This week's recording is now available!
🎥 Recording:
https://vimeo.com/1205090282/5408599006?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci
If you weren't able to join us live, you're invited to watch the recording and share a reflection below. You are always welcome to simply share what resonated with you, what surprised you, or what you're continuing to think about after the session.
If you'd like a prompt, consider reflecting on one or more of these questions:
🌿 What did you notice as we explored the skeletal and muscular systems? Did viewing familiar postures through the lens of anatomy change the way you think about movement or facilitation?
🌿 As we began discussing the Eight Limbs of Yoga, was there one limb or concept that particularly resonated with you? Why?
🌿 This week's mindfulness invitation is to notice your posture and breath throughout the day. Have you observed any relationships between your posture, your breathing, your thoughts, your emotions, or the environments you're in?
As always, there are no right or wrong answers. This space exists to support reflection, curiosity, and learning from one another. We look forward to hearing what emerged for you.
6/25/26 Recording Feedback Post:
Most noticeably from watching this week’s recording, as opposed to signing in live, I realized how much I missed the more personal feeling of being connected to everyone during the session. Watching the recording, you can’t see the other participants videos or chats, which is a bummer and definitely takes away from some of the experience of attending class. I have a work conflict for the next six weeks at the scheduled time, but I think I’m going to try and get creative with signing in for partial live sessions when possible because it just feels so much better that way!
As it relates to the actual class content, I particularly enjoyed the movement practice with the anatomy diagrams pulled up simultaneously. So often I find myself just going through the motions of poses and moving my body in certain ways based on what things “should look like” from the outside, so it was really nice to have the internal anatomical reminders of what specific muscles were being activated in each pose. I even caught myself activating certain muscles more intentionally simply from paying attention to the diagrams. It definitely increased my mind-body connection.
I really appreciated everyone’s thoughtfulness in their reflections and questions throughout the session from those who came through their microphones/videos to share. I especially want to comment on Alejandro’s sharing about how it’s okay if you recognize that you can’t work with certain people or populations right now. I think this is SOOO important.
When we are asked to reflect on whether there are any people or groups we struggle to work with, I think a lot of us are quick to want to say, “Oh no, I can work with anyone! I’m welcoming of every single type of person.” While I think that’s a wonderful goal and aspiration to work towards, I’ve realized it’s not very realistic, and potentially even harmful. I think it can actually be really helpful to acknowledge that there are certain people or situations that bring things up in us, and that’s okay. Sometimes you don’t even know what those triggers are until you’ve had more experience working with different people. I think it’s incredibly important to constantly be reflecting on our own biases and lived experiences, especially in these spaces and in the name of being trauma-informed. Every facilitator comes into the space with experiences that shape how they interact with others, and I think it’s necessary to be aware of how those experiences might impact the way we treat people, whether that’s consciously or subconsciously.
For example, I can speak from my own experience working in the jail as a social worker. Coming into that work as a young, first-time social worker straight out of college, I really believed there weren’t any labels, charges, or identities that scared me, triggered me, or that I couldn’t work with. Over time, though, I became aware that I really struggle to work with people who have narcissistic tendencies and engage in manipulative behaviors, especially those who use those tactics in abusive intimate partner relationships and have severe domestic violence charges. I think it’s really important that I’m able to recognize that trigger within myself so I can be mindful of it not interfering with the services I provide - and so I can take care of myself too. Because it’s really easy to start avoiding or discounting people who trigger you, whether you mean to or not.
All of that to say, we’re human. I think it’s better to be able to honestly acknowledge who those people are that you struggle to work with rather than covering it with a blanket statement of, “I’m welcoming to everyone.” I really appreciated Alejandro’s comment validating that it’s normal and okay to not be in that place of full acceptance yet. To me, that awareness and acknowledgement rather than avoidance makes someone a more effective practitioner.
Thanks for another great, thought-provoking class. I hope folks who read this post are willing to share their deeper thoughts and feedback on this topic as well. 🙂
-Allison
Hi! Where can I find the slides that are in the lectures? I'd like to save them to a separate file to print. TY!
Last week I was able to attend the first hour of class but I had to drop off after the first break so this is my reflection for the rest of class on 6/25! During the stretching I felt a little stiff and tight in my legs and hips, so it felt good to stretch those muscles. Mountain Pose always makes me feel energized and open even though it's not a movement. I take the opportunity to be barefoot to feel grounded and safe, and I always take that for granted. My spine felt really stretched out and open as well. During the forward bend I felt the engagement of my hamstrings but they were still tight so it felt a little less accessible than my usual posture. Warrior poses are always my favorite because you can modify them to be less stretching but then you can really deepen the stretch as well.
Stephanie brought up a great point because we always give so much of ourselves, sometimes we hold ourselves to a higher standard so it is natural to want to show up as our best selves.
Childs pose is also one of my favorites but I find my forehead on the ground to be so uncomfortable. Amazing call out to say that this pose is extremely vulnerable and uncomfortable, I never thought about it that way! Adoption of the language is something I have been thinking about after the first couple of sessions and being in different modality spaces. Modern yoga practices really rely on the sanskrit names and it sometimes can feel accessible to some people.
The visual of the origins of yoga was so interesting.
@amhoekstra97gmail-com Hi Allison. Your reflection really resonates with me! As a white woman, I have worked hard to unlearn harmful/racist stereotypes and to be mindful of different systemic barriers at play that affect groups of people different from myself. However, a few years ago I was assaulted by a black unhoused man. This assault caused a lot of PTSD symptoms in my body, and I always felt hypervigilant of my surroundings to protect myself. Since the attack, I have dealt with different thoughts and feelings when I am around black men and unhoused people. At first, I felt a lot of guilt for thinking these things, but I'm trying to change my narrative and approach it with more softness, being aware of these thoughts and working to change them. I think it's important for us to reflect on triggers we may have or biases that can affect how we work with groups of people, especially when working with incarcerated people!
One thing that greatly stuck out to me as I was watching the recording was the disconnect I felt from the group. Our cohort is made of so many amazing humans, and not being able to learn in real time last Thursday was challenging. Unfortunately, I have to miss today's live class and next Thursday's as well, but I'm excited to get back to the live sessions after that!
Similar to what Stacey mentioned during the live class, viewing the video of the skeleton moving throughout the yoga poses allowed me to pause and really reflect on what our bodies are doing throughout a yoga class. It resonated with me when Stacey mentioned something like just because we can get into a certain yoga pose doesn’t necessarily mean we should. While the skeleton was in poses like headstands and crow pose, it allowed me to think about how much potential impact and weight we could be putting on our bodies, especially if we are not aligned correctly in the pose. This can be hard to consider when practicing yoga in a class, because at times it can feel like a competition. However, in my own practice, I am trying to be more mindful of this and listen to my body, especially when it comes to challenging poses.
Something else that stuck out to me was when Jen was going through certain poses and discussing all the different muscles in our body that are working at one time. Although I am constantly moving my body, especially in a yoga practice, I never really stop to focus on specific muscles and muscle groups and all the work they are doing. Even taking one step back with one leg, as Jen did in class, allowed me to feel my hip flexor and that stretch from such a small movement. This act once again reminded me that our bodies are doing so much in a yoga practice, and knowing our limits and listening to our bodies allows us to feel empowered to make decisions that work for and support our own individual beings.