SEPT 12-26, 2020 SKYTING.COM/TV

This is a virtual teacher training brought to you by our friends at Exhale to Inhale, whose mission is to bring the healing power of yoga to survivors of domestic & sexual violence, especially those who could benefit from the practice, yet might not otherwise have access to it. 

Training Dates: 

• Saturday, September 12 - Foundations Trauma Informed Yoga
• Saturday, September 19 -The Science of Trauma
• Saturday, September 26 - In Practice + Power & Privilege

The training, facilitated by Exhale to Inhale Lead Trainer Julie Fernandez, includes 6 hours of lecture and experiential learning in neuroscience, trauma theory and yoga philosophy.

You may have heard (or experienced yourself) that yoga is good for anxiety, depression, addiction and a host of other challenges. However, a person experiencing trauma symptoms may not benefit from a traditional yoga class being held in a gym or yoga studio. Students working through trauma can often become triggered in a typical yoga class either by unexpected touch, specific music, unfamiliar language or even the discomfort at being a novice.

Approximately 70% of adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives and roughly 20% of these people go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. It’s therefore likely that one or more students in an open level class is a trauma-survivor, regardless of whether they identity with this term. Students may come to class not realizing that the yoga practice may uncover trauma still held within the mind & body. Most students do not expect to have an intense memory, emotion, or physical response during a yoga class. For survivors, the experience of yoga has the potential to be overwhelming, even triggering or reinforcing the original trauma. Often these unexpected experiences can create shame and confusion for students. Leaving a yoga class feeling dys-regulated can create additional barriers to healing the original trauma. With a basic understanding of trauma-informed teaching principles, we as yoga teachers can participate in creating yoga classes that empower survivors rather than trigger and shame them. Armed with a few more tools, we can build a culture that fosters post-traumatic growth.

The training is open to yoga teachers, therapists, social workers and healthcare practitioners . This training is solely for professional development and is not intended as an intervention for personal healing. Please keep in mind talking about trauma, even in the context of professional training can be triggering. Before attending the training, we invite you to resource yourself to ensure you have person support to appropriately engage with this work.

You do not need to be a yoga teacher to attend. Attendees will gain tangible yoga based trauma-informed tools, learning how to customize yoga and sessions to make them more sensitive to those who have experienced trauma, and inclusive to all communities. Our trauma informed training supports individuals who are interested in learning how to lead yoga for individuals who have experienced trauma. Our specific approach to trauma informed yoga was designed specifically with survivors of domestic and sexual violence in mind.

Julie is the Primary Trauma Therapist with the Hope Integrative Psychiatry team where she helps clients feel safe in their bodies, comfortable in the world, and embodied, integrated and whole. Julie has experience working with at-risk teenage girls, disadvantaged youth in inner city schools, at eating disorder centers, as well as domestic violence shelters and rape-crisis centers. Julie discovered yoga after struggling with abuse that led to anxiety, depression, self-harm and disordered eating. Through yoga, she found strength to begin her journey toward healing her relationship with her body and her Self, and has been sharing yoga ever since. Using tools and techniques from yoga, breathwork, mindfulness, and Somatic Experiencing, Julie encourages students to access their inner guidance and natural wisdom to reclaim their bodies and cultivate healing.

The Exhale to Inhale Six-Hour Training will be offered online via a link to three prerecorded modules and will be available for a 12-hour time period each day. In order to get the most out of this practice, please ensure that you will be available to access the training videos during the allocated time.

Training Dates: 

• Saturday, September 12 - Foundations Trauma Informed Yoga [2 hours] 
• Saturday, September 19 -The Science of Trauma [2 hours] 
• Saturday, September 26 - In Practice + Power & Privilege [2 hours]