August 25, 2020
The Beginning of my Trauma Informed Journey
By: Matilda
( Y4C Teacher, Dancer, Minnesota Born, Florida living)
Yoga 4 Change has changed how I teach. In this blog post I will share how it has changed my way of teaching. Before diving into the “how”, I want to first give you a picture of me as a yoga teacher before learning about trauma informed yoga. Before joining the Yoga 4 Change team I taught many different styles of yoga in yoga studios. Students often told me I had a great voice for yoga and that I taught a nice class. My personal experience was not as positive. I would try to plan out the perfect class, be nervous for hours beforehand, feel stuck in my head, and have anxious body sensations as I taught. Over time I became more comfortable and less anxious, but I still felt a disconnect.
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The first way that my teaching changed is my use of language. Words hold power and I have learned to be mindful of what I say and how I say it. For instance, instead of “triangle pose” I now say “triangle form” or simply “triangle”. The word pose is potentially triggering. Also, I use invitational language and an invitational tone. I emphasize that each student has a choice over their body, to listen to their body, and that they are in charge of themselves at all times during our practice together.
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The second way my teaching has changed is that I now teach from the inside of the body out. Before starting my trauma informed journey I taught the poses as poses. I tried to help people find the “ideal” shape that looked “right” on the outside. Now, I help students feel the shape in their body. I focus on subtle body alignment and imagery verbiage to assist them in finding the shape.
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The third way my teaching has changed is that mindfulness is at the forefront of the classes I lead and yoga is the tool by which I teach it. There was not a lot of room for mindfulness when my focus was self-centered and all about doing it “right”. Now, my focus is outward to the students. Meditation, words to make my students think, and subtle body queuing are woven into each part of my current classes. In my experience, it is easier for new students to begin a yoga journey for the physical aspect, but what causes a student to want to come back is the way they feel when they leave. They may identify the feeling in their body as feeling “relaxed” or “stretched out”, and I would counter to say they feel good because they have slowed down all their fast paced thoughts and feelings. Said another way, they feel good because they have used the mindfulness tools provided and have experienced living in the present moment.
Now, I have been teaching with Yoga 4 Change for nine months. The biggest change I have seen and felt in myself is that I lead with confidence and authenticity. When I enter the room as a teacher, I hold space for my students and their journey. I provide mindfulness tools and witness their own becoming. This is the most fulfilling work I have ever done.
