![]() ![]() They can choose to adapt certain poses, use yoga props/blocks, share in the circle (or pass) and feel they can share their voice to guide when they wish (which helps when you start class with a check in and check out). Encouraging folks to move in ways that feel good and restorative in their bodies, minds, and spirits. Transparency (or predictability) - telling folks what they might expect from the class, giving an overview, providing some time parameters or breath counts etc.Ĭollaboration - inviting the class to make the practice their own. Offering choices - clear pathways to making decisions for what feels best in the individual’s body.Įmpowerment - using a combination of themes, language, movements, stillness, and reflection to promote a sense of empowerment within the circle or the class Safety - always prioritizing consent and fostering a sense of safety so individuals know they are safe with you, in the room and can make a choice to leave if/when they wish.Ĭreating a healing container - this begins during your own spiritual and cultural work, as you prepare for teaching, throughout the class, and to the closing and transition of the practice. Respect - Maya’xalapa (respecting each other) and this begins with how you respect yourself, your family, the environment, and those in community. Here are some core principles of trauma-informed practice that I operate by with my yoga teaching: Trauma-informed yoga provides a somatic approach to establishing and enhancing self-regulatory capacity in interoception (inward awareness) and skills for shifting and balancing physiological arousal - or simply put, trauma-informed yoga supports people who have experienced trauma in cultivating a connection and relationship with their bodies through empowering practices that prioritize the needs of the person healing from trauma. Trauma-Informed Yoga is an approach to teaching yoga with a guiding framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma” ( We are not specifically treating trauma in a yoga class, but rather being aware of, and accounting for, the greater need for safety and trust within the space when we are working with others. In this post, I will outline some considerations when sequencing and guiding from a trauma-informed approach that applies to teaching yoga to Indigenous community members. There are endless ways to develop, sequence, and facilitate a yoga practice with others - finding an authentic approach is key. I began shifting my energy into creating holistic classes that feel safe, accessible, and welcoming for all bodies. ![]() Go figure - peak poses, endless transitions, and vinyasas became less important. Once I began teaching and offering classes more consistently, I realized my teaching path was not going to be based in a typical city studio and instead geared towards serving Indigenous communities and guiding diverse bodies and backgrounds of people. It became a creative outlet to craft moving meditations (and sometimes playlists). When I became more immersed in Vinayasa yoga, I fell in love with the art and playfulness of yoga class sequencing. ![]() Following my first yoga teacher training (YTT) in 2012, I felt I had to follow a sequencing approach focussed on building up to peak poses, which are typically more advanced asanas (yoga forms). I am continuously learning and refining my yoga teaching style and approaches.
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