Trauma Informed Meditation Sessions – A Guide

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As a trauma informed meditation teacher I’ve been able to help people with some of the most difficult challenges in life. Things like BPD and PTSD. And for that I am very grateful.

But here’s the thing. I know that there are many people who need help but can’t afford a private meditation teacher. And that’s why I’m creating this guide. It’s a free guide to trauma informed meditation to help whomsoever should need it.

Let’s begin.

How To Approach Trauma Informed Meditation

In some ways, it’s similar to your standard meditation practice. But there are a few differences to be aware of.

  • Meditate somewhere you feel safe
  • Grounding is imperative
  • You’ll need to go a lot further than using guided meditations on Youtube
  • Some techniques are far better equipped to help with trauma
  • Safety first
  • If you can afford it you definitely should work with a professional.

Let’s look at each of these steps.

Meditate somewhere you feel safe

Your meditation space should not include anything that might trigger you (personal photos for example). In fact, the plainer and more relaxing the space, the better. One way you can do this is to create a meditation space at home that you use for nothing but meditation. If any item or sensory element (including background sounds) could trigger you, try to remove it.

In the following video I discuss how to meditate safely with trauma.

Grounding is imperative

We folk with trauma (yes that includes me) can sometimes drift off into thoughts, feelings, or just some other place… wherever it is we go when we dissociate. The solution to this is to stay grounded.

Here are some tricks I use in my trauma informed meditation lessons to help people to stay grounded:

  • Routinely remind yourself of where you are and what you’re doing (I’m sitting in my living room breathing through my nose while focusing on my breath).
  • Check in with your body (“I can feel my feet on the floor and my sitting muscles on the chair”)
  • Use a mantra. One good mantra for grounding is “I am here. I am now”.
  • Meditate with your eyes partially open

Also consider these other grounding exercises.

Only select high quality guided meditations

Some of the guided meditations on Youtube are amazing. And some are bad. The problem is that when you’re working with trauma you need to know that a practice is safe and helpful before you actually do it. And it’s not easy to know that when you’re just using online videos. That’s why I highly recommend that if you do use guided meditations you choose ones that you can be confident will work. One good way is to stick to only well recognised meditation teachers such as Jon Kabat Zinn, Pema Chodron,  Jack Canfield, me…

Here’s one of my own trauma informed guided meditations.

Some techniques are far better equipped to help with trauma

There are some really good meditation techniques for trauma. And some really bad ones. For instance, the last thing in the world you should do are the provocative spiritual meditations like Merkaba and Kundalini. Dont worry if you haven’t heard of those. They wont help you anyway. What will help you, however, are trauma informed exercises like Body Scan and Somatic meditation, as well as techniques that cultivate compassion, such as Loving Kindness and Karuna. [1]

Safety first

The absolute number one priority should be safety. The last thing you want to do is meditate in a way that makes things worse. Here are a few more deeps for keeping things safe:

  • You’re in control. You can choose how you sit, whether your eyes are open or closed, and you can stop anytime.
  • Focus on what’s around you right now — your breath, the feeling of your body, or the sounds nearby. This helps you stay grounded and safe.
  • If strong feelings come up, that’s okay. It’s normal to feel restless, upset, or distracted sometimes during meditation. Be kind to yourself.
  • You don’t have to explore painful memories during meditation. It’s okay to keep your attention on the present moment.
  • If silence feels too intense, try using soft music or nature sounds.
  • Give yourself permission to move gently — stretch or shift position if you need to.
  • Remember, you can pause or stop whenever you want. Your comfort matters most.
  • When you finish, take a moment to do something calming, like deep breaths or gentle movement, to help you feel grounded again.
  • If meditation ever feels too hard or brings up too much pain, it’s okay to reach out for support from someone trained to help with trauma.

You’re doing something brave by caring for yourself in this way. Be gentle with yourself as you explore meditation — it’s a practice, not a test.

If you can afford it you definitely should work with a professional.

Meditation will be safer, easier, and more effective if you work with a meditation teacher like me. I have countless hours of experience teaching people to meditate, and I know both the warning signs to watch out for and the tips and tricks to make your meditation practice far more effective. So, for best results, book a trauma informed meditation lesson with me today.