Meet CJ – one of our YD trained Yoga Teachers who teaches at our I street and Glover Park Studios.

After completing my teacher training at YD, and prior to starting teaching there, I was looking for opportunities to help the community I feel most connected to: women who have survived sexual assault. I stumbled upon Exhale to Inhale, and while they don’t have a program in DC currently, they drove home a message that there is a place for everyone in yoga and that healing can take place within your mind and your body if you let a little love in. A few weeks ago I received an email from ETI outlining a free resource for those that have suffered trauma, work with trauma victims, or simply live anxious lives. I would like to share Lisa Danylchuk’s YouTube series on poses for trauma with the beautiful YD community: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClWtofIVMVvqDZ5na4urmDw.

The videos are not affiliated with ETI or Yoga District, yet they are simple and straightforward poses to help soothe, ground, restore, and reconnect to ourselves after trauma. As she moves through the variations during the five minute videos I was reminded of Jasmine’s lessons on connectivity, meeting yourself where you are, and becoming aware of our bodies and minds. We feel these movements in our yoga practices across YD, and yet to point them out, we can take a moment to appreciate how deeply they help release our deepest fears and our sharpest tensions. Brining that awareness to ourselves can only help us as we work to give back to the community.