Over the past 9 years, we’ve delivered body-based programs across hospitals, community centres, schools, and complex care settings, with a focus on reaching people and communities who are often excluded from mainstream mental health support.

Alongside this work, we’ve trained hundreds of practitioners, and have engaged in research, collaborated with survivors, and drawn on diverse fields - from somatics and education to systems theory and social justice, to shape our approach. What we’ve learned again and again is that true trauma-informed practice is relational, justice-oriented, and responsive to context.

With such deep community practice behind us, we want to share Collective Being’s principles of trauma-informed practice.

Join Collective Being facilitator Phil for this guided gentle yoga practice. For this practice, you may like to have some cushions, a blanket and/or a yoga mat. Make sure you have enough space to swing your arms and move your body.

In this practice, you will be invited to explore a range of seated, inverted and reclined shapes. Please feel welcome to adapt each shape as your body needs, and to rest as much as you like.

At Collective Being, we believe that wellbeing is a right, not a privilege. Every day, in the spaces we work, we witness the toll that stress, trauma, and systemic pressure takes on people’s bodies, relationships, and resilience. But we also witness what becomes possible when the right conditions for recovery are in place - when people feel safe enough and supported enough to reconnect with themselves and others.

This trauma-informed meditation provides an introduction to the somatic practices of 'orienting', 'grounding' and 'centring'. This practice is led by Collective Being team member and Director Jo Buick (she/her).

This practice is 10 minutes in duration, and can be paused or stopped at any time to take a break, integrate or reflect. We also encourage you to make choices throughout the practice that support your needs and interests.

We live in a time of constant stimulation, pressure, and uncertainty. From global instability to the everyday demands of work, caregiving, and financial strain, many of us live in a near-constant state of activation. While short bursts of stress can be motivating, repeated exposure without enough recovery time can gradually wear down our systems. Understanding how the stress response system works can help us to recognise what’s happening in our bodies, and why completing the cycle of stress is supportive for our long-term health and wellbeing.

Join Collective Being facilitator Mykah for this guided, trauma-informed meditation focusing on the theme ‘allow and accept’. For this practice, you could be lying down, seated, or even walking if that is more supportive for you.

Join Jo for this trauma-informed restorative yoga practice. For this practice, you might like to have a cushion, blanket, yoga mat and/or bolster.

In this practice, you will be guided through a series of reclined shapes. Please feel welcome to adapt for your needs, pause or rest as frequently as required, or to ignore cues that aren’t supportive for you.

On a sunny and brisk Sunday afternoon at the beginning of December, we held a Closing Ritual for this chapter of Collective Being's life. After almost a decade of working together as a collective, this seemed like the most natural step to take.