[Sonia]

After reading everyone else’s introductions, I realised that perhaps I should add a few extra lines about myself etc.

I’m 47 years old and have been practising yoga for over 14 years now. I first realised the benefits of yoga after losing my twin boys to stillbirth and the symptoms of PTSD that slowly began to arise for me. Yoga was beyond healing for me back then and continues to be so today.

After having completed by teacher training in mid 2018, I went to the UK and did PYP’s training there (facilitated by James Fox and Josefin Wikstrom). I already knew in my heart and I needed to be of service to people on the fringes of society, those who are marginalised and don’t readily have access to yoga as a form of therapy and healing.

I began Yoga on the Inside here in Australia, and with the best mentors in town (Bill Brown, Nicole Hellather, and James Fox at PYP), we have implemented Trauma Informed Yoga Programs within 5 prisons in Queensland, Australia. We also run drop in classes for survivors (females) of domestic violence at BeyondDV.

It’s been over a year now since I’ve been fortunate enough to work with prisoners and I could never have imagined the impact that taking this practice to them would have not only on them, but on me at a core level.

I’m really looking forward to listening to the experiences of others and learning from everyone in the virtual meetings (although some of them I may not be able to attend due to timezone issues).

In my spare time (when I manage to find a good work-life balance lol) I enjoy stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, hiking in nature, anything to do with the ocean, cooking and spending time with my sassy 15year old daughter.