“Sport has this unique combination of factors where, if you do it right, it can have more impact than even talk therapy, though there’s always a role for that too,” Bartlett says. “Trauma lives in your body, and if you’re not using an embodied approach, you’re not addressing the root cause,” Bartlett says.

Activities that are patterned, repetitive, and rhythmic can change the chemicals in our brain, she adds. Our brain is built on experiences and connections, and one of the first connections our brains make is between the sound of our mother’s heartbeat and having our needs met. “Your brain associates that sound — the patterned, repetitive, somatic experience — with safety,” Bartlett explains. In the present day, that means that moving in patterned, repetitive ways is also calming and regulating, she adds. That can be anything from running, playing catch, dancing, skipping, rowing, throwing a ball against a wall; all of that is deeply soothing to our nervous system because of those early associations, she points out.

Another way movement helps us cope with trauma admittedly seems a bit oxymoronic — it puts the body under some stress. After you’ve been through an extreme stressor, it’s not that your body needs no stress. Rather, it needs the right doses of it, Bartlett explains. “Every time we engage in something that challenges us a little bit beyond where we’re comfortable — but not too much — that kind of stress in the right dose builds resilience,” she says. “Stress that is unpredictable, overwhelming, or extreme? That’s the definition of traumatic stress. But stress that’s predictable, manageable, and controlled is what creates resilience and makes us better at dealing with [other] stress.”

Still, overdoing it or participating in an activity our body and mind aren’t ready for, can do more harm than good, Pedante says. That’s why how, where, when, and with whom you move after trauma matters greatly. When you go through a trauma, your body is often going into flight or fight mode,” Pedante says. “When you’re operating from that space, you might be super anxious and hyped up or in a more frozen or depressive state. And the wrong kind of or too much exercise in the wrong space can exacerbate that if you’re not careful,” Pedante warns.

That’s why it’s important to listen to your intuition and find what feels right for you. Meanwhile, trainers and coaches are working to make spaces better suited for those who are struggling.

What Makes Trauma-Based Training Successful?

Both experts we spoke with agree that the best spaces for those who’ve been through a trauma to work out in are those that bring a sense of safety. “The safety allows them to let their guard down and the movement allows them to change their brain state,” Bartlett explains.

Whatever you’ve gone through, trauma often means your body still thinks you’re in danger, in survival mode. That’s why how you’re moving, where you’re moving, whom you’re moving with, what the space feels like — all of those things — contribute to your sense of safety, Pedante notes.

However, Bartlett says creating this sense of safety is harder after you’ve been affected by trauma, because you’re more likely to be “on guard.” There are a few key ways to help get past those walls. In Bartlett’s work with kids, she says the most important thing is to have a trust-worthy adult involved. “They don’t have to be on guard if they know someone is looking out for them. If they can trust and predict what that adult will do, that’s huge,” she says. The same holds true for adults, Pedante adds. Having an instructor you feel comfortable with — or even a workout buddy you know has your back — can make a huge difference.

Safety looks different for everyone. But one common thread is predictability; for example, coaches and instructors who offer a rundown of what to expect before practice or a class starts. This creates a more controlled environment, which is hugely beneficial to those processing trauma. “Part of what’s so stressful about traumatic experiences is that you have no control over them,” Bartlett says. “Trauma is the wrenching away of control when you need it the most.”

Once a trainer or coach establishes trust, they can make a lot of headway. They can then have deeper conversations with their athletes, push them to be better, and even touch on tough topics, notes Pedante.

How Coaches and Trainers Can Take a More Trauma-Informed Approach

Pedante says that trainers and coaches aren’t always thought of as a key part of a grieving person’s support system — but should be. And the more these coaches are informed about the way trauma impacts the body and mind, the more they can help us.

“If a young person is impacted by trauma or overwhelming stress, they can be reactive, more likely to lash out, or to totally shut down — and those things can happen in sport,” Bartlett says. “Coaches who don’t know that’s how overwhelming stress can impact a kid just assume they’re acting out. That’s when kids get kicked off teams.” But that is often the opposite of what kids really need.

At the Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport, Bartlett says they put a lot of work into providing coaching curriculums and training that are trauma-informed. They also work with big names like Nike to train coaches and use Nike developed tools like “Coaching Girls Guide” and “Body Confident Sport” to ensure that they’re reaching the most underserved and most marginalized because they also tend to be the least active, Bartlett says.

Meanwhile, fitness instructors and coaches that work with adults can take trauma-informed training courses and generally educate themselves about trauma to improve their students’ experiences.

“If I was teaching a yoga class, I would want to ask people: ‘Hey, if there are any terms or words or visualizations that are a no for you, come up to me before class,'” Pedante says. “My husband’s car accident involved fire, so if I was in a grief yoga class and we were doing breathing exercises and trying to visualize flames, this would probably take me farther away from like the centering that I needed, right? Teachers need to be aware of people’s triggers, the same way that you ask people about their injuries before a class.”

The trauma-informed coaching field has only been around for maybe the past 15, 20 years, Bartlett estimates. (She was one of the pioneers, along with Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD, whose neurosequential model is used in therapeutic practice and schools.) Pedante anticipates the space will grow over time, and all quality personal training certifications will include trauma-informed tools for instructors, just like they’ve recently started including lessons on how to help clients in menopause. But there’s still a long way to go.

How to Cultivate a More Trauma-Informed Training Space Today

If you’ve been through trauma and are curious to see how movement can help you heal and process, you can use the principles Bartlett and Pedante laid out. A few tips:

Find a workout buddy (or trainer) you’re comfortable with

Finding someone you feel safe with can allow you to let your guard down enough to reap the benefits of working out. Consider going on a run with a friend you’d feel fine telling that you need to slow down. Or connect with a trainer who won’t be offended if you straight up leave the class because it’s too much.

Seek out predictability

If you’ve recently been through a trauma, consider trying workout classes you’ve done before, or run on your regular route. Listen to your body as you do so.

However, as Pedante found, sometimes your old routines just won’t work for your new life, so find ways to find predictability in the unfamiliar. There are many ways to do this. “One of the common effects of trauma is hypervigilance, or being constantly on guard and trying to anticipate any future danger,” Pedante says. “Because of this, safety and stability are deeply important when it comes to trauma-informed care. For me, it was really important to make sure that I committed to the entire warmup and cooldown of any workout. In the past, I might skip out on these, but these moments to ramp into or settle back down into my body after a workout became incredibly important.”

Other tips for predictability include asking a fitness instructor what to expect. “For instance, will the lights go off in the yoga class, or will any hands-on adjustments happen? Remember that you are the client and have the right to ask whatever questions help you feel comfortable,” Pedante adds.

You might also look for online programs that show you ahead of time what the workout will entail. For instance, Apple Fitness+ has preview videos that lay out what the workout will include before press play. Even little things like this can be hugely beneficial when it comes to creating a sense of predictability and subsequently safety.

Choose spaces that are trauma-informed

Although this is still a small field, Pedante says trauma-informed fitness is growing. Try Googling “trauma-informed yoga” and you’ll likely be able to find either a live class (especially if you live in a big city) or an online version. Meanwhile, more and more exercise studios are offering options that take trauma into consideration. For instance, some offer colored poker chips you can place by your mat to signal if you do or don’t want your instructor to offer hands-on corrections. This may help those who’ve had physical trauma and who are uncomfortable with unexpected touch.

Ditch the mirrors

Especially if you’ve struggled with disordered eating or body image, workouts where you’re constantly looking at yourself in a mirror can be triggering. Pedante recommends finding studios and gyms with fewer mirrors, or even trying VR fitness. Find a studio that’s dark, like a yoga class. Mirrors can understandably be hard to avoid, however, so another option is to arrive early to classes to claim a spot in the back where you’ll likely get fewer glimpses of yourself.

Give trial and error a chance

In Pedante’s experience, the best way to reclaim fitness after trauma was really through trial and error. You may not always know at first what’s going to be best for your body and mind, which is why you have to listen to both. Meditation can help you do this, and is a generally good way to make you more mindful. Taking a minute or two after a workout to entice how you’re feeling is also helpful. Ultimately, the goal is to ditch what isn’t working and stick to things that make you feel even just a tiny bit better.

While it’s a process, for sure, Pedante says it was well-worth the effort. “Movement creates a whole rainbow of positive hormones and neurochemicals in our bodies,” Pedante says. “During these hard times, we need all the dopamine and endorphins we can get. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. Whatever resources you can get to survive this period of time, you need to shore up — that means people, therapists, nutritionists, and movement that supports you feeling good. Or as ‘good’ as possible. The thing that brought me to fitness in the first place was a sense of community and joy. And that’s what has also carried me through the darkest part of my life.”

Molly Longman is a freelance journalist who loves to tell stories at the intersection of health and politics.