Teaching Trauma-Sensitive Yoga with Lara Land

As yoga teachers, we understand the profound impact trauma can have on the nervous system and how yoga can serve as a pathway to recovery. In this episode, I explore the powerful practice of trauma-sensitive yoga with the yoga instructor and author, Lara Land.
 
Lara guides us through the differences between trauma-sensitive yoga and traditional yoga classes. We explore how this specialized approach creates a sanctuary for students who have experienced trauma by emphasizing safety, choice, and non-judgmental exploration.

 Our discussion covers the spectrum of trauma responses, acknowledging that each student's healing journey is unique. Lara illuminates how trauma-sensitive practices, such as gentle asana, breath work, and Tristana's non-physical limbs, can facilitate reconnection with the body and a sense of empowerment.

 Lara's insights remind us that healing is not merely about restoring balance but also about rediscovering one's inner strength. We celebrate transformative stories, like that of a veteran whose life was reshaped through this approach, exemplifying yoga's vast potential for growth. 

 Lara's vision of making trauma-sensitive yoga accessible to communities affected by trauma is a powerful reminder of our role in creating inclusive and safe spaces for all students to begin their journey toward renewal and wholeness.

Connect with Lara:
www.laraland.us
www.landyoga.com
Facebook . Twitter . Instagram, YouTube
-Executive Director, Three and a Half Acres Yoga
Yoga Journal Karma Awards Recipient
Purchase her book: 

Chapters

• 4:28 Defining Trauma Sensitive Yoga
• 7:12 Trauma Sensitive Yoga for Healing
• 13:14 Fight, Flight and Freeze Responses
• 27:38 Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Training and Methodology
• 42:59 Teachers' awareness of students
• 51:47 Transformative Healing Journey

Transcript

Rose: 0:00

For many of us, the simple act of drawing a deep breath is something we take for granted, but for those who have experienced trauma, even the most basic movements can feel incredibly daunting, a harsh reminder of past suffering locked into the body. On this episode, we're going to explore trauma-sensitive yoga and how instructors can adapt their teaching methods to create inclusive spaces that allow trauma survivors to reconnect with their bodies and begin releasing years of emotional pain. Welcome to Chat Off The Mat, the podcast that explores the transformative journey of healing and self-discovery where energy, spirituality, mind and body intersect. Hi, I'm your host, Rose Wippich, and I invite you to join me and explore ways to invite more holistic practices into your life. I will feature experts and practitioners who provide insights, tips and practical advice. From Reiki to Qigong, Chakra balancing to sShamanism, this podcast will be your guide to understanding how these practices can lead to more harmony and greater energy. Whether you're seeking stress relief, emotional balance or a deeper connection to your authentic self, Chat Off The Mat provides you with insights and inspiration. Let's start discovering the possibilities that lie within you.

Rose: 1:35

I first met Lara Land at a book signing in New Jersey. It was on the day her book Trauma-Sensitive Yoga how to Create Safer Spaces for All became available. When I listened to her talk about her experiences and what led her to create this trauma-sensitive awareness and education in the wellness community, I could feel her passion, maybe even a sense of duty or obligation, as a yoga teacher to help make people aware of what someone who is traumatized experiences and how people in the yoga and wellness communities can create a space and practices to help them reconnect with themselves and create a new normal. I feel that Lara is a visionary leader in the world of trauma-sensitive practices and with her empathy and understanding and collaborative spirit, she will help create a lasting impact. Welcome, lara.

Lara: 2:31

Oh, thank you, visionary, I don't know, but thank you so much. Thank you, and it was very meaningful and memorable meeting you. I can't believe it's been almost a year.

Rose: 2:43

Yeah, your book came out and I think I was one of the first people that jumped on to come and see you in person and to hear your story in person, and I'm grateful for that, and I got to meet your family and everyone too, so it was kind of cool. I guess my first question is so my audience becomes more acquainted with you is what led you to become interested in trauma sensitive yoga?

Lara: 3:13

And how has it impacted your own life? Sure, well, from a very young age, I just knew that I wanted to be a helper. I didn't know how I was going to do that, but I was always looking for what I could do that suited me, that would be like healing and helpful to the world. And in college, I discovered that yoga was really this transformative practice for me, integral to understanding myself, to healing myself and to being less reactive in my relationships. And, um, I definitely started to see that that was going to be my path. And um, and I started going to India. And on my second trip to India um, this was later, my late twenties I had an opportunity to go to Rwanda and work with genocide survivors and their children, sharing yoga with them. And so I said, okay, well, this is definitely in alignment with, you know, this sort of ongoing mission statement throughout my life let's do it. And that really set my future course. I think that was a pivotal moment.

Rose: 4:28

So if you can just define in a way the trauma, what trauma is, and explain then what trauma sensitive yoga is and how it differs from traditional yoga practices, yoga practices?

Lara: 4:51

Sure Well, so we have different life events that happen to us, or they can happen to also our ancestors and get passed down, and you know, two people can have the same event happen to them and because of whatever circumstances, there are many different circumstances, right, like access to resources, ability to react and get away from that event, our DNA, actually our muscle twitching fibers, like so many different circumstances that can determine if we're able to process that event and if it goes through the normal channels of processing, and really that has to do with how it goes through the brain and how we create a memory of it, we're able to talk about it, versus an event that is basically too much, or events that are too much for the system too much, or events that are too much for the system so it doesn't have to be a singular event, could be chronic and basically, like I think of it as it's too much for the system, too much, you know, electricity running through the system, and so that is the system.

Lara: 5:59

Our system, our nervous system has to adapt, right, adapt, or it wouldn't be able to handle it. So it does this amazing um, you know, finds new ways of processing or holding or storing the event and there's sort of this adaptive, protective, uh quality that happens and it's actually quite brilliant, right, the way that our body is so smart and protects us and at the same time, these adaptations can later be, you know, detrimental to relationships in life, to sleep, to being able to relax and so forth. So this thing that helps us survive in the moment later on creates this ongoing traumatic adaptation that some people choose to live with and might feel very strongly that they need, and some folks see that it's not serving them and they want to be rid of.

Rose: 7:12

So a traumatic event can happen at any time. It can happen when you're a child, like an accident, or you fall and something happens, you hit your head, and then maybe you're able to deal with it at that time, not realizing the impact on the nervous system, or maybe you can regulate it well and then maybe something is dormant and that can be triggered later on in life. Would you say that you've seen that something happens in a childhood and then something triggers in adulthood and it happens, yeah.

Lara: 7:43

So you know one thing we know about traumatic memories they're not stored the same, so there might not be a memory of the event but something could trigger it later, where the memory surfaces or the memories might be very sensory, not linear. So often folks don't have a good like cognitive story of what's happened and sometimes building that that through line, understanding what happened, is part of the healing. So there's, yeah, many different things that can, and that's actually one of the things about trauma is it's unique to each individual.

Rose: 8:29

What are some of the things that people experience? Who experience trauma, like hypervigilance, I've heard, is one of them.

Lara: 8:38

Right, oh sure. So some of the things that we might see in someone that's in a trauma response, well, hypervigilance would definitely be one. So that's going to be, you know, being on the alert, always looking behind a very, very quick, startle response, so really jumping a small sound right, something that maybe someone else would just, you know, a horn wouldn't bother, you might not even hear it right that person might hear, and that hypervigilance is going to cause those sleep problems, really inability to relax, maybe shifting all the time, darting around, et cetera. And then there's also the other side, which is hypovigilance, and usually people have both, because eventually the nervous system becomes very tired right From being on high alert. It's a lot of energy expenditure and at that point it tends to shut off. And so that side of the trauma response is more of a numbing, disassociation, zoning out, you know, feeling disconnected from one's life, almost viewing life from the outside and not experiencing much in the way of like connection or feeling.

Rose: 10:09

Yeah, and not being aware that there's something like trauma-sensitive yoga, where they can learn how to reconnect with their bodies. They'll find other ways in order to self-soothe right, and those ways could be habits that are not healthy.

Lara: 10:31

Habits that are not healthy, like smoking or drinking, or maybe overindulging in certain foods, things like that, right, yeah, yeah, I think, as with you know, many of us, probably all humans, you know, we especially.

Lara: 10:41

You know, if we're, if we're not able to deal with uncomfortable sensations, um in the body, then we will find ways to soothe. Like you said, I didn't think of that, you know I eating ice cream carton or definitely there's a strong connection between substance use disorder and trauma, absolutely, and other things. Like you know, soothing could be perfectionism, having everything under control, right, needing to know every second of the day what's happening, um, it's, it's the more that we're aware of these things, the more you know if, if we come across someone like that, we might not immediately go to gosh, they're so controlling, but we might think, wow, that person really has a strong need, right To have control of every detail. I wonder you know where that's coming from, just like approaching with more curiosity than judgment or thinking it's about us. And that's why I feel like everyone should have trauma sensitivity training, because it it just makes us so much more aware and empathetic to why people are the way they are.

Rose: 12:08

Absolutely. I actually was going to ask you that later on. I'm glad you said that early on. I also believe the same. Thank you for saying that. So let's talk about how does trauma sensitive yoga address the unique needs and experiences of these individuals who have experienced trauma.

Lara: 12:30

Oh well, it's such a big one, we could break it down Trauma-sensitive yoga. And you know, yeah, there's a lot to say there. So one of the core fundamentals of Chalma-sensitive yoga is creating as much safety in the space as possible. So I mean that alone is like a whole topic right. A whole chapter in the book is possible. So I mean that alone is like a whole topic right. A whole chapter in the book is how to do that. And you know there's the setting up of the room in a way. You know we talked about hypervigilance. Folks might need to be near a door or see a door. There's things like that that are really important. So the room's going to be set up in a way that is safe as possible for a survivor.

Lara: 13:14

And you know, another key component of trauma is the agency that's taken away from the individual. When that act or acts happens to them, choice becomes diminished. So you know we often talk about the flight, fight or freeze responses. There are other ones, but these are the biggest ones. I mean, ultimately, freeze is really the most extreme response and it happens when a person is like kind of toggling between flight and fight and there really is no answer. They can't get away, they're powerless to fight and the body goes into a complete freeze and that's really the ultimate expression of a loss of agency. And when I talk about a freeze, you physically cannot move lot of folks that go into freeze response, which is a natural evolutionary response that animals, all types of animals, including us human animals, go through, you know, has nothing to do with a choice of not doing anything right. But there's often a lot of victim blaming and a lot of shame like why couldn't I run, why couldn't I fight harder?

Lara: 14:31

And I say this and all to get back to your question is when any practice and there are lots of great practices for trauma survivors, you know there's dance, you know journaling power has to be restored to the survivor.

Lara: 14:47

And because of the disassociation, dissociation that we spoke about there, it can be. Or because of years of complex trauma where a person, a person's choices were monitored or they were told like this is what you like, it can take a lot of restoration to find out, like, what feels good in my body and what feels right for me, and it can feel really overwhelming to even start to explore that. But that is the process of trauma-sensitive yoga. So the teacher and I even hesitate to say teacher the facilitator is really facilitating exploration and choice within the practitioners and they're exploring shapes and movement. These are the things that we explore with our bodies in asana yoga and the physical practice of yoga. But it's not like you would see in a quote, unquote regular yoga class, where a teacher might stand up front and tell everyone what to do and they follow along.

Rose: 16:05

Some poses may or may not be, or shapes may not be used because it may trigger some reaction of people that have been maybe sexually abused or anything like that. So there's a lot of components to teaching trauma-sensitive yoga. Actually, it was my next question here If you can share just some specific techniques or practices that are used to create a safe and supportive environment and in your book which, by the way, I'm going to definitely share a link because that book is environment and in your book which, by the way, I'm going to definitely share a link because that book is fantastic, I love your book. You talk about Tristana.

Lara: 16:40

If you can, tell us what that is.

Lara: 16:45

Yeah, the Tristana. I think you know trauma-sensitive Tristana is, I think, something when I look at the work that I've done. I've been influenced by you know so many different teachers and trauma sensitivity, mindfulness and yoga. But pulling in the Tristana, which is specific to my background in the Ashtanga tradition, is something a little bit unique to my own experience that I really pulled into this trauma-sensitive work. So I'm glad that you pointed that out. It is something different about my book. So the Tristana, which is a three-pointed focus, it brings in the focus of the gaze point, so resting the eyes on a point that's sometimes the tip of the middle finger or the thumb. In yoga it can be looking down at the big toe. It really it can be behind you, especially in a twist, and this can be very helpful for the nervous system and hypervigilance because you have a chance to look behind you. So one of the points of the Tristana is this gaze, so we can focus on our gaze point in the practice. For folks that are in a trauma response, you know it might be typical to start going into the past, reliving painful memories or having anxiety about the future. So practices which are grounding and bring us into the here and now. Like you know, gazing at that plant across the room can be really settling for the nervous system. So we bring that into the practice. There's also the embodiment, the feeling of being in the shape. Which is very, very helpful and important for trauma survivors is to start feeling the fullness of their bodies in space, awakening sensation again, especially you know where there might be some numbness or disconnection, and feeling like the presence and the weight and the taking up space. You'll see, um, especially in the beginning, a lot of survivors don't want to take up space in the room. They've learned to become um, small, um. You know one, one of the trauma um responses that we don't talk about as much, as um, like camouflaging. So before um, maybe something escalates, or during a chronic, complex trauma, you know, folks might try to hide, make themselves small, like if you don't see me, or they might try to appease, and so it's important to let the practitioners know that we, as the facilitators, we don't have a preference of whether they do the posture this way or that way. It's really. We really are wanting them to find their own preference. So that's the, you know the body shape.

Lara: 19:45

And then there's the breath, and breath can be, as I believe most things are, and I didn't, I guess, come up with this, but I thought I did. But it's like an old, an old old, you know, philosophical knowledge that you know a little bit of poison makes the medicine. It's all about dosage, so I forgot who said it first. But I really do believe in that the things that trigger us are also the things that heal us. But we just have to work with them very slowly and breath is kind of like that for some people.

Lara: 20:15

Focusing on breathing I mean breathing, we know, you know is typically a very central part of yoga asana. If you go to yoga class, the teacher could talk a lot about breath. Some do, some don't. Some introduce a lot of different breathing exercises, some which are can be very triggering. Here, you know, there is some just noticing that we are breathing.

Lara: 20:38

Now, the Tristana, as taught in the Ashtanga tradition. All three of these are kind of unified. So we're attempting to focus on all three at once gaze, embodiment and breath. Focus on all three at once gaze, embodiment and breath. Where I've sort of adapted that for trauma-sensitive yoga is this actually gives the practitioner a chance to be in posture. They can change their focus. So if they're being triggered by feeling the feelings in the body, put the mind and attention on the gaze point and you'll see that folks can stay. You know they, instead of running out of the room, can actually stay in the posture because they can put their focus somewhere else.

Lara: 21:24

If the breath is triggering but the body is grounded, move the focus to the body so it allows folks. You know, a lot of times when teachers don't know how to work with survivors, they'll just say you know, you can just do something else, like they don't have a lot enough options to give their students to stay in the room and sometimes it just takes. You don't have to focus on breathing to allow that student to stay in the room and have a positive experience. And you know, we know yoga is so healing and so powerful. We really don't want folks to have a negative experience, especially maybe their first time. Maybe a therapist said go do yoga and they just go to a class and there's all this breath work and they start to have a panic attack. To a class and there's all this breath work and they start to have a panic attack, right, you know that can happen, right.

Rose: 22:16

Or or be told they need to go into a shape or or pose and that could be triggering because they can't, or they're trying comparing themselves to someone else who's doing it and they can't do it. So there's a lot, and that's a lot of the power behind the language and you know we as a yoga teacher, because I did take some training and it is it's a reconditioning of how you were taught, initially to present the information, to conduct a class. But once you acquire that knowledge of of how to express yourself as a teacher and that any student, no matter what class, has choices right, because we can't force anybody to do anything, then you're reconditioned to speak that way more often and it becomes more natural. But it takes work for a yoga teacher.

Lara: 23:06

I would say one of the yeah, one of the hardest things is the language.

Lara: 23:10

Like you're talking about the language, like you're talking about um, that are. A lot of teachers do come to me and they say, oh my gosh, I feel like I just have to relearn everything and everything I've been doing has been wrong. But, um, and it's great when I can catch them earlier in their training and those like neural pathways aren't so yes, so like you know deeply, you know, it's normal to feel like that when we're learning something new and we have an awakening like whoa, uh, you know, yeah, like it's a big awakening, that um, there's a huge difference in saying put your you know, reach your hand up and if it's feeling right for you in this moment, you might try reaching your hand up feeling right for you in this moment you might try reaching your hand up and it is like eye awakening when you go through one of my trainings, when you realize how much trauma is in every shared space, because there's so much trauma in every quote, unquote regular yoga classroom or any sports team or any business, any company, so it's.

Lara: 24:15

I think it's okay to be a little bit like well, you know, and then you're alert, and then and then you follow that with some gentleness, like I'm new at this. I'm going to incorporate one skill this week. You know, this week I'm just going to focus on Tristan. This week I'm just going to focus on making my language a little more invitational. I always tell people and that's why the book, you know, I I think it's great because it's meant it's, it's really a manual that you come back to. You know, like the book's meant to really be, be picked up, put down, put some notes on the side. There's big margins. Don't try to take, you know, take it all at once, but use it throughout years of your life, I think.

Rose: 24:56

Yeah, have post-it notes all over, and that's what I love about that. You have white space. You created intentionally the white space, so it's like something you put in your teaching bag and you bring it with you because there's a lot of amazing information. And you bring it with you because there's a lot of amazing information and I really feel that you know I can go on a thing here but everybody but I really feel that yoga instructors this should be required in all yoga teacher training. I honestly think that.

Lara: 25:28

Thank you. I mean I do feel that some kind of trauma sensitivity training should be in every yoga teacher training. I mean you're working with people's breath, body, nervous system. You can definitely do harm and there's just with just a little bit of training you can prevent a lot of harm. So I think the payoff is so great.

Rose: 25:51

Yeah, I mean just inviting some of that different language and really being aware as a teacher. You know one of the one. I was reading your book, or I've read your book. I was rereading your book and you talk about I'm going to just quote here One of the things you write in your book is that one of the one of your purposes or intention, through teaching trauma, informed yoga practices, is to break the cycle of hurt people, hurting people, and that it's important for us to recognize the pain within us and to heal that first. So even as yoga teachers, we may recognize some of these patterns within us and once we recognize that, then we're better able to be compassionate towards the people in our class. Oh, and I'm getting tingles as I'm saying because you want to create a space where people it's their class.

Lara: 26:46

Yeah, you captured it and you know we talked about creating as safe a space possible and the first part of that is making ourselves safe for other people. And we're not safe for other people until we do that, that inner investigation, you know, because we we can have biases we don't see, we can have our own stuff that makes us unsafe, you know, to other people you've created a framework in which yoga teachers can use in order to to help well, first help themselves become a better teacher, but but really make a difference in someone's life you know so yeah, so I think it's great.

Rose: 27:38

Um, so let's talk about your training program and how a yoga instructor does become trained and maybe just kind of work through high level some of your methodology or what you provide in your training.

Lara: 27:54

Sure. So I do trainings through a couple of different ways. One way is getting invited to yoga studios centers um to provide this training um. Often it's specific for yoga teachers. So I mean, so many yoga studios have those 200 hour yoga teacher trainings um or 500 hours. So sometimes I get invited to do a kind of add on training 20 hour. It's usually about 15 to 20 hours over a weekend. So I don't know when this is going to air, but I have a few of those coming up.

Rose: 28:33

Yes, I saw that. I think this will air before the Omega one.

Lara: 28:38

Okay, so yeah.

Rose: 28:40

Omega in August.

Lara: 28:41

Yeah, that's a fantastic place.

Rose: 28:43

Oh my gosh yes.

Lara: 28:45

Yeah, so just going there is very healing for me. So I've been there as a student and I'm thrilled to to go there as a teacher. You know, some versions of the training I do are more like open to non-yoga teachers. So I did one at Kripalu last year. That was for healers, it was really for therapists and trauma survivors and it was I had mainly therapists who were trauma survivors. It was pretty intense but very special. But mostly I do them for yoga teachers and I also do them through my nonprofit, Three and a Half Acres Yoga.

Lara: 29:23

So the nonprofit was created to bring trauma-sensitive yoga to populations that experience trauma. So we go, we partner with like shelters, domestic abuse centers, food banks and other places that people go for services food banks and other places that people go for services and we add yoga to the services that they're already receiving. So most of those centers don't have yoga. But then we come and now folks that are going there for maybe resume or job training or group therapy now they also get yoga. And when we started Do Now now realize that's kind of when I realized that yoga teachers weren't trained for this and so we started doing the training so that training is online, which is cool, um, for people can do it from the comfort of their home, and I bring on guest teachers, so we have one of those in September.

Rose: 30:24

Oh yeah, there was the virtual one, right, yeah, yeah, and I like that. You know, although you call it trauma sensitive yoga, anybody in any capacity or fitness or wellness, or even caregivers or people in relationships with people who have experienced trauma, can take your course and really understand more about I mean, even just the terminology, as I'm doing the research. There's so many words. I mean I can create a lexicon of some terminology that is associated with the trauma, sensitive environment or awareness. So and you start, and you're hearing more and more about it, about people who are in narcissistic or toxic relationships experiencing trauma, or children who have been abused. You know I was thinking of people who are older, let's say in their 50's or 60's or 70's, that experience trauma as a young person or even in their early life. Do you find that, or have you been coming across that and more and more?

Rose: 31:46

people coming out for therapy or for yoga even.

Lara: 31:49

Because there's like a stigma. You know, yeah, I think you know, trauma is getting more. The word is is out there. More and more people are comfortable, um, talking about it, but also, as you're, I think, alluding to maybe some of the older generation, not as much, um, and we also find that, I mean, there's plenty of people of all ages that are like that's not me or don't want to be identified with that label.

Lara: 32:14

So sometimes, with our classes, you know, these community centers or wherever they are, like, we won't even call it trauma, sensitive yoga. You have a problem with trauma. You have a problem with yoga too, because yoga has its own thing that a lot of people do not feel. That's also some of the work we do in the training is like dissecting. You know, what is yoga really and what are some of the commercial images that have been put in your mind as a yoga teacher that you're, you know, perpetuating, maybe without wanting to. So we do a quite a deep dissection, um, but sometimes you can't even call things yoga because people feel like, oh, that's for skinny people, that's for stretchy people, that's not for me it's very woo-woo, or yeah, yeah, it's spiritual.

Rose: 33:00

Yeah, I don't want to change exactly, exactly.

Lara: 33:04

You know I'm, I'm, this, I'm. You know, certain religions, so, right, yeah, sometimes, you know, you know, part of my mission has always been also to, um, really change the face of that, you know, by how I market my programs and the people that we've tried to elevate to positions of power, being, you know, all body types and just so that folks can see like leadership that looks like them and not, you know, think there's just one vision of yoga.

Rose: 33:37

Even in your book. Some of the models, the beautiful models in your book come in all shapes and sizes. You know they've been through things themselves and may not look like your perfect model, but they are beautiful models representing just humans in all shapes and sizes.

Rose: 33:56

Yeah, you know, I was thinking about, um, one of the things I was thinking about, because I I revert back to to the argent, the the younger generation, because the younger generation are going to experience their own types of trauma, whether it's covid or whether it's too many, too much gaming, um, the digital environment and body shaming, which is another one, oppression there's so many that I think that there's this doorway that can lead to helping early on, the younger generation.

Lara: 34:49

um, you know, hopefully, yeah, yeah, hopefully, I know I, I have a little one and you know, like we do yoga together and, um, you know you have to do, uh, introduce these things at the appropriate way for their age and development. But just understanding how feelings move through the body and getting them out, you know, some of those ideas are really great for for young people to have. You know, just just to notice, like to even be able to notice. You know, I've been sitting here staring at this screen so long like it doesn't feel good in my body that noticing really is the impetus for change. But if we don't even have the tools to notice how we're feeling, then we're in a lot of trouble.

Rose: 35:38

Bringing their awareness to how they're feeling in the present moment is really important, whether or not you've been through trauma Truly helpful in healing just the whole mind, body, spirit. And once people can sense that connection they're better able to be their own medicine for lack of a better word or healer. When you move into a pose or shape, notice how it feels in the body, if it feels right or if it doesn't feel right. Just tuning that awareness in and allowing for that to happen, that's exactly what it is Once we get into this shape.

Lara: 36:17

What's it for? It's noticing, and if uncomfortable sensations, are there um sort of beginning to identify? Um, do they stay? Do they pass what? You know, how much should I stay for this? Should I come, maybe, in and out of the posture? So we use different practices than you might see again, and kind of standard like stay in it for this long but, um, sometimes it, but sometimes it's moving in and out of the shape and seeing if that helps to regulate the nervous system. And there's a lot of parallel there with, you know, with life and you know, going into intensity and coming away from it and how that regulates our nervous system and how we can learn to not maybe shut off or go go straight into something, um, but finding maybe that that middle path um and and growing more resilience, growing more ability to handle uncomfortable feelings Um but also knowing when, when it's a sharp pain or the feelings are something that I'm not up for today and just watching how that plays out in the body day after day in yoga.

Lara: 37:32

It just teaches us so much about ourselves, and none of the choices are wrong or should be complimented or shamed. It's really an exploration of self, knowing oneself.

Rose: 37:48

I first took yoga 30 years ago after I was in a toxic relationship at the time and experiencing a lot of joint pain which I didn't realize it was a manifestation of going through that toxic relationship and I drove a half hour to go to yoga class because there were no yoga classes in new jersey back in the, you know, early 90s. And I remember going consistently and the joint pain went away and then I started feeling more empowered and more feeling like I did have choices. So you know, it's just having that exposure and that awareness at the time and I was in my, my 30s, in my early 30s, and experienced I couldn't even walk, I remember, and I would go to this class and little by little it was a Hatha yoga class but it was very slow, you know, gentle really changed my life.

Lara: 38:38

Wow, thank you for sharing that yeah.

Rose: 38:41

So I you know anyone out there that is experiencing anything on any level that is uncomfortable within their bodies to try something new that hopefully will, even if they have, they're not. They don't experience trauma or haven't experienced trauma. Just even try yoga to see if it helps them with their pain or coping with what is going on in their lives.

Lara: 39:08

Yeah, it's so powerful.

Lara: 39:10

Chronic pain is, you know, a big symptom of trauma and you know you don't have to even know what the experience was. It's sometimes nice when you can identify it right and you can make that change. But, as you said, if you're experiencing any kind of chronic pain, just yoga can be very healing. Of course it was good that you found a good class and the right. You know good teachers Like it's, I think, more and more important. That was, as you said, at a time that there wasn't so much. Now there's so much out there.

Lara: 39:45

So I always encourage people to do a little bit of research and ask questions. You know, can I leave if I want to? Can I? You know, do I have to? You know, just those questions that you can get a sense if that teacher is, how trauma sensitive they are, if they don't have something on their bio or that says that they are um, so that you know we just want people to have a good experience.

Lara: 40:13

But I think, yeah, what you shared is very, yeah, it's very truthful for a lot of people. And then I also love how you shared, you know, getting through that your own self, right, you figured out how to heal yourself with the help of the community, of the class and of the teacher, and that was really empowering for you and that's exactly the experience that we're going for and you know, in my classes and my trainings right, it's like you walked away like with not just okay yoga or even a kind of healing that came from the teacher, but you saw how you did, you experienced that for yourself and you were an integral part of your own healing and I think that's what builds a lot of strength and and the confidence to you know get out of a bad situation or or slowly make better choices, and that's so important for survivors.

Rose: 41:09

How do you envision the future of trauma sensitive yoga?

Lara: 41:13

Yeah, I mean, I still think it's. I I'm always shocked that every trauma, every yoga teacher training isn't doing a unit on this yet. So we still have a really big ways to go with that. Um, it was seriously shocking. Like I should be, I should be traveling every weekend, you know, to do these trainings. They should be at at every single um yoga teacher training.

Lara: 41:45

So that's weird, that's very strange actually. So I hope in the future that that's what's happening. I think I hope it's so, you know, pervasive, that every, every teacher has some of this training and even if their class isn't completely, you know, trauma informed, they're at least doing some basic things because we know survivors are in every room, every shared space, so they're not wearing a sign or a label and they're in every quote, unquote regular yoga class. So you know, hopefully teachers are just a little bit more aware and it's popularized enough that they're at least not shaming anyone in class, which unfortunately happens a lot, not forcing people to do pose that they don't want to do or complimenting the folks that have naturally flexible bodies so other people feel poorly around them, not making people close their eyes, you know.

Rose: 42:59

Touching people.

Lara: 43:01

Touching people.

Rose: 43:02

We didn't talk about that going behind yeah, we didn't talk about that behind. Yeah, we didn't talk about that. That's, that's a key component of your training, or trauma-sensitive training.

Lara: 43:11

Yeah, we don't, um, you know, we don't touch any of our students. Um, it's not. The practice isn't based around forming some idealized version of the shape. It's, it's really exploration. So there's no need for me to fix you, you know, or put you into any kind of shape that, um, I've seen. It's more about the parts of yoga, and yoga has many definitions, um, you know, found in many ancient texts, and they're usually about self-knowledge, self-study, action, self-study. You know, asana, the pose, is just a small part of it and it's a great way in because, you know, we're here, manifested in bodies, um, so we can learn a lot from, from getting in touch with our bodies. Just not to downplay this physical experience, which I think is a beautiful and powerful one. Um, you know, a lot of traditions say that angels are jealous of us because we get to, you know, really physicalize our experience. So, um, but it shouldn't be the focus, shouldn't, shouldn't be the physical, it should be how we can use this embodied nature to, to grow and learn.

Rose: 44:34

Yeah, a quick story of a friend who was teaching a, a class for veterans and it was a very small group of people and I was there to observe her first class and there were people there were only a few, you know some were able to do things. One in particular person, of course I won't say names he came in a wheelchair and he sat in a chair and was doing things and then, I guess, a few months later, the next thing I saw him was at a traditional yoga class at a studio. It was at the YMCA and I was a participant and I'm like, isn't that so-and-so? And he was there doing yin yoga. He progressed so much and he was a smoker and he quit smoking and he just changed his whole, his whole demeanor, his perspective, his attitude is, his energy was so different and so beautiful you know, yeah, that's beautiful.

Lara: 45:36

I mean, that's another thing about the yoga practice and I have a little bit in the book. Is that like it goes again to what I was saying? Like it, it's a beautiful story because it really relates to when we start to feel sensations in the body. Again, it changes our choices. Right, when you're numbed out, you don't really notice like a cigarette affecting you, but when you start to practice yoga, you notice like, oh if, if I drank the night before, you know I don't feel as good, you know. So it it does impact all these other life decisions.

Lara: 46:14

And when you're, you know, when you're feeling stronger, when you're feeling more connected to yourself, to others, that becomes more addictive. Right, like you. Just, you feel good and you want to, you feel better and and life looks different and possibilities open up. And you know there's a ton of studies around relaxation and creativity. So you know what are we doing in yoga? We're relaxing the muscles and we're opening all this spaciousness in our way of thinking. And you know trauma does the opposite. Stress and trauma are constricting, our thoughts become limited, we don't feel like we have any choice. Everything becomes binary. So and this practice of stretching and breathing is very expansive and it really impacts all parts of our lives so powerful.

Rose: 47:07

Yeah, it's great. I mean he was able to walk. This was, it's just a great story. I mean this may or may not happen to, you know, may not happen to everyone who tries it, but at least get your foot in the door. You know, I think this is yoga, and trauma-sensitive yoga is like this. Like I said earlier, it's like this doorway or this passageway to creating this whole new, almost normal, and normal is just this word that you know. I mean, it's just this whole new life for you that could be so beautiful and happy.

Lara: 47:44

Yeah, yeah, absolutely and absolutely full of choices. What's your baseline? Yeah, and it is have to do with like, because you know the trauma response becomes normal and um, doing something different than that is what feels risky. So it is about readjusting what our normal is.

Rose: 48:04

Yeah, and it's not something that happens right away. It takes time. We're rewiring our brain, we're rewiring our nervous system. You know so many components. It's just consistency and self-compassion will help us to get there and to walk that path. Where can listeners find more information about you and your work? I know you talked about a couple of workshops. You have your website, laralandus.

Lara: 48:39

Yeah, Laraland. us, pretty much everything, or everything, is linked there so you can find all my upcoming workshops. I also do um, some, uh, personal coaching um, and I have a podcast called beyond trauma um, which I put, as you know, a lot of from doing your own, a lot of um, a lot of research and effort into. I have some incredible guests on there. I'm really proud of it. Please check it out. It has something for everyone.

Lara: 49:12

Yes, it's great yeah, and I'm most active on Instagram. I would say that's probably the only like social media platform. I'm really active on Laraland Yoga really active on um laraland yoga.

Rose: 49:28

Everything can be found in those places. Um yeah, is there anything else you wanted to add before we wrap it up?

Lara: 49:32

no, I just wanted to thank you so much for having me. Um, it's so beautiful how things come around and, um, I did a series of events last year when the book came out, but the one you attended was really my hometown event. So, as you said, you know, each event had a different flavor. I got to share a lot more of my personal story there and there were a lot of family members there. It was in Montclair and we had Jillian Pransky.

Lara: 50:03

Yeah, Jillian was there, it was very special, it was very, very special and I have a lot of gratitude for all the people involved in that event. And it's just beautiful to have this come full circle and to be on your show. What a blessing.

Rose: 50:18

Thank you. It's been a pleasure and I'm so excited that you agreed to be on the show, and I just wish you continued success. And, like I said, you're just this visionary. You are visionary and I think that this will just continue to inspire many people, not just yoga teachers. But I have a feeling that more and more people are going to become more aware of your work and what you do, and it's going to be an integral part of all trainings, not just yoga training. So I want to thank you for being here and I just want to end it by quoting something from your book, if I may. I love your book.

Rose: 51:02

Compassion can be cultivated through practices such as loving, kindness, meditation and self-study and deepening one's knowledge of the experience of others. And as we come to understand ourselves and our desire to be loved and accepted, we begin to see how this desire is in everyone and at the root of what each of us says and does. As self-compassion grows, so does our compassion for others and our sensitivity to what they are going through as they pursue their same human desires. We feel more intensely for the others, for the way others have been harmed. Developing this understanding of human nature and compassion for ourselves and others is critical to becoming effective healers and teachers. Once again, thank you so much, so blessed to have you on the show.

Lara: 51:51

Thank you, thank you.

Rose: 51:57

Thank you for joining me here on Chat Off the Mat. I hope these stories have inspired you. If you've enjoyed this episode, please share it with those who might benefit. Your support helps me spread awareness about the power of transformative healing. Stay connected with me on social media. Reach out with your own healing stories or topics you'd like me to explore in future episodes. Your voice is an essential part of this community. Your voice is an essential part of this community. I hope that your healing journey is filled with self-discovery, curiosity, resilience and the unwavering belief in the power that resides within you. Until next time, I'm Rose Wippich, wishing you a journey filled with love, laughter and endless possibilities.