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TIWL Trauma-Informed
Weight Lifting

Expanding trauma-care into the spaces where strength, resistance, and embodiment meet.

TIWL is an embodied approach to strength training that integrates principles of trauma-care into the weight room — supporting participants in developing agency, awareness, and relationship with their body through movement.

FEATURED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES · SHAPE MAGAZINE · CBS

70%

of trauma survivors report feeling more comfortable in fitness environments where trainers use trauma-informed practices. (Justice, 2018)
"You don't have to choose between the therapy room and the weight room."
TIWL is accredited for NASM, ACE, and APTA continuing education credits.

45%+

of TIWL's certified community received scholarship support.

#WeLift 

We believe strength training and trauma recovery should be in the same conversation.

TIWL is an embodied practice and intervention, informed by the latest in exercise science, neuroscience and trauma research. The goal of TIWL is to promote and facilitate healing for trauma-impacted individuals and groups through the act of weight lifting. Weight lifting, when approached in a trauma-informed manner, aims to:

  • Foster resilience
  • Increase a felt sense of agency and empowerment
  • Cultivate healthy nervous system functioning
  • Facilitate positive relational connections to self and others
Access TIWL Research
Start Anywhere. Go Further.

How to move through TIWL

There's no single right entry point. Some people start with the certificate. Some want to explore first.
Some already have the cert and are deepening the work. Here's what's available at every stage.

Curious
The Basics Bundle

Three introductory trainings. About 3 hours total. A real look at who TIWL is, what the research says, and how this work applies. $99.

Includes →

Intro to TIWL · Strength Training as Trauma Care · TIWL as an Adjunctive Intervention for PTSD in Youth

Explore →

Ready to Go Deeper
Foundations

A self-paced, 100% online foundational course. About 15 hours of content. Available year-round — no cohort schedule required.

1.5 NASM CEUs

Good for →

Practitioners who want the full framework on their own timeline, or a standalone credential before committing to the live cohort

Explore →

The Flagship
The Certificate Program

10 weeks, fully online, cohort-based. Two tracks: Movement & Strength or Mental Health & Clinician. Spring and Fall annually.

1.9 NASM | 6 ACE | 60 APTA

Note →

Foundations and Intro are not prerequisites. You can start here.

Explore →

Already Certified
The Weight Room

Ongoing community space for certified practitioners. Peer-led practice labs, Weight Room Sessions, the Certified Practitioner Portal, and The Bulletin Board newsletter.

Access →

Granted to certificate graduates. Requires annual recertification to stay active.

Start Anywhere. Go Further.

How to move
through TIWL

There's no single right entry point. Some people start with the certificate. Some want to explore first. Some already have the cert and are deepening the work. Here's what's available at every stage.

Curious
The Basics Bundle

Three introductory trainings, about 3 hours total. A real look at the framework, the research, and how this work applies. $99.

Includes →
Intro to TIWL · Strength Training as Trauma Care · TIWL as an Adjunctive Intervention for PTSD in Youth
 
Ready to Go Deeper
Foundations

Self-paced, 100% online. About 15 hours of content. Available year-round — no cohort schedule required.

1.5 NASM CEUs

Good for →
Practitioners who want the full framework on their own timeline, or a standalone credential before the live cohort
 
The Flagship
The Certificate Program

10 weeks, fully online, cohort-based. Two tracks: Movement & Strength or Mental Health & Clinician. Spring and Fall annually.

1.9 NASM | 6 ACE | 60 APTA

Note →
Foundations and Intro are not prerequisites. You can start here.
 
Already Certified
The Weight Room

Ongoing community for certified practitioners. Peer-led labs, Weight Room Sessions, the Certified Practitioner Portal, and The Bulletin Board.

Access →
Granted to certificate graduates. Requires annual recertification to stay active.

Healing doesn't only happen in quiet,
controlled environments.


For many people, strength-based movement — lifting, resisting, exerting — can be a powerful entry point into the body.

But traditional fitness spaces often replicate the very dynamics that make healing difficult:

  • pressure
  • comparison
  • control
  • disconnection from internal experience

TIWL was developed to offer something different.

A space where strength is not about dominance over the body, but relationship with it.

Where effort is not imposed, but explored.

Where participants can experience power without losing agency.

Research Backed.
Community Driven.

Visit the TIWL Website
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