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Why Yoga?
Yoga has been the one consistent thing in my life and is definitely more to me than just the physical postures that most people think of when they think of yoga. It's a beautiful design for living that compliments my addiction recovery and my life in so many different ways. It gives me a way to be in my body and access my spirit in way that supercharges my spirituality.
At a really simple level, it helps to get me out of my crazy, overthinking head and into my body, connecting me deeper to my soul and it's this that I am passionate about helping others do to.
I began my own yoga journey back in my early 20's, but fell in love with it all over again when I came into recovery from addiction, so much so I decided to train as a yoga teacher. I then went on to train as a trauma conscious yoga teacher as so many people are suffering the after effects of trauma. Many without even realising.
What is trauma?
Trauma is the body’s response to an event it perceives as life-threatening and or terrifying. The body may have trauma responses to an event that it has directly experienced,witnessed, or learned about. Typically the body’s nervous system is overwhelmed and unable to cope.
Oftentimes, the primary emotion felt is intense fear/terror, accompanied by a sense of helplessness and lack of control
Storage: trauma is stored in multiple areas of the brain, fragmented, like a puzzle whose pieces are scattered about. Trauma is stored in the muscles and connective tissue of the body in the form of body memory, tension and/or pain.
Trauma creates energetic blockages and can also pose a spiritual crisis.
What is Trauma Conscious yoga?
Yoga itself is about union of the mind, body & spirit and was originally created as a way to 'calm the fluctuations of the mind' and release the mind from suffering, not to get flexible!
Trauma conscious yoga is primarily about people not poses. Whereas a traditional yoga class is very much about alignment and can involve hands on adjustments from the teacher, to align the body 'correctly'. In a trauma conscious class there is no set way to practice each pose (other than safely). This gives the student body autonomy and responsibility for themselves. Which for trauma survivors, can be empowering and a way to reintegrate the parts of themselves they lost in the trauma they suffered.
Trauma conscious yoga is about giving people choices throughout the practice, and offers them ways to regulate their nervous system. As well as the yoga poses themselves, this can also be in the form of different breathwork techniques, meditations and mindfulness practices.
Trauma conscious yoga is truly a practice for everyone too, you do NOT need to be flexible to do it and there is no pressure to perform or 'be good at it'. Its a way to learn how to be with yourself, to experience the full range of your emotions and body sensations and to release
