Welcome, everyone — I’m so glad you’re here. 💛
This forum will serve as our private message board and shared learning space for the duration of the January 2026 Yoga Teacher Training.
How we’ll use this space:
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I’ll post the recordings of each live session here following our Thursday gatherings.
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If you engage with the training through the recordings rather than live sessions, this is where you’re invited to share reflections, questions, and insights in response to the material.
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I’ll also post additional resources here as they arise, including PDF versions of the online learning modules (which will live in a separate, clearly labeled thread).
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You’re warmly encouraged to start new threads at any time to continue conversations from the live sessions or recordings — whether you attended live or are engaging asynchronously.
This forum is meant to be a supportive, reflective, and dialogic space — a place to think together, ask questions, share observations, and learn from one another across time zones and lived experiences.
Introductions
To begin, I invite you to reply to this thread with a brief introduction. You might include:
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Your name
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Where in the world you’re joining from
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A few words about what’s calling you to this training or to this work
There’s no “right” way to introduce yourself — share what feels true and comfortable.
A bit about me
For those I haven’t met yet, I’m Jen Lindgren (she/her), and I’m joining you from New Hampshire, with respect and recognition that this state sits on N'dakinna, the unceded ancestral homeland of the Abenaki, Pennacook, and Wabanaki Peoples. I’ve been serving in carceral and trauma-impacted spaces for many years, and this YTT training was born directly out of, not only my experiences teaching inside facilities and witnessing both the profound need for — and impact of — accessible, trauma-informed yoga, but my lived experience as a trauma survivor. It’s truly an honor to walk alongside you in this learning community, and I’m deeply grateful for the care, intention, and presence each of you brings.
I’m looking forward to learning with you and from you in the weeks ahead.
With warmth and welcome,
Jen 🌿
Hello everyone,
My name is Tim, and I'm joining from New Orleans, Louisiana, where I work as a Staff Chaplain in palliative care at Ochsner Health System.
I'm originally from Belgium and have maintained a daily adapted Ashtanga practice for many years, though my practice has evolved significantly following knee surgeries — learning to listen to my body's wisdom rather than pushing through limitations has become its own profound teaching.
What's calling me to this training is the intersection of contemplative practice and service to others, particularly those experiencing suffering. I'm ordained as a Buddhist chaplain and have completed Path of Freedom training for mindfulness work in correctional settings. My long-term vision is to bring yoga and contemplative practices into Louisiana's correctional facilities through chaplaincy education programs. I'm drawn to understanding more deeply how the embodied wisdom of yoga can support healing and transformation, especially for marginalized and incarcerated populations.
I'm grateful to be learning alongside all of you and look forward to the conversations and insights that will emerge from our diverse experiences and perspectives.
With appreciation,
Tim
Hi all, my name is Meadow and I am joining the cohort from Lacey, Washington. I presently work for a behavioral health hospital where a large number of our patients are involuntary. In my sessions I mainly focus on expressive arts groups, but feel called to add more mindfulness and embodied practices into my work, and knew that PYP would be the perfect program for a justice and trauma informed lens.
After completing the training, I’m also interested in working with folks going through competency restoration and incarceration. Unfortunately Western Washington is not short on facilities where this work is needed, so I am looking forward to seeing where I can land and provide offerings.
I feel you on what you have said about knee surgeries and listening to one's body. I myself have only been doing yoga for 2 years and I'm noticing that my knees are starting to hurt, just in the past few months, and that has lead me to try and soften and support myself more during practice, mostly to avoid further damage but also as a way of getting past ego and taking care of myself.
My name is Chris, I live in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States). In the past I have worked mostly in child development and social services, right now I'm working very little and focusing on finishing my degree in Education (Kindergarten-2nd Grade Licensure).
My path to yoga was rather circuitous but I started practicing regularly two years ago, having long wanted to explore yoga but feeling intimidated because the studio seemed to be dominated by people with a very different cultural and class background, combined with fears that I would be disrupting what seemed like a defacto women's space: in a all, I was afraid that I wouldn't "fit in". It turns out I don't in fact fit in, but the people at my studio are really cool and open, and I've found an amazing community, and yoga has ended up being quite transformative for me. However, I have continued to carry with me the awareness that there are probably a lot of people who could benefit from yoga who will not be able to access it for either financial or cultural-fit reasons, so that is really what motivated me to take this training, I'm not exactly sure how I will use it but I am confident I will be able to find a way to bring yoga to people who need it.
Hello Everyone!
I am so excited to be joining you from British Columbia, Canada. My journey to becoming a yoga teacher began around 15 years ago when I was navigating a violent relationship, and I found solace and healing in yoga. I remember wanting to start yoga as a means of moving my body more and getting in tune with my feminine side, as the relationship I was in had me deeply connected to my masculine energy. In an effort to find balance, I lay on my mat one day at the end of class and sobbed. I will never forget this moment. So much suppressed emotion was released through the connection of breath and movement. There was a power that yoga gave back to me in that moment, and I have practiced ever since.
Fast forward to now: as a social worker and human rights advocate, I believe in the power of yoga as a healing modality that is often overlooked in Western medicine. I hope to bring intentional practice to the forefront of my teaching, so I can support others in what yoga can do for us if we learn to remain "still" and shift our listening inward.
I am looking forward to connecting with like-minded yogis on this journey 🙂
Hello, everyone! I am so grateful to be a part of this program, and I look forward to getting to know the rest of the cohort. I'm Vivian Gonzalez (she/her and ella), and I am an arts administrator based in Houston, Texas. My journey to yoga began almost 6 years ago during the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020. Like most folks, I needed to find an outlet during that tumultuous time period and found myself practicing yoga online over YouTube. Even now, during a time where our attention is being pulled in so many different directions, I turn to yoga to ground myself and find clarity.
This year, I'd like to dig deeper into yoga and learn how to cultivate a yoga community of my own. As someone raised at the U.S.-Mexico border, I'd also like to gain the tools to help my community navigate this intense time in our country.
I look forward to beginning this training very soon!