1/29/26 Live Session Recording (Module 1 Part 2)

I did the sequence earlier today(- had to skip it in Thursday night cos it was about midnight and I´d been up since 7am). The practice was very relaxing and yet energizing. Even though I have done this type of practice before, i was still surprised of the positive effect. Less can really be more! This also is a great practice to do while having period - really helped me to feel better in my skin right now.

I usually practice more dynamically (when not yinning) and I had some resistance of letting myself so easily, but as I did the sequence seated, I noticed it was just the thing for that moment. I really liked how the familiar poses (warrior 1 and boat) were introduced in an accessible way and how there were variations for different energy levels.

This way of practising makes sence, because it really moves between activating and centering modes and balances the nerves. I´m myself a good test person, while I often hold tension in my body because of my nerves. Good way to recognize if one needs to release something, or if one needs to become more activated.

Ahimsa and santosha were at least clearly present in the practice. And listening to oneself! (What limb is that, I don´t remember. :-))

I´m afraid that I´m gonna have to do the training mainly on the recordings. I cannot get much out of the live sessions and participate fully the discussions because I´m so tired in the evenings. Maybe it will get easier when the spring comes!

My biggest takeaway from the movement was the cues, saying things like "Let your body decide and not your brain." or "Let your breath find you" or "Notice when you're inhaling, or exhaling." These are subtle cues not about a perfect posture but more about body-awareness and shifting into a somatic mindset over a mentally or physically-driven practice. I also liked the piece about paying attention to our energy levels and giving a lot of options for people to find what they need --either to match their own energy level and/or raise it or lower it with the amount of energy they put into the movement. I also liked the closing where you had people look up and around and come back to the space to slowly come out of an internally-focused practice and to acknowledge the collective. 

Another key takeaway was about showing up authentically. Noting that, if you don’t feel good, say that out loud and don't try to hide or fake your feelings and also carefully and mindfully assess whether you are regulated enough to offer up a practice. 

Finally, I am aware enough to know, today, the niyama I am strugglingg with the most right now is  Surrender (ishvarapranidhana?), trusting myself, surrendering to the universe, not cheating others (or myself) by not showing up with self acceptance. Believing that I’m the most important person and strengthening that relationship in order to build connections with everything that is.

I'm also sorry I'm missing these breakout rooms and opportunity to engage in the virtual space.

What stood out most to me was how intentional and trauma-aware the movement was, nothing felt performative.

A few things in particular:

• Choice over compliance. The way movements were offered rather than instructed (“if you’d like,” “an option could be…”) really shifted the power dynamic. It honored autonomy in a setting where choice is usually stripped away.
• Predictability and consistency. The steady rhythm, grounding, simple repetitive movements, rest, created safety. You could feel how that consistency helps regulate nervous systems, especially for people living with chronic stress or hypervigilance.
• Function over form. There was very little emphasis on how a pose looks and a lot of emphasis on sensation, breath, and internal experience. That reframing makes the practice accessible to every body, regardless of injury, age, or fitness.
• Minimal language, maximal clarity. The cues were straightforward, non-flowery, and free of spiritual jargon. That restraint felt respectful of diverse backgrounds and belief systems, and practical for in a correctional environment.
• Embodiment without exposure. The practice invited people into their bodies without forcing emotional vulnerability. That balance, supporting embodiment while avoiding overwhelm, felt especially skillful.

Overall, the movement communicated: you are safe, you are in control, and your experience matters. That message felt just as important as the movements themselves.

There was so much valuable information here! I love exploring what embodiment feels and looks like to people. I am really looking forward to using the cue "Let your body decide, not your brain." This feels like a more concrete way to get to a very personal, complex space. I wanted to hop on here because I saw a video this week that tied so well to this week's learning. It was from the "Trauma-informed Weight Lifting" non-profit with Candace Liger at the Center for Healing and Embodiment. Liger said with embodied exercise to, "let the movement tell the story your nervous system already understands." We don't have to figure everything out and process it all actively though our exercise practice. Our nervous system already knows our stories and through movement and proper cues, we can let our body decide how to move through it and embody it.

I have never led a yoga class so I am a bit intimidated and overthinking "am I doing this right?". But I have worked with people in large and small groups and individually. I learned yep! I will make mistakes, because I am human. But going through these movements I felt so empowered and I just told myself "I can do this." I want to let go of the "gotta be perfect and right" thinking and know this a chance for me to learn and grown then take the knowledge into my community and work. I want to show up to my community excited and ready to give them an opportunity to just be, just be happy, sad, angry, bored, whatever feelings they are having. I loved the movements because it's not something I have done before in chair, but I felt leaving strong and refreshed. I think when I am my most authentic self then my students, clients etc. will be able to show up and be their authentic self. 

I was able to join the lecture for the first half of last week’s class but had to hop off about halfway through. I really loved connecting in the beginning and am so glad I was able to join for even part of the session (so glad that is an option!). 

Thinking through the movement session, I really enjoyed the slowing down. I am someone who fluctuates between more fast paced “flow” style yoga and then also enjoying slower, gentler yoga particularly that holds poses and moves slowly between. I love the concept of thinking about how these poses can be accessible for everyone.  It was particularly interesting for me later in the class when Jen was discussing the breadth of what an ‘asana’ could actually entail and the idea that these prescribed poses were just created at some point but are not the essence of yoga. I just hadn’t thought about that part before and it was really impactful for me in thinking about what yoga practice is and how people can engage in it.

The chair yoga session was meaningful in both connecting with my body and thinking about accessibility within poses. But even more so, I found that the chair session made me think about how I can bring yoga into my daily life more – my practice doesn’t have to be a one-hour class but it can be five minutes between meetings stretching and being present in my chair at work, etc. The idea that not only can we bring “pauses” and the mental into our day, but we can also bring “asana” and the physical movements throughout our day.

Our practice felt relaxing and, a great reminder to pause and breathe any time. More often than not, I, like many students I know will wait for that next hour of yoga to let out a big sigh or soften tension. 

Listening to my peers talk a lot about rehabilitation and renewal etc. has shifted how I am redirecting to focus on prevention, which is encouraging this path in a youth/healing-centered yoga. From my own perspective, bringing these amazing tools to our next generations will benefit us all in the future. I remember posting a quote from the The Dalai Lama "If every 8 year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation." This and, teaching my own children yoga and meditation was a lead into this journey of early education trauma-informed yoga. 

One week before I started my first yoga teacher training I fell on my bike and sustained an injury that I wasn't sure would heal in time for me to begin TT. I explained to my teacher trainer that I would work through the pain to make it happen. Luckily, my trainer was intuitive and could tell I really wanted to be present even though I was not physically able to participate fully. She taught me about Ahimsa and how non-violence included taking it easy on myself about the state my body was in at the time. When I did some more studying about it, it encouraged me to begin with my mind and allow my body to follow when it was ready. From then on, Ahimsa became one of limbs that I come back to often, understanding that it isn't the only, but important to learning the others openly. Since participating in classes was part of our grade, I was able to come to class in a seated pose for most of it and only move if it felt okay to do so. Yoga has humbled my life in many ways and, I realized that hard shell I would have used to "work through" the pain was my ego. Something else I didn't know much about at the time and have spent many years dissolving as slowly as it was created in my existence. 

This was a great watch. I love how you allow people to feel what they are feeling instead of trying to make them feel the need to sit still and connect with their breath, which is how I was taught and currently do teach all of my classes. Not everyone feels safe sitting still, especially in a strange room with strange people. I am so loving this approach to yoga. 

I felt that all of the 8 limbs were incorporated into the practice. 

I am missing so much being able to participate in the live lecture and break out rooms. I hope to be able to make it work one or two of the lessons! 

I am grateful to be in this with you all!

Despite not being able to make the live session, I loved participating in the first movement sequence and observing how someone might facilitate a session like this, with the structured flow of 20 minutes for discussion, 30 minutes for movement, and 10 minutes for closing breath work. This format is different from the flow or yin classes I'm used to, so learning this new approach has been valuable.

I've never tried chair yoga before and was struck by how adaptable these small movements are for people of all ability levels. This makes so much sense when working with people who may have limited access to space, both externally and within their own physical range of motion. I would also like to start weaving these postures into my own daily routine, especially when working at my desk. So important to take those moments to pause and gently move my body when feeling stressed. During the practice, I could feel my parasympathetic nervous system recalibrating, which brought such a calming quality to my whole body. What I appreciated most was the centering and somatic quality of the sequencing. Those intentional pauses helped me notice when my energy shifted, both during the asanas and the pranayamas. And it felt good to stomp my feet and get that energy out! Haha! 

Lastly, the body scanning particularly resonated with me. Years ago when I was involved in theatre, our director would have all the actors lie on the floor and guide us through each body part, having us tighten and release to settle our nervous systems before a show. I didn't realize at the time, that this was a form of yoga, but I remember thinking how incredibly good it felt physically, in my body. This is a great way to continue to calm the nervous system and integrate & relax the body after the asanas. 

• What stood out to you about the way the movement practice was structured or offered? what stood out for me was how different the structure of a trauma informed yoga session to balance the nervous system is than every other delivery of exercise class I offer! the wave approach rather than the usual aerobic curve to help you stay connected to yourself. 

• Did anything shift in your understanding of trauma-informed or healing-centred yoga through this session? maybe the importance of getting to a place where being still is comfortable rather than ignoring it and just telling myself its not for me. 

• What connections did you notice between the philosophical discussion (Eight Limbs) and the practical movement experience? Through discussing the 8 limbs I realised more why these things are important and how they interact with the other areas such as attachment and getting to a place where you don't need external things to be at peace in yourself. how the pause and stillness in the sessions (the bit i am most uncomfortable with but getting better!) helps us to achieve this.

What struck me most about this weeks lecture was the teaching around how this practice differs from what you might encounter if you were to walk into a yoga studio. I was so touched at how thoughtful and *truly* trauma informed and inclusive the arc of the practice is, that it is so clearly about teaching nervous system regulation and body awareness. Additionally, I never would have considered that starting a whole sequence in a chair but in retrospect it makes perfect sense. I also think its so poignant to end on a more active, focused note rather than a totally gooey surrendered shavasana, given we know that incarcerated folks will be returning to a high stimulus environment.

Talking on my own trauma I was neglected as a child and abused sexually as I have healed I recognize when my body is trying to take me back and its made me realize that healing is lifelong! Although I have come a long way, I have gathered many tools along my journey and have learned a lot about my body. 
What I noticed after the seated practice: I felt more clarity into the spaces that need more attention physically and where I was feeling tight where I was holding tension. I really enjoyed how accessible it was and how there was a lot of jumping and non-stillness.

I was able to solidify what I already claim when it comes to healing and the use of yoga, I am so excited to gather more tools on my belt and take it into the world! 

The structure of this movement practice was so different from most of the yoga practices I've experienced, and what struck me the most about it was the quality of tailoring the practice to the individual and their body, rather than trying to force or achieve some idea of perfection. (When all these ideas of what is "good" in yoga were all made up by some person at some point in time, not universal truths as they are often presented.) The whole point is shifted: away from striving and external demands, and towards an inner alignment, with honor for one's individual experience and reality. There was so much gentleness and so much respect offered for the basic personhood, autonomy, and experience of each practitioner, which is rare and precious for people who have had and continue to have that stripped away from them on a daily basis.

Philosophical discussion and the physical practice aren’t separate conversations. The movements become a lab where the Eight Limbs are tested, felt, and lived—turning philosophy into something physical, personal, and deeply human.