7/18/24 Live Session Recording

Hello,

 Ok, I finally understand where to drop this off. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the last session life.  I am always so impressed with the lecture and all the comments.  Often, they are words that I have been waiting to hear perhaps all my life. Mostly, I know how important it is to move the body for healing and how difficult it has been for me, despite being a therapist, and a person who has had the privilege to have access to the outdoors my whole life.  

    For example, I was sharing a bit about this training with a woman I met in a yoga class last week.  I was talking about what it has been like for me to be the only person of color in most of the yoga classes. She responded, " It's in your head, no one cares."  I know her intention was kind, but in one statement, she repeated the unintentional gaslighting that has been happening.  I like this class and learning about," Ahimsa and Satya.  

I think the issue is often embodied in the comment is simply a lack of awareness and privilege not being examined.  That is why I am so appreciative of the teachings and teacher, Jen, because I realize how much I keep inside all the time. I regretted sharing this with the well-meaning woman in yoga because her response of it all being in my head... well we were literally in a yoga class with all white women. hahaha But she does not get it. 

Often, hearing the compassionate, critical thinking happening during the recording just allows me to breathe and finally be validated as we learn what," trauma-informed," yoga, is slowly starting to become.  As I heal from being involved with all of you from around the world, I hope that there is more room to offer more space for my clients as well. 

 My struggle with the study is often the," grounding practice, " as I have been trained in Internal Family Systems, and that modality does not believe in grounding.  Also, the concept of the ego is quite different is psychoanalysis.  However, these are small differences that I am ready to push and explore.  

Hi!

I really enjoyed learning about Ahimsa and the practice of nonviolence in everyday life, even in the ways that are more subliminal or subconscious. I greatly appreciated hearing everyone's comments and reflections. I think I struggle with wanting to give justification for so many things that I do, or being overly worried about how I'm appearing or coming off to others (especially in the yoga space). This constant concern is not a true practice in truth and nonviolence, but is potentially blocking me off to growing and learning and spreading positive energy when the focus is introspective and critical. I do think this tenant of yoga is so important, especially in how we talk to ourselves in classes and outside. Ahimsa is so healing for all involved and I strive to practice it in my everyday life and with others. This has been informative and really interesting - thanks so much, all! 

In gratitude,

Mimi

Very nice presentation.... I caught the first 30 min live then went back & watched the rest. I wanted to share a thought about something that came up in discussion pertaining to veterans and how they are honored until they aren't (after they appear with challenges such as substance use disorders, lack of shelter, etc which often arise as a result of their service). While I share those concerns, I also see the following: I work with several "collaborative court" / "treatment court" calendars which take a public health approach to criminal justice and seek to heal underlying challenges that often led to criminal justice involvement - the big 3 are mental illness, trauma and substance use disorders (often co-occurring). We have a growing number of these calendars - drug court, reentry court, mental health court and (to this topic) veterans court, where we work with veterans in the criminal justice system to help them avoid jail and engage in treatment responses to address their underlying needs and challenges. I also regularly do presentations on these programs (often focusing on yoga as an effective tool). In this context, many people (including the public and political leaders) respond differently and more supportively to programs serving veterans than those serving other justice-involved persons. Many people who are not empathetic to unsheltered persons struggling with SUDs will take a much more supportive and empathetic view of our programs when they learn we are helping veterans. The public is more responsive to discussions about the courage it takes to address one's trauma when we talk about veterans. Once that conversational door is open, we find it easier for the (often cynical and disbelieving) public to see the wisdom and humanity in treatment (as opposed to punitive jail) responses for other justice-involved clients as well. So I regularly thank my veteran participants for leading the way, for demonstrating the courage it takes to do the work of healing, and for making it easier for me to convince others of the value of this work. If you are interested in learning more about the intersection of veterans, criminal justice and yoga, you can visit the Veterans Yoga Project  Home - Veterans Yoga Project, and the VA also has some good resources at their "Whole Health for Life" portal...Whole Health Home (va.gov) 

@danhealy Thank you for sharing your insight, experience, and these resources.

I have really been enjoying the discussions regarding Ahimsa's and how powerful the considerations of non-harm can be for us as facilitator's and also for the people we serve. I have been working to heal my own trauma that has greatly impacted my life the last several years and since beginning this training, when I find myself in a negative thought pattern, I am asking myself "is this causing me harm?", "how is this causing me harm?" and "is this beneficial?" I look forward to introducing this to my patients once I begin facilitating yoga sessions, as maybe they might resonate with it and they may find it beneficial for them in their healing journey, without "forcing" or asking them to consider the harm of their own actions. I am energized by the sequencing discussion. I am very goal directed (thanks capitalism) so I am very excited to be getting into the movement portion and begin building a class sequence I can provide for those I serve. However, it is also intimidating so I am honoring the part of myself that strives for perfectionism with an understanding that the knowledge will build over time. 

I spent all of my teenage years as a competitive rower which ingrained a resilience in me that I both deeply appreciate but also have to be cautious of in terms of the harm it can cause – even to this day, I have to be very careful of not ignoring my body's cues that tell me it is being pushed too far. At age 12, my first coach said that during a workout or race "if you didn't pass out, throw up, or die, you could've pushed yourself harder." Although I knew she was exaggerating, that is essentially the mindset I learned – that I need to push myself as hard as possible and that despite putting in as much effort as I could, I still I could've done better. Even a whole ten years later, there are times where I struggle to remember non-harming in terms of physical pain and self-judgement. Yesterday, I decided I wanted to start running again after months of not running, and immediately put myself on a 4 mile loop full of steep hills – going in, I said I would turn around after 10 or 15 minutes and be gentle with it, but as soon as I started the loop the mindset kicked in again. Although I ran with less effort than I would've in the past, I still pushed myself to finish the whole loop even though I knew that it was probably too much. When I got home a had a terrible pain in my hamstring and knees which added another layer of judgement – I judged myself both for not being as fast as I used to be, I judged my body for not being able to physically handle the run, and then also judged myself for not practicing ahimsa with myself. In my yoga practice, thankfully it only took the first couple of years of practice to encounter teachers who really helped me experience ahimsa in yoga. Now, it is much easier for me to be mindful of non-harming in the yoga practice and bring my yoga throughout my everyday life and thoughts. There are of course places in my life where I need to practice ahimsa more such as the example of running, but more importantly practicing ahimsa when it comes to the voice of judgement in my mind.