Jessica Dziwulska
Trauma‑Sensitive Yoga, Dance Movement Therapist, Somatic Practitioner, Expressive Art Therapy
Kia ora, I'm Jessica
I’m a yoga and somatic movement facilitator and a creative arts therapist with over three decades of practice and teaching behind me. I hold a deep, ongoing curiosity about how bodies, minds, hearts, and communities heal after trauma.
Over the years, I’ve trained in a range of body‑based and creative therapies, including:
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Trauma Centre Trauma‑Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY)
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Dance Movement Therapy (MDMT) and Conscious Dance
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Expressive Arts Therapy (Tamalpa Life/Art Process)
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Somatic Movement Therapy (Shin Somatics)
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Restorative Movement Psychotherapy (RMP)
My Dance Movement Therapy Master’s thesis focused on body‑based approaches to working with PTSD and complex trauma, and tracked my development as a body-based trauma therapist. My research, along with my clinical work, continually reinforces for me that there is no “one way” that works for everyone – each nervous system, each story, and each body asks for something slightly different.
So, because of that, my work is deliberately multi‑modal and individualised. I draw from TCTSY, somatic movement therapy, therapeutic arts, nature, breathwork, mindfulness, and the nervous system to shape practices that fit the person, or people, in front of me – their history, their culture, their strengths, and their hopes.
The person behind the work
Alongside my professional training, I bring 50 years of being a human in the world.
I’ve:
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Owned and run my own yoga studio
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Worked one‑to‑one and in groups with a wide range of people
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Been a partner and a mum, learning in real time about attachment, rupture and repair
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Lived with anxiety, depression, an auto immune condition and (currently) perimenopuase
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Navigated business ownership, financial pressure and burnout
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Bumped up against familiar patterns – of “never enough”, always‑busy, and people‑pleasing
There have been seasons of dancing wildly, seasons of lying on the floor crying, and many, many hours spent reading, studying, walking on the beach, and slowly piecing together what helps me feel a little more present, more honest, more resourced, more true to myself.
I don’t see myself as someone who has “arrived” and is now passing down wisdom from a distance. I see myself as someone who is still very much on the path, who has picked up some useful tools along the way, and hopes to share them with others who may find them helpful.
How I work
My role in Brighter Life includes:
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Designing and facilitating our TCTSY groups and the movement and creative components of our day retreats
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Shaping the pacing, structure and choices available in each session
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Using invitational language, so everything we offer is an option, not an instruction
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Paying close attention to interoception – inviting people to notice what's happening inside and to let that guide their choices
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Working closely with my wonderful colleague, Amy, so that what happens in the room (or on the mat) is aligned with the wider clinical picture and individual safety needs
Whether I’m working with someone individually or in a group, my priorities are:
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Safety and pacing – we honour your body’s needs, you set the pace
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Choice and consent at every step
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Respect for your nervous system – we don’t force, push or reopen what is not ready
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Honouring your whole life – not just the trauma, but your relationships, responsibilities, culture, values, spirituality, strengths, wounds, and the things that bring you joy
What I believe
I don’t believe in quick fixes, or that any one modality is the magic answer. I do believe:
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Our bodies carry both our wounding and our wisdom
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Your nervous system can learn new patterns and ways of being
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Movement, breath, creativity and relationship can open up real shifts – more space inside, more steadiness, more choice
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Healing is not about becoming someone else, but about becoming more fully, truely, and wholly yourself