LAURA WILSON
Laura is the founding director of Edinburgh Community Yoga and is a Yoga Therapist (2016, 500 hrs.) specialising in trauma-informed yoga for mental health. She is also an experienced trauma-informed yoga teacher (2012, 200hrs). She has been practicing yoga since 2004 and teaching in mainstream settings as well as in collaboration with third sector organisations, NHS services and Criminal Justice Services since 2012.
Laura is a member of The International Association of Yoga Therapists and bound by their ethics and guidelines.
As a survivor, practitioner, teacher and therapist, Laura has a gift for understanding the complex relationship between the experiences we have, the subsequent patterning laid down in our nervous system and subconscious, and the interplay between body and mind in integrating these experiences. She is motivated by a deep faith in our ability to process, let go and reframe, and finds the rich tapestry of practices offered in yoga to be an extraordinary set of tools for navigating life as a human being.
Laura works therapeutically both in groups and one to one. She writes and delivers workshops on the importance of nervous system regulation practices for stress management in workplace settings. She also writes and delivers training for yoga teachers interested in working in community settings and populations affected by trauma.
Laura is a published author, having co-written a chapter on person centred yoga for trauma in the 2024 book The Yoga Teachers Survival Guide.
Laura holds a BSc (Hons.) from London Contemporary Dance School, (2003).
“For me, yoga in all its forms is about building a deeper, more awakened and compassionate relationship with your self, so that we can experience the full spectrum of what it is to be human. When we are braced against life’s challenges, we can miss the subtle moments that make life special. And so, Yoga is about creating aliveness as much as it is about calmness, but of course this comes in response to the cultivation of deep, somatic safety. I love the way the practice can teach us new way of being and I never tire of exploring the possibilities that offers us.”
If you are interested in working with Laura, please email her at laura@edinburghcommunityyoga.co.uk to arrange a time to discuss.
What is yoga therapy?
Laura defines her work as, ‘the exploration of somatic practices which are grounded in yogic philosophy, to assist in supporting emotional, energetic, physical, and mental health.’ Laura is particularly interested in the way our traumatic experiences and subsequent emotional wounds can play out in our physical and mental wellbeing, and how yogic and somatic tools can support their integration. She works with exploring themes and patterns through discussion and directed conversations and then works to re-wire and embody new ‘ways of being’ through somatic and yogic practice. Her work can vary hugely person to person and session to session.
Laura works with a concept she calls ‘optimal openness’ which seeks to support everyone to find their own version of somatic safety moment to moment and eventually as default. When we can be ‘optimally open’ we are in the driver’s seat of our own nervous system and our internal landscape is congruent to the environment around us. Our system is responsive and flexible – we can open and close, move away and towards, relax and excite at will, and in response to what is happening around us.
All too often, for people who have experienced developmental adversity, the protective mechanisms which originally came online to keep us safe, can become the root of our suffering in the now. We can become stuck in our defended states and unable to experience the full spectrum of experiences of what it means to be human. We can become small.
Making changes to habits and ways of being that may be many decades old, can be messy and challenging. Laura will always go at your pace. She recognises that before safety comes power, and always prioritises an equal therapeutic relationship through the promotion of your agency and choice making. While you may well explore practices which take you out of your comfort zone as an exercise towards change or growth, everything Laura offers is a suggestion which can be refused at any time.
Laura can support you to:
- Discover what ‘optimal openness’ might feel like for you.
- Learn when is enough – practice healthy protection, consent and boundaries and reclaiming the “no” we may not have had access to in the past.
- Express unexpressed emotions safely.
- Release shame and blame.
- Reframe limiting self-beliefs.
- Rewire towards safety, healthy attachment, and self-compassion.
- Have your story witnessed – to support with sense making and validation of your feelings and responses.
- Recognise and explore ‘parts work’.
- Embody new ‘ways of being.’
- Release stress and tension through sound, movement, gesture, and expression.
- Shift mindset and world view.
- Work with any health conditions to find practices that suit and support you.
Laura offers an enriching container in which to explore these huge and complicated topics, offering a mindful, sensitive, and empathetic presence and the opportunity to ground and co-regulate as part of the work which is always co-created alongside you.
How is yoga therapy used?
Laura works closely with each individual client to find practices that will help support and enhance wellbeing. Sessions may include breathing techniques, chanting, sounding, physical movement and postures, meditation, mindfulness, visualisation, emotional release techniques, and deep relaxation. Yoga therapy should not be used to replace any medications and you are free to continue with other forms of therapy alongside the work.
What is unique about minded yoga therapy?
The Minded yoga therapy approach combines the worlds of yoga, science, and psychology. It integrates yoga therapies with mindfulness, translate neuro-scientific findings into practices, and offer the support of psychotherapeutic holding.
Price
The price is £85 for a 90-minute session. Cancellations made with less than 24 hour’s notice will be charged for. Laura offers concessions on a case-by-case basis. Please email her directly if you would like to discuss further. Laura@edinburghcommunityyoga.co.uk
Location
Laura works in person from her home in Roslin EH25 9LP and offers online sessions.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Initial contact
Once you have emailed to enquire, Laura will establish if she has availability that suits you and will then arrange a free, initial 20-minute call where you can discuss your hopes for the yoga therapy sessions. If you both decide you would like to go ahead, then Laura will arrange for a first session where you can decide if you think the yoga therapy sessions are a good fit for you. This session will be charged for, however, there is no pressure to have further sessions if you are not sure it is for you.
Intake form
Before the initial session, you will be asked to complete an intake form detailing you’re mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. You need only provide information you feel comfortable to disclose. The form is confidential and will allow Laura time to prepare an individual yoga therapy plan for you.
What to wear
Please wear comfortable clothing you can easily move in. Leggings, shorts or jogging bottoms and a t-shirt or vest are perfect. We recommend you wearing layers as you may get warm if moving but may also want more clothes on during meditation or more still practices.
Initial Session
The initial session is for both you and Laura to gauge if the yoga therapy sessions may be helpful for you. There is no requirement or expectation to continue with further sessions if you feel Laura’s approach is not for you. However, if you choose to go ahead, we recommend you commit to at least 12 sessions, as the benefits of yoga therapy can be slow to develop. Yoga therapy is certainly not a quick fix and involves changes which can (and should!) take time to happen so that the transformation can be sustainable and long-lasting.
Check-in
In your first session you will talk through your intake form and discuss any questions Laura may have relating to what you have reported. However, the focus will be on moving towards the yoga practices as a way of working together, rather than on too much history or discussion. Normally this check-in will be done seated on the floor, but if you prefer to use chairs this is absolutely fine and can easily be arranged.
Assessment
You may go through a breath and or physical assessment where Laura will begin to get a better idea of how yoga therapy may be able to assist you.
Practice
Laura will introduce you to practices that she thinks may be of help to you. Practice may include breathing techniques, chanting, sounding, physical movement and postures, meditation, mindfulness, visualisation, emotional release techniques, and deep relaxation. The session will be completely guided by your comfort levels and feeling of safety. You will only be offered practice you are comfortable to work with.
Further Sessions
To support the content of practices being chosen for further sessions and home practice, each session will include a check-in where Laura will work to get an understanding of how the home practices are feeling and what might be helpful for the day’s session. The check-in will then be followed by a personally curated practice.
Touch
Laura will never offer any ‘hands on’ assistance in your yoga poses without first gaining your content. While some people find supportive touch therapeutic or helpful others don’t. Your choice will always be respected.
Home Practice
Change happens faster with the support of a regular home practice. Laura will work with you to develop a self- directed practice that meets your needs and is respectful of your lifestyle and energy levels. Laura will support you with this by creating bespoke video practices you can follow at home. We also have a resources page with various practices which you may like to use.