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Trauma-Informed Yoga & Meditation Teacher (E-RYT 500) • Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP)

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Trauma-informed Yoga, Meditation, and Breathwork teacher (teaching since 2011), and certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. Founder of Turkey’s first online yoga video platform (YogaUni.com, 2014). Assistant faculty in international Somatic Experiencing (SE) trainings in Turkey and India. Facilitates the “Awakening Body – Somatic Meditation Program,” individual and group yoga sessions, and SE sessions. Active volunteer in the SE Turkey disaster support team. Podcast host featuring conversations with experts in the field.

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Education

  • M.A., Clinical Psychology — Istanbul Kent University

  • B.A., Economics — Istanbul University

 

Certifications & Professional Credentials

  • E-RYT 500, Yoga Alliance

  • Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP)

 

Professional Experience

Trauma-Informed Yoga, Meditation & Breathwork Teacher — Self-Employed (2011–Present)

  • Teach yoga, meditation, and breath practices to groups and individuals; design trauma-informed curricula and mentoring for yoga teachers.

  • Conduct “Awakening Body – Somatic Meditation Program,” ongoing group and private applications.

  • Offer Somatic Experiencing® sessions in private practice (Fenerbahçe, and Şişli Istanbul and online).

Assistant, International SE Trainings — SE Turkey & India Organizations (Current)

  • Assist in Somatic Experiencing® professional trainings and organizational activities in Turkey and India.

Founder — YogaUni.com (2014–2022)

  • Launched Turkey’s first online yoga video platform; reached a wide audience with hundreds of yoga videos.

  • Led 200-hour Yoga Teacher Trainings and Mentoring Programs for Yoga Teachers.

Facilitator & Trainer (Selected)

  • Co-led Therapeutic Solutions for Yoga Professionals (with Müge Ece) within trauma-informed work.

  • Led 'Meet Yourself' workshops on somatic awareness and movement.

Podcast Host — Nesteren Akçay ile YogaUni Podcast (Ongoing, irregular frequency)

  • Conversations with domain experts; available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Assistant to Clinical Psychologist & PACT Therapist Eda Arduman (2024,2025, ongoing)

  • Assist in Case Consultation Group (Somatic, Psychodynamic, and Neuroscientific methods) and PACT Supervision groups.

Volunteer — SE Turkey Disaster Support Team (Ongoing)

  • Provide support within the national SE organization’s disaster response efforts.

 

Private Practice

  • Location: Fenerbahçe, Istanbul

  • Services: Somatic Experiencing sessions; trauma-informed yoga, meditation and breath work (individual & group).

  • Contact: (By message to schedule a session.)

 

Trainings, Courses & Additional Education

Yoga & Movement (Hours/Format noted where applicable)

  • 200-hr Yoga Alliance Vinyasa Teacher Training — YogaŞala, Alexis Gulliver

  • 60-hr Yoga Alliance Insight Yoga Intensive — Sarah Powers

  • 40-hr Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training — Dr. Neslihan İskit

  • 40-hr Yoga Alliance Restorative Yoga — OM Yoga, Cyndi Lee

  • 5 days Essentials — Richard Freeman (Ashtanga tradition)

  • 5 days Intensives — Richard Freeman (Ashtanga tradition)

  • 100-hr Yoga Alliance Teaching Safely — Hart Lazer

  • 100-hr Yoga Therapy — Hart Lazer

  • 40-hr Advanced Intensive for Teachers — Yoga Circle Berlin, Noah Mazé

  • 40-hr Pranayama, Mantra, Mudra — Michael J. Stewart, Shantavira Yoga

  • 500-hr Yoga Alliance Master Level — United Yoga Montreal, Hart Lazer

  • 50-hr Budokon Yoga — Ateş Bağdaş

  • Modern Wisdom for Modern Life (20 hrs) — Carlos Pomeda

  • Three Layers of Consciousness — Seane Corn

  • Power & Clarity in Practice — Todd Tesen

 

Somatic Experiencing®, Trauma & Body-Oriented Modalities

  • Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Training (3 years) — SE Turkey; Arielle Giarretto, Dr. Sonia Gomez

  • Integral Somatic Psychology, Module 1 — SE Turkey; Dr. Raja Selvam

  • NICABM Advanced Master Program in Trauma Treatment — (Peter Levine, Stephen Porges, Bessel van der Kolk, Janina Fisher, Pat Ogden, Ruth Buczynski)

  • Gestalt Approach: Mind-Body / Body-Self Program — Arte Bursztyn

  • Embodied Anatomy & Deepening Somatic Skills — Ana Avalos, Psychosocial Therapist, SEP

  • Working with Sexual Trauma from an SE Perspective — Ariel Giarretto, SEP

  • Resources in Therapy — Marianne Bentzen (SE Turkey)

  • Neurodevelopmental Perspective on Attachment — Marianne Bentzen (SE Turkey)

  • Shame and Guilt — Marianne Bentzen (SE Turkey)

  • Bodynamic Somatic Developmental Psychology – Foundations — IHA

  • Aggression, Depression & Life Force — SE Turkey; Dr. Dave Berger

  • SE for Chronic Pain & Syndromes — SE Turkey; Dr. Peter Levine

  • Attachment & Trauma — Marianne Bentzen (SE Turkey)

  • Somatic SE Playshop (Child & Adolescent Focus) — Maggie Kline, PhD, SEP

  • Perinatal Psychobiology & Collective Trauma — Sonia Gomes, PhD, SEP

  • Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma — Dr. Peter Levine, PhD, Founder of SE

 

Mindfulness, Meditation & Contemplative Programs

  • MBSR — Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

  • MBCT — Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

  • Power of Awareness – Meditation Teacher Certification — Jack Kornfield & Tara Brach

  • Awakening Body: The Path of Somatic Meditation — Dharma Ocean Foundation, Reggie Ray

  • Walking the Path — Pema Chödrön

 

Ayurveda, Anatomy & Nervous System

  • Introduction to Ayurveda — Ürün Kurtiç

  • Applied Ayurveda — Konstantinos Charantiniotis, Cihangir Yoga

  • Vagus Nerve Mojo (Physiotherapy Applications) — Perry Nickelston, DC

 

Sound & Energy

  • Reiki I–II–III–Master Attunements — Lütfiye Öznur Açıkalın

  • Sound Meditation Practitioner Training — Soundala Therapy (Rida Kıraşı, Can Dedeoğlu)

 

Professional & Teaching Skills

  • NLP – Neuro-Linguistic Programming — Masters Training Türkiye

  • Train-the-Trainer Certificate — Masters Training Türkiye

  • Productivity Under Stress

  • Conflict Management

 

Programs & Public Presence

  • Awakening Body – Somatic Meditation Program: Ongoing groups and 1:1 offerings.

  • Podcast: Nesteren Akçay ile YogaUni Podcast (Spotify, Apple Podcasts).

  • Newsletter & Instagram: Updates on yoga, meditation, and somatic offerings.

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