Trauma-responsive Kundalini Yoga Research Study Starting May 2025
We’re proud to share that Kundalini Yoga Therapist and faculty member, Siri Bhagvati / Billie Atherstone, is part of a groundbreaking, NHMRC-funded research study examining the effectiveness of trauma-responsive Kundalini Yoga for survivors of sexual violence. This world-first study brings together an international team of leading researchers in trauma recovery and mind-body medicine, including our very own Dr. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa (Harvard Medical School and pioneering Kundalini Yoga researcher), alongside Professor Bessel van der Kolk (author of The Body Keeps the Score), and distinguished academics from the University of Melbourne, UNSW, and Coventry University.
Siri Bhagvati is a faculty member for the International Kundalini Yoga Therapy Professional Training and trains Kundalini Yoga teachers across the globe, including communities in conflict areas in recovery from PTSD and complex trauma.
At the heart of this project is a 12-week trauma-responsive Kundalini Yoga course, developed and led by Siri Bhagvati and her team of trained Kundalini yoga teachers at Kundalini House in Melbourne. Adapted from a protocol used in earlier research, the course has been specifically refined to meet the unique needs of adult survivors of sexual trauma. As part of a non-inferiority comparison study, the yoga program is being rigorously evaluated against Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)—a leading evidence-based psychological treatment for PTSD—to determine whether yoga can offer comparable outcomes in reducing symptoms of complex PTSD.
The program is designed to support trauma recovery through the cultivation of interoceptive awareness, nervous system regulation, and embodied safety—incorporating:
- Grounding mudras
- Pranayama
- Kriya
- Mantra
- Meditation
- and Trauma-informed sequencing.
Participants also receive weekly educational emails sharing current research, yogic wisdom, and expert insights from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and yoga therapy.
This research represents a historic and much-needed step in validating yoga as a complementary therapeutic modality for sexual trauma recovery, and it powerfully honors the healing potential of Kundalini Yoga as a path toward reconnection, resilience, and self-reclamation.