HIIT & Flow: The Value and Support High Intensity Exercise Offers Trauma Survivors

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) typically involves short bursts of intense exercise alternated with low intensity recovery periods, making it one of the most time-efficient ways to exercise. Research has shown that for trainers and their clients, HIIT offers a quick option with outsize benefits, including hyper efficient calorie burning, increased metabolic rate, muscle gain, fat loss, improved oxygen consumption, lower heart rate and blood pressure, and improved aerobic and anaerobic performance.

HIIT & Flow holds immense value for trauma survivors due to its unique ability to address both the discharge and regulation of the nervous system. Trauma often manifests as stored stress and tension within the body, which can lead to a myriad of physical and mental health issues. By combining high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with yoga-based practices that regulate the nervous system, HIIT & Flow offers a comprehensive approach to healing trauma. This modality not only caters to trauma survivors but also serves the general public, considering the shared experience of the global pandemic.

During this workshop, we will explore the science behind the movement and learn how to design workouts that, in addition to the many, well-known benefits of HIIT workouts, also support recovery and relaxation results.

In this session, you'll learn:

• The tools to include breath cues in their workouts, as a way to safely teach HIIT style workouts, and how to restore balance
• A consciousness and format to help dysregulate trauma survivors
• Cues to help create a safe environment for trauma survivors
• The benefits of low impact-high intensity training on the body in a chronically stressed society
• How to create movements that integrate core stability, strength, endurance, and recovery in your workouts and classes