Is Yin Yoga Trauma Sensitive? With Nicole Marcia

CW: Trauma, sexual assault, addiction Is Yin Yoga Trauma Sensitive? This is a nuanced and complex conversation. I hope that this conversation will give some clarity on what trauma-sensitive Yoga is, and what it's not. And the difference between trauma-sensitive Yoga and trauma-informed Yoga is. This episode will help teachers learn how to make their Yin classes more trauma-informed and have a better understanding of how trauma shows up in Yoga classes. When I started my Yoga therapy training (and met today's guest) I initially had a little crisis of faith when I started realizing that according to the Trauma Center definition, Yin Yoga wasn't trauma-sensitive 😳. I was feeling torn between my LOVE of Yin Yoga and my new path as a Yoga Therapist. Eventually, I managed to find a way to make my Yin Yoga classes Trauma-Informed and my guest Nicole Marcia was largely responsible for me being able to make that transition. If you are a Yoga teacher you are teaching people with trauma whether you know it or not. I hope this episode will help you navigate how to make your classes more trauma-informed and If you are looking for more training on this topic I highly recommend workshops and courses with Nicole Marcia. Nicole Marcia, MA, MC, C-IAYT (she/her) is an Ashkenazi Jew of mixed European descent. In 2009, she was awarded a master’s degree specializing in yoga therapy from Lesley University in Boston, MA. For 9 years, she served as the Director of Therapeutic Yoga Programming for the Provincial Health Services Authority at their Burnaby Centre for Mental Health & Addictions and Riverview Psychiatric Hospital. From 2007-2018, she worked as a yoga therapist at Onsite, the treatment arm of North America’s first safe injection site in Vancouver’s downtown eastside. She also served as the Director of Teacher Training and Mentorship with Yoga Outreach from 2007 - 2023. In addition to training yoga and healthcare professionals internationally,  Nicole has facilitated therapeutic classes for women fleeing situations of human trafficking and worked extensively with teens living with mental health challenges. She is a member of the Breathe Network which connects survivors of sexual violence with healing arts practitioners and has received her BCPFFA Silver Seal of Endorsement for completing Levels 1 & 2 of the BC Professional Fire Fighters Associations Occupational Awareness for Treating First Responder Trauma. Nicole recently completed her Masters in Counselling through City University of Seattle and is seeing clients in her private practice where she combines Yoga therapy and talk therapy. Nicole's Website Yoga Teachers: Join The Waitlist for my Therapeutic Yin Yoga Training at the bottom and top of the Page To Join my Yin Yoga Classes on Zoom To subscribe to my On-Demand Video Library: Full Show Notes https://nykdanu.com/teachers/yin-yoga-teacher-training/yin-yoga-podcast/ Anatomy for Yoga with Paul Grilley Hang Drum Music by Fred Westra