Feel free to watch or revisit this week’s session and share anything that resonated with you.
We explored facilitator voice through “I” statements, reflected on Samadhi (bliss), and revisited Ayurveda as a tool for self-care and balance.
You’re welcome to share freely, or respond to one of these prompts:
- What came up for you during the “I” statement reflection? How does your voice as a facilitator feel right now?
- How do you relate to the idea of Samadhi as moments of presence or connection, rather than something to achieve?
- Did anything shift in how you view self-care through the lens of Ayurveda?
- What support do you feel you need as you move toward completion of the training?
You’re also welcome to use this space to share questions or topics you’d like to revisit in our final session.
I loved the reflection questions at the beginning of this session! I am becoming a trauma informed and healing centered yoga facilitator stopped me in my tracks and left me with such a sense of gratitude and truly feeling proud of myself. I also really appreciated the format of the self-care check in. I think the questions in that check in are very helpful and can be done anywhere/anytime to check in with self which I appreciate a self-care practice that doesn't require full stop while life continues to move around me. Thank you Jen!
I could relate to the feeling of imposter syndrome when going through the statements, like I know that I'm "becoming" but I'm definitely still unsure in my ability to teach. It didn't help that I was explaining to my aunt that I was becoming a yoga facilitator, and she literally has no idea what I've been learning over the past few months or anything about my practice but she says "You don't know enough about yoga to teach it!" It was a punch to the gut, like I'm already doubting myself I don't need help in that aspect (haha). But I also know her, and have to take it with a grain of salt. She doesn't do yoga herself, so it wasn't like it was coming from a place of knowledge. Anyways, it just rubbed me the wrong way and I'm trying to move past it. I feel like I did pretty well with my facilitation final, I got a lot of great feedback but also some praise and that boosted my confidence a lot. I can't believe we're almost to the end of this class and it makes me a little sad but also super grateful for the experience and education, I feel like it's not just made me a better yoga facilitator but also a better human. I really enjoyed the discussion of Ayurveda, I've been really curious about it for a while and this introduction to it makes me want to dive deeper. I love how it emphasizes balance and finding what you need in a daily practice, because I've noticed my own needs change every day and every season but I haven't been able to really name that until now. Looking forward to earning my certificate and proving my aunt wrong that I CAN facilitate yoga!
I had previously only understood «I» statements as exclusively concerning communication and expression of feelings (i.e. diverting conflict through saying "When this happened, I felt x" instead of "you did y and that's messed up), but I think that this format can be a really useful for of promoting self-inquiry and also helping facilitate transformation, you are sort of exploring and being exposed to the idea that you are ("I am") x or y, or if you disagree then you get a sense of why, what feelings and thoughts are behind that reaction.
For myself, I did resonate with the "I" statements, I really feel like in my own experience with myself and in my connection with the world around me that I am behaving as a trauma-informed yoga teacher: I've shared a lot of knowledge with people in my community, started discussions, am moving forward with actually teaching in a trauma-informed setting. All that said, on the practical side I still feel like I haven't discovered an authentic voice for myself. When we have done the practice teaching with each other during class when we teach a sequence to another student or whatever I have really felt like I was nervous and sounded weird and didn't know what to say or what I was doing. For me it's sort of understandable though, even in my normal life with teaching pre-K and such, I'm more comfortable with research and training other people and organising things and exploring ideas versus actually doing the thing (those who can't do, teach, those who can't teach then teach others how to teach?).
I enjoyed the I statement discussions and thoughts that it brought up - I am always trying to not undermine everything that I've achieved and so the language chosen was really important in those statements.
I am feeling excited and nervous to move on to the next step and I appreciated the humility of the discussion of first classes not being perfect and that certainly helped simmer my perfectionism.
Grateful for all of you! "Imposter syndrome" is definitely something I struggle with as I've taught for 1/2 a year at the women's transitional prison here and as I've stepped into a new position at my work, as well. To begin and facilitate with connection is crucial. Letting everyone know that we are in this practice and in these journeys together, not as a superior is also crucial. I think there are great ways to share this, especially when certain poses are challenging or parts of the practice feel hard. Sharing out loud and giving an example on how to work through hard things is powerful! The same practice has really helped with my new job, too. In our society, it can be challenging not to seek out (our own warped view of) "perfect leaders." So finding ways to dismantle that and walk along side the folks we are leading can be super impactful. Curiosity and exploration are also important values to anchor in when dismantling the perfectionism complex AND when dealing with conflict.
I resonated with the "I am becoming..." statement shared.
As for questions/future topics: I definitely feel like this work is a service and a call in my life. Right now, the facilitating I do is all volunteer-based. I was listening to a PYP podcast episode that recommended yoga facilitators are compensated whenever possible. I'm curious if there's any examples of how to ask for compensation, especially when it comes from a place of service and when local funds are often so small for the incarcerated population's programming? I am in Des Moines, Iowa and whenever I "pitch" a trauma-informed and healing-centered exercise class to places like incarcerated settings or programs for the vulnerable in my community, everyone says they would love it but it would need to be volunteer work. Would love any examples/advice!
So grateful for you all and for everything shared in this module.
For myself, I see Samadhi not as a distant spiritual achievement that I need to attain, but as moments of deep presence and connection that arise when my mind becomes quiet and undivided. Rather than something permanent to possess, I experience it as brief moments where self-consciousness softens, time feels different, and the separation between myself and my experience begins to fade. These moments can happen during meditation, but also while listening to music, being in nature, creating something, praying, or simply giving my full attention to ordinary life. For me, samadhi is less about striving toward a mystical state and more about being fully present with what is. Presence matters because it brings my attention completely into the current moment instead of scattering it across worry, memory, or self-judgment, while connection helps dissolve feelings of isolation and reminds me that I am part of life rather than separate from it. Similar to a Flow state, these experiences feel like moments of complete absorption where mental fragmentation quiets down and a natural clarity emerges on its own.
I appreciated the i statements. I noticed that I felt disconnected from the "I am becoming a trauma informed yoga facilitator". I think this is something that I have wanted and hoped for, for a long time and I do find myself having doubts about myself. But then I also know I am very capable and very willing to jump in and get messy and I will do my best. Lots of conflicting parts of me that I felt grateful to explore. I am going to be starting a trauma intensive program at my work (outpatient behavioral/mental health clinic) in phoenix and announced to my colleagues today, I made the fliers yesterday. And I find that I am excited to enter this new phase of doing and getting better as i go. Ayurveda also was helpful to reflect on as someone who likes to take care of myself and likes to take care of others more... maybe because i actually struggle to slow down enough to always know myself and what i need.
It has been such a joy working with all of you and I so appreciate this training. Thank you all for everything!!!
I really enjoyed learning about Samadhi, the eighth limb of yoga. This limb intertwines feelings of bliss, connection, and belonging into the practice. I relate to the idea of Samadhi as moments of presence and connection rather than something to achieve because it allows the practice to feel more authentic rather than competitive. Experiencing Samadhi in practice feels like true grounding, and I do not think this can be fully experienced when someone is constantly striving to reach the “next big thing.” I especially appreciated the idea that creating spaces of belonging, self-healing, and community healing is a form of transcendence. I believe it is difficult to truly experience this when we are in competition with ourselves or others. Viewing Samadhi in this way removes pressure and perfectionism and instead allows individuals to genuinely attune to their bodies and become a safe space for themselves and those around them. This Zoom session was very informative, and I have truly enjoyed learning about the yoga sutras. Thank you, Jen!