{"id":59997,"date":"2018-06-14T17:38:59","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T21:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/?p=59997"},"modified":"2020-06-09T07:57:23","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T07:57:23","slug":"trauma-affected-yoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/trauma-affected-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"TRAUMA AFFECTED YOGA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a continuing education workshop for yoga instructors at Asheville Yoga Center in Asheville, North Carolina. \u00a0Our course focused on how to support students who have survived and combat trauma in their everyday lives. It was game-changing. Not only did I leave the retreat with more confidence to hold proper space for people to heal but I was able to make meaning of how to heal myself.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Walk in My Shoes <\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The seminar was centered in a simple question; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">what are people going through that you can\u2019t see? \u00a0<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although a seemingly easy question, it actually can have a complicated answer. \u00a0As we have found out later in the tragic loss of Kate Spade and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/we-can-all-learn-from-anthony-bourdain\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anthony Bourdain<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> people can assemble beautiful smiles to the world but be secretly struggling with depression and grief. \u00a0We live in a culture that is just now starting to acknowledge depression and mental disability (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/minority-communities-and-depression\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">especially among people of color<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">). \u00a0With so much taboo to remove from this topic, we have to be inventive about how we create a space that allows people to feel safe to explore and heal from their trauma. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>I\u2019m your Yogi, not your Doctor <\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At this point, it feels like it is the responsible thing to say although we are yoga instructors and healers we are not social workers or psychologist. (Or maybe some of us are both if that\u2019s the case- I see you, friend! Go live your best life!) As we create mindful spaces for our students we cannot fully support all cases of trauma. \u00a0It is our responsibility to learn about the mechanics of trauma, specifically on the neurological level but we should always feel comfortable directing our students to seek more professional help if need be. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That being said, take a look at the following tips and suggestions as you plan your next yoga class or workshop. \u00a0This could be a class to specifically support people who are in a traumatic situation or anyone in general. (Because let\u2019s be real, we all are exposed to trauma daily and could use this practice)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Tips for Creating a Yoga Class that is Mindful of Trauma survivors<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Don\u2019t use the word \u201cvisualize\u201d. \u00a0It creates space for a person to allow their minds to wander and we are unaware of the specific triggers that might be attached to certain words or scenarios we ask them to explore<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Choice making is extremely empowering. \u00a0Keep personal choice by giving an option to students as well as reminding them a restful pose (such as child\u2019s pose) is always welcome. A great phrase to us is \u201c You can move towards or away from the sensation. \u00a0It\u2019s your choice.\u201d <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>THEY decide how it feels. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0Ask them to note how things feel in their bodies. Giving suggestion to how something feels in another\u2019s body might be invasive <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mirror motions so they don\u2019t feel alone or take a seat. \u00a0Power dynamics are real for trauma survivors. Do the poses with them to emphasize comradery or sit down to square any story of power dynamics the student might be making.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Understand Triggers Happen. \u00a0No matter how mindful we are there is that inevitable time when something will be said or done that could cause someone to be triggered. \u00a0Handle these situations with grace for yourself and the other person. (That\u2019s what yoga\u2019s all about anyway, right.) What a great opportunity to have a deeper discussion with your student to learn the words and atmosphere they feel safe in. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>Try This! <\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lead students through a body scan being mindful of a moderate pace to allow space for exploration. Follow by a self-shoring exercise. Guide students to lie on their backs and cross their arms as if they are hugging themselves. \u00a0Then lead them to tap their arms up and down with their fingertips. Follow this by wiping hands over their face and ending with one hand over their navel and the other over their heart. (This helps calm and ground the nervous system, which is where trauma lives.) \u00a0Finally, remember to check your own nervous system before class. If the teacher is dysregulated the room will be too. You don\u2019t have to expect perfection but do your best. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So as we continue to explore the different ways to empower people in their yoga practice (such as studying the benefits of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/benefits-of-naked-yoga\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">naked yoga<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> ) remember the small everyday adjustments we can make to class to support our students, specifically the ones who are secretly struggling. \u00a0\u00a0Also, check out our article on how to use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/using-art-to-heal-from-trauma\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">art to heal from trauma<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span> <br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/zaymyi-next.html\">http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/zaymyi-next.html<\/a> <br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/zaymyi-next.html\">http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/zaymyi-next.html<\/a> <br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/zaymyi-next.html\">http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/zaymyi-next.html<\/a> <br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/zaymyi-next.html\">http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/zaymyi-next.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a continuing education workshop for yoga instructors at Asheville Yoga Center in Asheville, North Carolina. \u00a0Our course focused on how to support students who have survived and combat trauma in their everyday lives. It was&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":60004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59997"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69717,"href":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59997\/revisions\/69717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellvyl.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}