THE SCIENCE & SOUL OF YOGA
A Therapist's Guide to Healing Trauma from Within
What if healing trauma required more than understanding what happened?
The Science & Soul of Yoga explores the intersection of trauma, the nervous system, and yoga—bringing together the science of how we heal with the wisdom of learning to inhabit ourselves again.
More Than a Book About Yoga
Trauma doesn't live only in the story of what happened. It can live in the body, the nervous system, and the patterns we carry long after the experience has passed.
The Science & Soul of Yoga bridges psychology, neuroscience, trauma theory, and the ancient wisdom of yoga to explore not only why we become stuck—but how healing becomes possible.
Written by award-winning therapist, humanitarian and yoga teacher Chereen M. Gamal, this book is for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of trauma, as well as therapists, yoga teachers, and other healing professionals who want to bring the mind and body back into the same conversation.
“You don’t find your way back to yourself.
You decide to stop leaving.”
What You'll Explore
Understanding Trauma
Explore what trauma is, how painful experiences can become stuck, and why healing involves more than simply understanding what happened.
The Brain & Nervous System
Learn how trauma affects the brain, nervous system, emotions, and patterns of response—and what happens when the body begins to experience safety differently.
Bringing Science & Soul Together
Connect the science of trauma recovery with the lived experience of healing—without reducing either one.
Yoga as a Path to Healing
Discover how breath, movement, mindfulness, and the deeper principles of yoga can support nervous system regulation, reconnection, and healing from within.
What Readers Are Saying
“So, so, so, so good!”
“I felt excited to get home and read your book.”
Beyond the Book
The Science & Soul of Yoga is one branch of a larger body of work exploring trauma, healing, the nervous system, yoga, and genuine human connection.
I consider it another branch of Oak Tree.
Through yoga, education, workshops, events, retreats and continuing education, this work continues beyond the pages of the book.
The best way to stay up to date is to join the Oak Tree newsletter or follow us on social media to hear what's coming next.
Events, workshops, trainings, retreats, and other Science & Soul offerings will be announced as they become available.
Yoga & Events
Trauma-informed yoga, community experiences, book events, and workshops.
Education & Training
Continuing education, professional training, and future learning opportunities.
Retreats
For over six years, Oak Tree has hosted domestic and international retreats designed to create space for community, connection, fun, reflection and tending to our minds and bodies.
Speaking & Community
Conversations, presentations, collaborations, and community events.
Why I Wrote This Book
For years, I kept finding myself somewhere in the middle.
The mental health world often says, “Think differently.”
The yoga world often says, “Just be.”
And neither ever quite made enough sense to me.
This book is a combination of so much of what I’ve learned—and questioned—in this field.
I’d sit in mental health settings with doctors and therapists talking about how someone’s thinking was wrong, how we needed to challenge the thought or fix the cognition. And sometimes there was an unspoken sense of, we know better. We know what’s wrong with you and how you need to think differently. I’d find myself thinking, hmm, we’re skipping something.
Then I’d move through the yoga world and find something I deeply appreciated: the idea that underneath all of this, there is already wholeness. That we aren’t simply a collection of symptoms or distorted thoughts that need to be fixed. We are human. We are souls. We exist; we are complete.
But I’d also sometimes see the opposite extreme, where spirituality was used to bypass very real pain. I’d hear someone talking about what they were going through and think, yes, you are whole AND you might also need some additional, focused support. Being whole doesn’t mean we don’t sometimes need help. Wholeness and needing support aren't opposites.
I kept finding myself somewhere in the middle questioning both approaches.
The Science & Soul of Yoga grew from that space—bringing together what I've learned, questioned, and experienced across mental health, trauma work, neuroscience, and yoga.
When you get a chance to read it, I would genuinely love to hear what you think. And if it resonates with you, please consider leaving a review. Reviews really do make a huge, huge difference in helping a new book find its way to more people.
Thank you and thank you again for being part of this with me. ❤️
“Yoga does not create the soul. It restores our access to it.”
Warmly,
Chereen M. Gamal
Continue Exploring
Healing doesn't end with the last page. Explore articles, videos, worksheets, and other resources on trauma, the nervous system, yoga, mental health, and mind-body healing in the Oak Tree Library.
Ready to Read?