Virtual Yoga Summit

James Foulkes: Yoga Therapy and Lifestyle Medicine

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James Foulkes is a yoga teacher and IAYT Registered Yoga Therapist. Originally from England, James has trained for 15 years with the students of Vanda Scaravelli.

His book, Principles and Themes in Yoga Therapy was released by Singing Dragon in 2017.

At present, James operates a busy Yoga Therapy Practice, and has taught on numerous Yoga Therapy trainings and Yoga Teacher trainings. He conducts classes and workshops around the Washington DC Area, around the United States and internationally.

In this video James discusses yoga therapy and lifestyle medicine, touch, complex illness as well as using yoga therapy to support those who have been incarcerated.

 

Principles and Themes in Yoga Therapy
An Introduction to Integrative Mind/Body Yoga Therapeutics
James Foulkes, Foreword by Mikhail Kogan, MD, illustrated by Simon Barkworth

Provides a brief history of yoga therapy before offering a new way to think about anatomy and the wholeness of the human being. Through case studies, the author explores different principles of practice with tips for yoga therapy practitioners to develop their working client relationship and their own conditioning. Read more

Max Strom: Is Yoga a Women’s World?

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Born with severe clubbed feet, Max Strom spent much of the first six years of his life with his feet confined in plaster casts and braces. Today, he is known for inspiring and impacting the lives of people from all walks of life, teaching breathing patterns and personal transformation worldwide. His method, Inner Axis, is known to produce immediate results in alleviating stress, anxiety, burnout, and depression, impacting the internal and emotional aspects of our life, as well as physical healing. His TEDx talk, Breathe to Heal, is approaching one million views on Youtube. Many know him for his two inspiring books: There is No APP for Happiness, addressing the challenge of finding meaning in the digital age, and A Life Worth Breathing.

In this video, Max discusses men in yoga: why they might feel excluded, the importance of connecting with emotions, and the benefits for men in joining the yoga community.

 

Catherine Annis: Inclusivity in a Group Setting

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Originally a professional dancer, Catherine discovered yoga as a teenager. Practicing for over 35 years, she has explored everything from Sivananda to Astanga before gravitating to the teachings of Vanda Scaravelli.

Catherine’s practice and teaching focuses on deepening physical awareness and alignment to reveal the natural freedom of the body, particularly the spine. She teaches regular weekly classes in London at triyoga and the Life Centre and leads retreats worldwide. She created the first Scaravelli-inspired immersion course.

Catherine has contributed to the Yoga Student Handbook with an essay on Scaravelli yoga.

In this video, Catherine discusses how to approach teaching inclusively, the importance of language, how to communicate with students confidently and comfortably, and much more.

Matthew J. Taylor: Inclusive Yoga – It Ought to Be a Touchy Subject

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These remarks are based on my 17 years as an expert witness in yoga injury cases and yoga safety advocate. This is not legal advice nor counsel because I’m not an attorney, but reflects my understanding from working with attorneys as to what they look for and utilize in either defending or prosecuting a matter. These remarks also reveal my deep biases as a “recovering manual physio” and how yoga differs, at least philosophically, from other practices.

 

The Hot Topic of Touch and Consent in Yoga

If there ever was a veneer of “purity” around yoga teachers and gurus in yoga’s reemergence in the 20th century, it’s now long gone in the first part of the 21st century… and “good riddance”!

So much so, that touch and consent are now very popular topics in the yoga world. I won’t be covering the sordid details here. You can easily find them online. Rather, I want to spotlight the importance of both students and yoga professionals being clear how important having high standards around touch and consent are to making yoga inclusive.

Let’s briefly look at how they influence yoga inclusivity, some points to consider in developing your own standards/boundaries, and a few take-away action steps to consider. May this fuel many deeper conversations… Continue reading →

Anneke Sips: Labels and Love – Let’s Connect!

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Anneke is a Svastha Yoga Teacher/ Therapist and Registered Nurse (RN) who has worked in psychiatry since 1998. She is one of the first accredited yoga therapists in the Netherlands (C-IAYT) and the founder of Network Yoga Therapy and The Yoga Therapy Conference in Amsterdam.

In this video, she talks about labels we are given and that we give ourselves, taking a mindful approach to our everyday lives, and what we can do to connect with each other.

 

Wendy Teasdill: A Pregnancy-Safe Yoga Sequence

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Wendy Teasdill has been practising yoga for over forty years and teaching since 1987.

Here, she walks viewers through a safe and simple routine that can be practised during pregnancy.

 

Please note that while our summit is open to absolutely everyone from all corners of the world, despite our best efforts we won’t be able to ensure safe, comfortable practice for every attendee nor take responsibility for your own practice. If you have any injuries or are dealing with any conditions that you would normally flag to your yoga teacher or therapist, please seek advice before taking part or following along with any of our classes or sequences.

Lizzie Lasater: Tips on Keeping up Your Yoga Practice During Pregnancy

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We’re lucky to have had the chance to talk with Lizzie Lasater, yoga teacher trainer in both the digital and physical sense. Lizzie studied art history and architecture at Columbia University and now translates her training into digital courses, global Restorative yoga teacher training workshops, and her awesomely creative jewelry collection.

Lizzie wrote a chapter for Yoga Teaching Handbook, published by Singing Dragon in 2017, and she wrote the foreword for the brand new Yoga Student Handbook, which is in shops now.

In our podcast, we talked about all things pregnancy and yoga, connecting with the body and the baby during pregnancy, mental health issues in the first trimester, as well as social prescribing.

How to Teach Yoga Therapeutically – Head to our Facebook Page Now!

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Is Yoga Inclusive? Therapeutic? Meet the Teacher/ Therapist/ Educator/ Author

Charlotte Watts, Lisa Sanfilippo, and Lisa Kaley-Isley in discussion about the leading edges in yoga therapy and what that can mean for your work in the yoga room, one-to-one, or in terms of a thriving practice that is of service to others.

The panel will interactively discuss their evolution as yoga teachers and therapists, and how their paths have paralleled current developments in the field of yoga. Through personal and professional experience as teachers, educators, and authors, they will discuss how they have developed and articulated their own specialist focus working with conditions (sleep/insomnia, digestion, and mental health). They will cover how they view those as exacerbated by experience of stress and trauma and can be relieved or improved through adapted yoga practice.

Charlotte, Lisa and Lisa will discuss their very different pathways into yoga and yoga therapy, and how these different passions, educational backgrounds, personality types, skill sets and preferences have lead to different courses, publications, and ways of working with clients. From there, they will explore how developments in the field of yoga and the ways in which yogic wisdom is transmitted in the modern age might match the needs of the individual.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE LIVE PANEL EVENT NOW

 

 

 

Jess Glenny: Finding My Body’s Voice

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Supportive Teaching for People with Developmental Trauma in the Yoga Class

This article is adapted from The Yoga Teacher Mentor: A Reflective Guide to Holding Spaces, Maintaining Boundaries, and Creating Inclusive Classes, which will be published by Singing Dragon in January 2019.

Developmental trauma (also known as complex trauma) is more common than is generally assumed and often undisclosed at yoga classes, even where it’s asked about on student intake forms. Most often, you will gradually become aware of the signs of developmental trauma through observing how your student is (or isn’t) in their body, the kinds of connection they are able to make and sustain with you as teacher, and how they relate to the group at large.

Developmental trauma generally begins very early in life, sometimes before birth and often prior to the development of language and cognitive thought, and is a response to childhood experiences such as neglect, abandonment, and/or physical or sexual abuse. The severity of the consequent trauma response depends to a large extent upon whether any trustworthy and caring adult – teacher, grandparent, older sibling, foster-parent – was available to the child. Recovery is generally much harder for those with whom no one formed a genuine, altruistic and nurturing bond.

Successfully resolving developmental trauma is a slow and challenging process, but it is possible, given appropriate forms of therapy (these are different from the types of therapy useful for working with PTSD or one-off trauma). Without therapeutic intervention, the effects of developmental trauma usually persevere into adulthood, profoundly affecting the person’s physical and mental well-being, cognition, capacity for meaningful relationship, and ability to live in and from their present-moment embodied experience. Continue reading →