Sonoma County’s Wildfire Mental Health Collaborative helps survivors restore balance with yoga

When the Tubbs fire destroyed 73-year-old Deborah Hudson’s ranch off Riebli Road in October 2017, it devastated more than just her home of 20 years - it scorched every aspect of her life, too.

Her body ached from lifting two pit bulls to safety. Her mind was overwhelmed by the litany of insurance matters she had to handle. Overall, the experience of surviving the trauma simply left her “off” from the person she was accustomed to being. By the spring of this year, she was foundering.

“It just felt like I wasn’t in my own body,” she said recently. “I was lost.”

Help came from an unexpected place. A friend invited her to volunteer at an event created by the Healthcare Foundation of Northern Sonoma County. There, she was introduced to the organization’s Wildfire Mental Health Collaborative, an effort to provide mental health services to fire victims across the county and beyond.

Hudson particularly was curious about the WMHC’s “restorative yoga” program, which comprises classes specifically designed for fire survivors. She had taken yoga before and enjoyed it, though she wasn’t a fan of how competitive and strenuous it could be. This, however, sounded different.

So she went. And within the first few minutes of the first class, Hudson knew the WMHC program was going to be a good fit.

Instructor Hannah Caratti was a huge part of the positive vibe. She was calm and kind, and she spoke with a soothing voice that put Hudson at ease. Logistics of the class also were encouraging; positions were more like stretches than poses, with emphases on breathing, massage, and rocking back and forth. Perhaps most important, there was no judgment whatsoever - just Caratti, a handful of students in her home studio and plenty of personal head space to heal.

This is precisely the environment Caratti works to cultivate. With 28 years as a yoga instructor and about 14 years of experience as a licensed family and marriage therapist, she has developed her own style of yoga for people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety.

The yoga draws upon elements of a variety of stress-reduction practices, including Iyengar yoga, Japanese acupressure, meditation and more. Caratti also is a reiki master.

When the Healthcare Foundation launched the WMHC, Caratti stepped up and offered to train other yoga teachers in how to teach with her trauma-informed approach. Ultimately, nearly 60 yoga instructors completed the training, all free of charge. They, in turn, now teach classes of their own.

For Caratti, 64, the benefit of this trauma-informed approach is obvious: It combines yoga and therapy.

“When people experience trauma, their nervous systems get out of whack, they get trapped in their head and their emotions, and it’s like they’re not fully feeling the presence of their arms and legs,” she said. “It’s like an out-of-body experience. They need to be centered. They need to start over. That’s where this can help.”

The class certainly has helped Hudson - on two major fronts.

First, it has benefited her psychologically, enabling the older woman to quiet her mind and set aside her emotional baggage for the first time since the fires. The yoga also has inspired improvements to Hudson’s physiology, improving her arm and shoulder injuries to the point where she can lift her hands above her head again.

Though Hudson hasn’t completely recovered on either front, she is inspired by the results, and vows to continue to continue trauma-informed yoga so long as she continues to see results.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Hannah has helped me get back into my body,” said Hudson, who has been living in a trailer at her son’s home in Windsor while she and her husband rebuild their ranch. “After all this time, I can’t tell you what a gift that truly is.”

In addition to all these bonuses, Hudson and Caratti agree that they both have gained something even more powerful from their association through yoga: a friendship.

That friendship is growing exponentially. The women see each other two days a week when Caratti is teacher and Hudson is student, and they also meet up independently as equals. When they get together, they talk about Hudson’s new grandbaby, about Caratti’s latest classes and about everyday struggles and victories that make all of us human.

“Debra is one of a few fire survivors who have become dear friends since April when I started giving the classes,” said Caratti. “One of the great joys of this work is how it benefits everyone - including me. For that I am eternally grateful.”