Recording: https://vimeo.com/1212725884/eb6ec1ba47?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Thank you for another engaging session together! If you missed the live gathering—or would simply like to revisit our conversation—you can find the recording above.

As you reflect on this week's discussion, you might consider sharing:

• How has your understanding of Asteya (non-stealing) expanded beyond material possessions?
• What observations arose during our exploration of physical and emotional range of motion?
• Is there a moment from our discussion, movement practice, or workshop that you'll carry forward into your own personal practice or facilitation?

You're also welcome to share any other reflections or questions that emerged while watching.

Recording: https://vimeo.com/1210665066/f6107246ed?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

If you weren't able to join us live—or if you'd like to revisit the discussion—you can access the recording above.

As always, you're warmly invited to continue the conversation here. Some optional reflection prompts include:

• What aspect of Satya (truthfulness) resonated most with you, either personally or in your role as a facilitator?
• How did the discussion around the Week Two sequencing template influence your thinking about introducing yoga to a new community?
• What insights, questions, or reflections are staying with you after watching this session?

Feel free to respond to one of these prompts or simply share whatever stood out to you.

I appreciate Jen pointing out that through this lens of practice we are exploring, the importance of acknowledging individuals aren’t always arriving ready to be in stillness — the physical practice allows us to settle into our bodies and become present. This is something that I have been practicing integrating and incorporating into guiding, because I find it so valuable to from the very beginning, use movement as a way to offer autonomy and self-inquiry about where we are arriving energetically in order to receive the most from the practice-I really feel that laying this groundwork of offering choice through movement and verbal cues at the start can allow participants to feel more connected to the practice and help set the tone for the rest of the practice, rather than starting with stillness. The deeper understanding I've gained through this training about how to integrate all this into teaching and the how the nervous system functions feels so valuable to how I feel called to guide and I'm so grateful for this.

I appreciate Alejandro's words about this practice offering the opportunities to pause and make a new choice-a way to support the rewiring of our nervous system through this practice is so powerful, and I am grateful to understand this lens as a facilitator, to be able to have the intention to hold space for creating these opportunities.

The breath practice discussion was so informative and supportive in understanding how to hold space for the many variations of people's experiences. I really appreciate how it helped me to understand the language of how to offer choice in each technique, in the same way it's offered in the physical practices.

❤️

I'm so sorry to everyone who planned to watch the recording later.

To support everyone fairly:

• No reflection is required for this week's live session if you were unable to attend.
• I'll upload the PDF of this week's presentation slides here so everyone has access to the material we covered.

During our session we:

• Began Module 3, transitioning into the practical application of trauma-informed facilitation.
• Explored Ahimsa (non-harming) and considered how compassion, nonviolence, and care appear across many spiritual and philosophical traditions while reflecting on why Prison Yoga Project's facilitation remains intentionally trauma-informed and secular.
• Began our first facilitation demonstration, exploring how our language, presence, and choices help create spaces that support participant agency, nervous system regulation, and embodied awareness.

Thank you all for your understanding and grace with this unexpected technology issue. I truly appreciate it.

I look forward to continuing together next week as we continue to Module 4 and spend more time practicing facilitation together.

my own experience with breathwork has required a lot of tailoring because for whatever reason, the counting and holding of breath is super activating for me. it touches on feelings of being trapped, controlled, etc. i felt the points about letting someone find their own rhythm/box were very validating to my own personal experience and i was grateful to have language around that, both for myself and my clients. 

As I practiced the different breath practices, I also noticed which ones felt “easier” to me than others.  I have broken my nose several times and still have a deviated septum, and some of the nasal exhales felt like I was not getting enough breath or air in.  I very much resonated and appreciated Jen’s invitation to try the breathwork, NOT to count, but to demonstrate and to invite individuals to do what felt best for them.  In the scenarios with me personally, I felt like it would take me some time to get used to not breathing out my mouth, knowing that indeed I was okay, and getting enough breath in through doing the exhale practice this way.   

I learned so much!

-Molly Evans

This really stood out to me, so I wanted to find other interpretations and break down its meaning. After doing some more research, my general understanding of this sutra is that our thoughts, feelings, emotions, experiences, memories, etc. are constantly changing and aren’t truly who we are. Who we truly are is the pure consciousness or awareness that observes all of those things. Once we have this realization, there is a profound sense of freedom as the false sense of self begins to dissolve.

One interpretation breaks it down like this:

The Seer (Pure Consciousness): Your inner, unchanging, silent observer. This is your true, limitless self.

The Seen (The Mind & Body): Your thoughts, feelings, memories, ego, and physical body. These are constantly changing.

As someone who struggles with anxiety, I find a lot of comfort and power in this sutra. When I look at anxiety through the lens of this teaching, the excessive spiraling thoughts and worries can feel a little less overwhelming and honestly, almost insignificant at times. There’s a recognition of, “Oh, my brain is just doing brain things, and my nervous system is simply trying to keep me safe. I am not these thoughts. I am not my anxiety.” That awareness creates space between my true self and the spiraling thoughts.

I think often with anxiety, I almost identify with it. Like, I have anxious thoughts, therefore I am an anxious person. But this sutra offers the power of de-identifying from that. I think the freedom comes from realizing that if my thoughts are always changing, then they don’t have to dictate my who I am. Even on days when my mind feels chaotic, there is still a part of me that remains steady enough to witness it. This awareness is not a magic wand or cure for anxiety (sadly lol) but there is comfort and peace in that bit of stillness and de-identification from thoughts. 

One interpretation I saw phrased it as, “You are not the storm; you are the sky,”… I think I’m going to keep that one in the “quote arsenal” in my brain as a personal reminder. 

-Allison