Movement, Embodiment & Somatic Therapies
Trauma-Informed Yoga
Trauma-informed yoga is a gentle, adaptable practice that prioritizes safety, choice, and self-awareness, offering participants tools to reconnect with their bodies after experiences of disempowerment or violation. Through mindful breath, movement, and grounding techniques, this practice releases stored trauma, calms the nervous system, and restores a sense of control. At Restore Forward, trauma-informed yoga helps participants heal from both personal and environmental harm, promoting agency and embodied self-stewardship in the face of chronic stress and toxic systems.
Tai Chi & Qi Gong
Tai Chi and Qi Gong are ancient movement-based practices rooted in Chinese medicine that focus on cultivating internal energy (Qi), promoting balance, and enhancing vitality. These slow, intentional movements and breath patterns help discharge trauma from the body, regulate the nervous system, and reduce the oxidative stress caused by environmental exposures. At Restore Forward, these practices support deep somatic integration, fostering emotional calm, physical resilience, and a reconnection with the rhythms of nature and one’s own inner healing capacity.
African Dance Therapy & Drumming
African dance therapy and drumming reawaken ancestral memory, invite embodied joy, and offer powerful tools for emotional release and communal healing. Movement and rhythm help shift stored trauma, awaken the life force, and reconnect participants with cultural identity and collective resilience. At Restore Forward, these practices are part of a decolonized wellness approach, helping individuals metabolize stress, move grief, and reconnect to the Earth and each other while reclaiming their right to thrive.
Restorative Movement for Post-Surgical & Post-Cancer Healing
This therapeutic movement approach is designed specifically for those recovering from surgeries, cancer treatments, and other physically and emotionally taxing medical interventions. It helps restore mobility, relieve pain, and rebuild trust in the body, while gently moving trauma and fear that may have accumulated during medical procedures. At Restore Forward, we address recovery holistically, acknowledging how systemic injustice and environmental toxicity affect healing, and we offer participants the tools and community needed to steward their own health with grace, strength, and compassion.
