The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga: How to Create Safer Spaces for All

Description

An essential manual for yoga teachers and students to create a trauma-sensitive practice that benefits and supports all-and alienates no one. People are turning to yoga for its stress-reducing practice and transformative philosophy. But for those who have a trauma history, the practice can be triggering. The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga offers an inclusive approach to yoga for teachers and students of all ages and abilities, especially those who have experienced trauma. Some of the themes covered include- How do the impacts of trauma show up in yoga spacesSuggested language for shifting power to the practitionerHow to create an environment conducive to healingHow to practice or teach poses in a way that includes allAnd much more This book is beautifully illustrated with 260 photos of poses and sequences, modeled by trauma survivors who share stories of how yoga helps them heal. Land works with people of all ages, from young children to seniors, who are coping with a range of traumas including physical, emotional and sexual abuse, homelessness, genocide, and incarceration. She is a passionate advocate for making the benefits of yoga and mindfulness available to all.

LARA LAND is a Level 2 authorized Ashtanga Yoga teacher with two decades yoga experience. She has worked in Rwanda and India, among other places, teaching yoga and mindful living, and developing programs to heal and empower. She is the founder of Land Yoga, a Yoga, Arts & Wellness Center in the heart of Harlem, and her nonprofit community organization, Three and a Half Acres Yoga.

"The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga is an essential work for helping us create equitable yoga and movement spaces. Now more than ever, we must be conscious of protecting and preserving our mental wellbeing. Yoga is an integral part of that process. Accessing yoga in a way that is healing to our mind and body is a gift. This book is insightful, empathetic, and healing-helping teachers and practitioners to find their way to peace of mind on the mat."-Dianne Bondy, author of Yoga Where You Are, Accessible Yoga Teacher, and the leader of the Yoga For All movement "The Essential Guide for Trauma Sensitive Yoga is a comprehensive resource for teachers to understand the complex nuances of trauma and the subtle and overt ways it can present itself in our students. As teachers, we have a responsibility to serve the whole person and that includes sensitizing ourselves to the various ways that trauma lives uniquely in each body, how it influences the mind and perceptions and can affect one's health and emotional wellness. Lara Land deftly provides the necessary guidance, insights, and best practices so that facilitators can support their students on their journey toward healing with more mindfulness, awareness, and skill. This excellent resource should be required reading in any teacher training course."-Seane Corn, Yoga Teacher, author of Revolution of the Soul "A truly valuable resource for every yoga teacher and yoga student looking to delve into the practice from a trauma-informed perspective. This inclusive view of what the yoga practice can be features sequences and teacher profiles that bring the message of accessibility home in a relatable way."-Kino MacGregor, Founder of Omstars, author of Get Your Yoga On, The Yogi Assignment, and The Power of Ashtanga Yoga "Lara Land has created a one of a kind "how-to" resource as it relates to the field of trauma-informed yoga. This book equips aspiring trauma-informed yoga teachers with incredible tools to feel confident in their teaching and their ability to hold a safe container for those who have experienced trauma. The most comprehensive guide on sequences, case studies, nervous system tools, inquiries, and most importantly how we show up with care, compassion, and nuance. I am in awe of this book and grateful for the skillful and centered guidance it provides to all healing professionals passionate about integrating this modality and lens into the scope of their work."-Zahabiyah Yamasaki, M.Ed., RYT, author of Trauma-Informed Yoga for Survivors of Sexual Assault "The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga is just that, essential. Every yoga teacher needs to read this book and keep it as a resource. Trauma Sensitive Yoga is no longer just a specialty area. It is now standard practice to remember that we all have trauma, and these tools are essential for including everyone. In this book, Lara Land offers a definitive guidebook for doing just that, making yoga welcoming for all."-Jivana Heyman, author of Accessible Yoga and Yoga Revolution