How trauma-informed yoga empowers cancer patients

2020-03-09T11:54:30+00:00

When we think of trauma, we often imagine an assault from the outside. But when someone is diagnosed with a serious illness such as cancer, the attacker is on the inside. People often report feeling betrayed by their own bodies.  That sentiment is common to students in Bobbie-Raechelle Ross’s Yoga Nidra class at InspireHealth in Victoria and Vancouver. Attendees come to the centre for physical and emotional support with cancer care beyond medical treatments. “They don’t feel safe because their body is too unpredictable. Instead of focusing on their capabilities, their view of their body becomes negative,” says Ross, a yoga [...]

How trauma-informed yoga empowers cancer patients2020-03-09T11:54:30+00:00

Why hands-on assists aren’t right for trauma-informed yoga

2020-02-10T12:14:06+00:00

Touch can be relational, connecting, healing, and necessary for well-being. But Yoga Outreach (YO) classes are touch-free zones for several important reasons.  First, no-touch zones make classes feel safer for some survivors of trauma.  Not all of YO’s students are trauma survivors. But a high proportion of people in prisons, addiction recovery centres, and domestic violence Transition Houses where YO offers programs do come from abusive backgrounds. Common adjustments such as guiding hips backward in Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), or turning shoulders to face forward in Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasana 1) can trigger frightening memories. “Having someone in a position of [...]

Why hands-on assists aren’t right for trauma-informed yoga2020-02-10T12:14:06+00:00

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