by Lara Land | Mar 6, 2023 | COACHING, COMMUNITY, LAND BLOG, LARA LAND, Self Improvement, SELF-IMPROVEMENT
I’ve been leading trainings in trauma-sensitive yoga since 2014 and one thing which I’ve noticed as my content has evolved is how applicable the information is to any field. It has gotten me to believe that all professions, practices, and sports should have trauma sensitivity training for their leadership. It has been gratifying to see that I’m not the only one who has thought this way. Dr. Jamie Marich, the clinical trauma specialist who wrote Transforming Trauma with Jiu Jitsu had this same idea when she wrote that book and continues to feel so.
We speak, in the latest episode of Beyond Trauma, about the need for trauma-sensitivity training in all fields and specifically how the combination of trauma-sensitivity and the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu martial art mesh so exceptionally to help trauma survivors.
Many of the aspects of Jiu-Jitsu are similar to those of yoga. Depending on the instructor, there can be a strong focus on breathwork in Jiu-Jitsu just like in yoga. This concentration on the precious link between our inner and outer worlds can be both triggering and healing and which way that goes largely depends on whether the Jiu-Jitsu or yoga teacher has trauma sensitivity training.
Similar to yoga, in Jiu-Jitsu, we work with the mind and the body. In each moment there are a variety of choices and positions the practitioner could bring the body into. The act of making a choice can be both empowering and terrifying for a trauma survivor. These different shapes may bring up memories and emotions. In a safe environment, meaning one in which the practitioner feels able to take breaks, make adjustments, and share their experience without it being judged or doubted, both yoga and Jiu-Jitsu present the opportunity for a survivor to be with difficult sensations in a healthy and potentially healing way.
The main difference between the two practices is the closeness with which one works with a partner in Jiu-Jitsu. With the exception of specific yoga styles such as Partner Yoga or Acro Yoga, yoga is usually more of a solitary practice within a group setting. The partner activities central to Jiu-Jitsu make it all the more potentially triggering and sensitive for trauma survivors. This component also provides a place for growth and healing as a survivor gets comfortable letting someone get physically close to them.
Working in partnership, Jiu-Jitsu practitioners learn that size is not the determining factor in overwhelming one’s component. This is a powerful teaching, especially for trauma survivors who may have experienced helplessness. Learning to defend oneself and feeling confident in one’s ability to do so regardless of an opponent’s size is something that is hardly describable if you’ve been overpowered and why we believe this practice of Jiu-Jitsu so essential.
Take a listen to this special episode on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts and let me know what you think in your reviews and comments!
by Lara Land | Jan 16, 2023 | BLISS BOOK BONUS, BOOKS, COACHING, COMMUNITY, LAND BLOG, LARA LAND, Self Improvement, SELF-IMPROVEMENT
I am so excited to announce that the pre-order bonuses for my forthcoming book,
The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga are now up! There are three bonuses: A Trauma-Sensitive Body Scan, TWO Bonus yoga Sequences, and an exclusive virtual Q&A with me a week after the book launch.
All of these are carefully created bonuses, but the ones I especially want to point out are the additional yoga sequences. What I really want to get across is that they really aren’t extra but were actually meant to be a part of the book. Because of this, I am hoping with all my heart that you will take advantage of the pre-bonus offer by purchasing your copy of The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga before its publication day, May 2nd.
The book is a compilation of over two decades of practicing and guiding trauma-sensitive yoga and teaching yoga teachers and other healing professionals how to share in these practices. It is for both yoga teachers and practitioners and will also support folks who are neither of these but are interested in stress reduction and connecting to their breath and bodies. It includes over 260 photos of yoga poses, many of them in chairs. These simple exercises will support anyone looking to release traumatic stress from their system.
Yoga teachers Kino Macgregor, Seane Corn, Dianne Bondy, and others have already read and reviewed the book. Check out their reviews and more about my first offering with Shambhala Publications and purchase your pre-order copy HERE.
CLICK HERE FOR 30% DISCOUNT ON
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO TRAUMA SENSITIVE YOGA
DIRECT FROM SHAMBHALA
by Lara Land | Nov 28, 2022 | BOOKS, COACHING, COMMUNITY, LAND BLOG, LARA LAND, Self Improvement, SELF-IMPROVEMENT
Many of you have likely heard about trauma sensitive yoga by now. You may even have read books on it such as The Body Keeps the Score, Waking the Tiger, and Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. Perhaps you’ve pre-ordered my book, The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga. I hope you have. Yoga for trauma studies are getting more and more popular and more information is getting out there during this time when more folks than ever are identifying as having survived trauma or traumatic stress.
This is a change from the earliest studies we had which were largely from veterans. Most of the earliest trauma sensitive yoga programs were for veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Those programs proved again and again the power of trauma sensitive yoga to reverse the impacts of trauma, restore the nervous system and give folks a chance to change their response to traumatic stress.
No one knows that better than the next guest of the Beyond Trauma Podcast. Pamela Stokes Eggleston has been sharing yoga years with Veterans suffering from PTSD or traumatic stress and their families. She was inspired to focus on this demographic after her own husband returned injured from service and she needed to learn how to live with that. The vicarious trauma she experienced from living with someone with PTSD also had to be addressed. Pam was able to address it with yoga and yoga related practices and one thing she was especially able to treat is sleep. This is deeply important because sleep is always disturbed with trauma and sleep disturbance makes the impacts of trauma more severe.
Take a listen to Pam on the Beyond Trauma Podcast to learn more about yoga for veterans and how she is improving their sleep and hers with some special practices.
If this resonates with you, you may want to consider a trauma sensitive yoga training. I’m offering both an online trauma sensitive yoga training (this weekend) and in many person trainings in the coming year including the weekend of June 30th at Kripalu in Massachusetts (which will be listed next week) and the weekend of August 18th at Miami Life Center, in Florida. More to be listed soon!
by Lara Land | Oct 17, 2022 | LAND BLOG, LARA LAND, Self Improvement
How a new kind of affirmation made a difference for D’Angela.
*Trigger Warning
D’Angela Albery was born into the cycle of trauma. As a child she witnessed and was the victim of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that began while she was in the womb. Never experiencing anything else, abuse was normal to her and she didn’t know that there could be another way. Yet, despite a campaign to make her feel worthless and trapped something inside of her told her to escape.
The story of D’Angela’s flee from her childhood home and subsequent detachment from her abusive partner is detailed in the latest episode of The Beyond Trauma Podcast. She shares the people and techniques which allowed her to understand her worth and break the cycle of trauma for her three small children.
One of those is using “What If” affirmations. When as a trauma survivor, speaking an affirmation was too much for D’Angela to believe in, she added the words “what if” to the beginning and she could start to imagine a different life.
Try it now:
What if I am smart?
What if I am worthy?
What if I am enough?
D’Angela is not just a trauma survivor. She is now a speaker, a coach, a trauma-sensitive yoga teacher and the program director at Three and a Half Acres Yoga. She is a true inspiration to all trauma survivors. Listen to her full story on iTunes or Spotify and get trained like her to be a trauma-sensitive yoga teacher this December at Three and a Half Acres trauma-sensitive yoga teacher training!
Highlight- trauma, trauma survivor, trauma-sensitive yoga, trauma-sensitive yoga teacher training, affirmations
by Lara Land | Oct 10, 2022 | LAND BLOG, LARA LAND, Self Improvement
Three and a Half Acres Yoga is a nonprofit I founded in 2015. We broaden access to yoga, breathing and mindfulness techniques, focusing on communities who have experienced trauma. Our classes and training support individuals and teachers alike in recognizing their power for positive change. We believe every yoga teacher needs training in trauma sensitivity and that everyone deserves access to a yoga experience, free of harm, regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, ability or class.
Our 20-hour virtual Trauma-informed Yoga Teacher Training (TIYTT), designed for 200+ hours certified yoga teachers, is back this December featuring Lara Land, Nikki Walker, and Jaime Brown, along with two NEW instructors who are experts in their fields, Ali Seidenstein and Tristan Katz.
We cover:
- How to define and look for trauma
- What happens to the mind/body system during and after a traumatic event
- The ways in which yoga can regulate the nervous system
- Specific practices for grounding, awakening awareness, and centering
- Common trauma triggers and how to avoid them
- Ways to reframe your teaching to increase accessibility
- How to teach yoga from a chair
- Room set up and teaching in unconventional yoga spaces
- Mindfulness and self care for the trauma informed yoga teacher and why that is important
- Self knowledge and awareness and privilege in the yoga room
We are so proud of this amazing lineup of instructors which is why we’re offering a full overview on each instructor as well as what you can expect from their sessions below:
Our 20-hour virtual Trauma-informed Yoga Teacher Training (TIYTT), designed for 200+ hours certified yoga teachers, is back this December featuring Lara Land, Nikki Walker, and Jaime Brown, along with two NEW instructors who are experts in their fields, Ali Seidenstein and Tristan Katz.
We are so proud of this amazing lineup of instructors which is why we’re offering a full overview on each instructor as well as what you can expect from their sessions below:
Lara Land
Lara Land is the Founder and Executive Director at Three and a Half Acres Yoga (THAY) and a Level 2 authorized Ashtanga Yoga teacher with 2 decades of yoga experience. She has worked all over the world teaching yoga and mindful living and developing programs to heal and empower.
In 2008-2009, Lara spent three months in post-genocide Rwanda bringing yoga as healing to survivors and from there went to India where she worked with HIV positive children bringing yoga and meditation to their treatment room. In June 2011, Lara opened Land Yoga, a ground floor Yoga, Arts, & Wellness Center in the heart of Harlem. Through Land, she developed programs such as Harlem Earth Day, SOULFest NYC, and Women Who Wow, landing her recognition in The Wall Street Journal, The Daily News, and on Fox5.
About Lara’s Session
Lara is the Lead Instructor of THAY’s TIYTT Program. In this training she delves into the causes of trauma and its impact on our bodies, the brain science around physiological regulation, and how we can soften the influence of trauma through embodied practices. Lara helps yoga teachers consider their definition of yoga and how they can share it with others in a safer way starting with room set up and continuing through savasana and everything in between. Lara will also talk about self care for yoga teachers, mindfulness and how to avoid burn out.
Follow Lara on Instagram
@laralandyoga.
Nikki Walker
Nikki Walker has been a THAY Trauma-informed Yoga Teacher since June 2018 and is also certified in Kundalini Yoga. Nikki, spiritual name Charan Kavita Kaur teaches at The Bridge, TOP Goddard Riverside, New Beginnings, and Thrive for Life. Teaching trauma sensitive yoga always inspires and deepens her love for yoga.
About Nikki’s Session
Description of Healing with Naad & Laughter: Healing with Naad and Laughter introduces yogis to some healing teachings of Naad (sound current from everyone’s divine body) and the healing power of laughter. Nikki believes that bringing the power of the mind, body, and the breath can truly change the world, especially if you’re ready for the journey.
Follow Nikki on Instagram
@nikkiwalker8277.
Jaime Brown
Jaime Brown (she/her/hers) is a lifelong learner, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) practitioner, and wellness advocate. Choosing to focus on her physical wellness, Jaime became a Registered Yoga Teacher in August 2019. Jaime has 300+ hours of yoga training, ranging from yoga sculpt to trauma-informed practices. Jaime completed the THAY training virtually in May 2020. Outside of yoga, Jaime works as a DEI Lead in NC local government and is an Adjunct Instructor at Georgetown University. She is also a new mother of a baby boy born in January 2022 and an MBA student.
About Jaime’s Session
Participants should expect to learn Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) fundamentals and how to incorporate inclusive practices as well as balance, energy, and vibes.
Follow Jaime on Instagram
@withjaime_.
Ali Seidenstein
Ali Seidenstein is a yoga teacher with almost 20 years of experience. She brings with her an abundance of knowledge through both her MD and PhD studies as well as her time living and studying in India for 3 years.
Previously, Ali was a faculty at NYU in the Biomolecular Engineering program where she remains a premedical advisor. Ali’s PhD thesis with Dr. Brad Aouizerat at the Bluestone Clinic at NYU focuses on epigenetics, particular gene expression changes in response to trauma and PTSD. She is currently applying for residency in Orthopaedic Surgery. Ali holds a BS in neuroscience, an MS in molecular biology, and is the founder of the nonprofit organization, Kids Who Care, Inc., wielding over 20 years experience in advocacy and leadership.
About Ali’s Session
Ali’s lecture focuses on epigenetics and how our experiences can change our physiology. The session discusses the role that trauma and PTSD can have on a cellular and neurological level. Additionally, how through understanding these changes we can start to take action to positively influence these aspects. Utilizing these resources we will explore practices that when done even five minutes at a time can facilitate our ability to return to our body.
Follow Ali on Instagram
@ahseidenstein
Tristan Katz
Tristan Katz (they/them) is a writer, digital strategist, and equity-inclusion facilitator who specializes in education and consulting centered around queer identity and trans awareness with an anti-oppression and intersectional lens, along with justice-focused marketing programs for yoga and wellness professionals.
Tristan was named one of Yoga Journal’s 2021 Game Changers and they were awarded the Reclamation Ventures grant in Spring 2021 to expand their offerings and dedicate time to writing their first book, title forthcoming. Through their podcast, articles, digital resources, and workshops, Tristan supports those who seek to grow their work while staying aligned with the practices of equity, justice, and inclusivity.
About Tristan’s Session
In this workshop, we’ll explore awareness around 2SLGBTQIA (and especially trans) identity and language as a vital component for creating safer spaces, why our individual and collective healing is tied to breaking down cis-hetero norms, and how yoga teachers and space-holders can practice inclusivity and allyship with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. This session will include an exploration of terminology, pronoun considerations, what to do when you mess up, and more.
Follow Tristan on Instagram
@tristankatzcreative
Join us on Saturday, December 3, 2022 and Sunday, December 4, 2022.
Yoga teachers who graduate from our program gain access to our network of over 140 trauma-informed trained yoga instructors, volunteerships and potential for paid yoga teacher positions at THAY’s notable partner organizations and nonprofits, and educational and professional development opportunities including subscription to THAY’s graduate membership program.
We are also offering a limited amount of scholarships to teachers who need financial assistance. Eligible yoga teachers would gain full access to this training at no cost.
*Scholarship applications are due on Friday, November 4, 2022.
Our scholarship opportunities are made possible thanks to our generous funders including the West Harlem Development Corporation and lululemon Here to Be. you can expect from their sessions below:
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