Trauma-Integrating

Yoga Skills

for Home and Studio Practice

Shannon Michael Pater, Psy.D., E-RYT 500/YACEP

Register with Sliding Scale Options

  • "Trauma is a fact of life; it does not, however, have to be a life sentence."

    Peter Levine

Traumatic events come in various forms and durations, they can overwhelm or underwhelm our sense of safe connection. But "trauma" is more "what remains" than "what happened." Regardless of how traumatic events happened, trauma is the chronic and persistent residue from the relational ruptures with ourselves, others, Spirit, and the planet. We cannot change what was, but we can work with what remains.

Yoga and Ayurveda are Wisdom Traditions in traumatology: they both offer perspectives and practices of (re)integration, balance, connection, and wholeness. They can help release us from a life sentence of suffering and separation.

Trauma-Integrating Yoga Skills is a 4-session series that weaves the Wisdom of both the ancient philosophies and modern neuroscience into applied skills for individual and collective use.

Series Details

  • The series is intended to be entry-level and accessible for both yoga practitioners and teachers. No prior yoga experience or practice is required. The sessions will focus on somatic experiences, not asana, and can be applied to home or studio practice. There is a limit of 25 participants.

  • The series comes with an online platform of curated resources for ongoing learning and integration. Technology permitting, the presentations will be recorded and posted.

  • Sangha Yoga New Bedford

    693 Purchase Street
    New Bedford, MA 02740

    Enter at the corner of Purchase Street at Spring Street

    Saturday parking is free at all street meters and the Zeiterion parking garage is directly across from the studio.

  • Saturdays, January 10, 17, 24, & 31, 2026 from 1:00pm to 3:30pm. Each session is a 2-hour presentation with an optional 30-minute focus group. The intention is for all sessions to be in-person, weather permitting. The scheduled opening of The Zeiterion Theater on Jan 17 may impact that day.

  • Because trauma happens and we can work with what remains.

  • The studio and presenter are both committed to financial justice and accessibility and offer a community-supported tuition scale:

    Supporter: $275
    Standard: $200
    Supported: $125

    Please select the tuition you can afford. If you need a payment plan or an additional scholarship, please contact the studio.

Register Here

Meet The Presenter

Shannon Michael Pater, Psy. D.,
E-RYT 500/YACEP

"Shannon Michael" began integrating his own trauma with the medicine of yoga at age 15 after his first trip to India. A perpetual student and practitioner, he has completed over 1,000 hours of Yoga Alliance yoga and Ayurveda teacher training in both India and the US. Additionally, he has been an ordained clergy person (UCC) for over 30 years. His ongoing post-doctoral research integrates his formal titles of "Rev." and "Dr." into a model of applied trauma-integrating spiritual direction. Dr. Pater's private practice is currently in eight different time zones; in 2023 he supported yoga teachers in Ukraine (via Zoom) and in 2025 he taught in Australia (in-person). He's lived on 3 continents, traveled to 5, and currently resides in South Dartmouth, MA, with his canine companion Marley.