Becoming a Trauma-Informed Spiritual Explorer

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May 24, 2022

Becoming a Trauma-Informed Spiritual Explorer

David Treleaven May 24, 2022

David Treleaven, PhD, is a writer, educator, and trauma professional working at the intersection of mindfulness and trauma. He is the author of Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness and a visiting scholar at Brown University. David is the founder of Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM), a community of practitioners committed to setting a standard of care through mindfulness-based practices, interventions, and programs. 

Mindfulness meditation, yoga, and other spiritual practices bring many benefits, but for those struggling with trauma, those practices can actually amplify their symptoms. That doesn’t mean they should avoid these practices. By adopting trauma-sensitive principles, those healing from trauma often have the most to gain.

In this episode, Sounds True founder Tami Simon speaks with Dr. David Treleaven, a leading voice in Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM), to explore the five principles of TSM, why the breath is not always a neutral or safe object of attention, how to tell if an intense meditation experience is helping or not, when to lean in to your practice and when to change direction, techniques to re-ground and regulate, guidance for meditation teachers, the importance of supportive relationships in TSM, and much more.

David Treleaven, PhD, is a writer, educator, and trauma professional working at the intersection of mindfulness and trauma. He is the author of Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness and a visiting scholar at Brown University. David is the founder of Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM), a community of practitioners committed to setting a standard of care through mindfulness-based practices, interventions, and programs. 

He focuses on offering mindfulness providers the knowledge and tools they require to meet the needs of those struggling with trauma. Through workshops, keynotes, podcasts, and online education, David is closely engaged with current empirical research to inform best practices.

His work has been adopted into multiple mindfulness teacher training programs around the world, including UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC), the Engaged Mindfulness Institute, and Bangor University’s MA in Mindfulness program in the UK. David has worked with many other organizations to bring Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness to their staff and programs. Learn more at davidtreleaven.com.

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Founded Sounds True in 1985 as a multimedia publishing house with a mission to disseminate spiritual wisdom. She hosts a popular weekly podcast called Insights at the Edge, where she has interviewed many of today's leading teachers. Tami lives with her wife, Julie M. Kramer, and their two spoodles, Rasberry and Bula, in Boulder, Colorado.

Photo © Jason Elias

Also By Author

Becoming a Trauma-Informed Spiritual Explorer

David Treleaven, PhD, is a writer, educator, and trauma professional working at the intersection of mindfulness and trauma. He is the author of Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness and a visiting scholar at Brown University. David is the founder of Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM), a community of practitioners committed to setting a standard of care through mindfulness-based practices, interventions, and programs. 

Mindfulness meditation, yoga, and other spiritual practices bring many benefits, but for those struggling with trauma, those practices can actually amplify their symptoms. That doesn’t mean they should avoid these practices. By adopting trauma-sensitive principles, those healing from trauma often have the most to gain.

In this episode, Sounds True founder Tami Simon speaks with Dr. David Treleaven, a leading voice in Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM), to explore the five principles of TSM, why the breath is not always a neutral or safe object of attention, how to tell if an intense meditation experience is helping or not, when to lean in to your practice and when to change direction, techniques to re-ground and regulate, guidance for meditation teachers, the importance of supportive relationships in TSM, and much more.

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