Jackie's Vibe

12/10/2022

When we have been traumatized, it is easy to get caught up in self-judgment… 😔

Cultivating nonjudgmental acceptance, compassion and kindness is an antidote to this negative self-view and can be cultivated through the practice of mindfulness.

In fact, top trauma researchers have all asserted that mindfulness is essential to the recovery process. 🧘

Consider this quote from psychiatrist and educator Bessel van der Kolk:

“Mindfulness, awareness of one's inner experience, is necessary for a person to respond according to what is happening and is needed in the present rather than reacting to certain somatic sensations as a return to the traumatic past.

Such awareness will free people to introduce new options to solve problems and not merely react reflexively.”

Cultivating mindfulness comes with practice, care, guidance and choice.

Whenever we are inviting ourselves or our students to pay closer attention to the world within, we are potentially inviting a connection with traumatic stimuli. When not approached carefully, this can lead to re-traumatization.

Here are 4 essential elements to begin the practice of cultivating mindfulness in a yoga setting:

1️⃣ Physical Details - Create a space that won’t be disturbed during practice and that feels intimate and safe. 🛑 Do Not Disturb signs work great for this! 🛑

2️⃣ Safety is 🗝️ - Encourage students to up-level, down-level or discontinue any pose and or breathing exercise if desired — it’s all about finding freedom through choice! 🕊️

3️⃣ Verbal check ins and check outs identifying mood, breath and physical sensation 🍃

4️⃣ Education around sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system - Guiding students to understand the power of the breath through education around the parasympathetic nervous system can give them a clearer understanding of the ‘why’ behind the practices. ✨

Curious to learn more?

Head to the link to sign up for our Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher Training with Ann Bortz which will dive deep into this delicate and transformational journey > https://yogamedicine.com/product/mindful-trauma-informed-yoga-teacher-training-online/

Beautiful graphic from 🙏

02/17/2022

11/10/2021

Annapolis Peeps!!!

Come back to your mat. Enjoy 2 weeks of unlimited yoga for $54 and we will meet you on your mat!

10/12/2021

Sending my love

Scratch the surface and you may find that most people are dealing with the stuff of life: the challenges, the little joys, and all the pangs of growth. Don’t be deceived by external appearances - look deeper to the soul of those who cross your path. If you can, encourage them on their way.

We’re all just walking eachother home. - Ram Dass

Send a 💓 if you are ready to show some kindness to yourself and to others too...

08/05/2021

when folks ask how my practice is going since having surgery: perfectly intact, thanks ☺️
the practice is 8limbed.
meditation is THE thing. it’s why we do all of the other limbs…

yama: don’t be a jerk to others. this helps reduce psycho- emotional mind chatter which can be a distraction in our meditation.
niyama: don’t be a jerk to yourself. this also reduces mental drama so as not to distract you during meditation.
asana: maintain strength and flexibility so you can sit for long periods of time without distraction of physical discomfort
pranayama: learn to control the breath and you will be able to control much more of your experience, actions and reactions both internal and external. this helps with meditation.
pratyahara: learn to control the senses so that you are not ripped around by desire and distracted by things that take time away from meditation.
dharana: learn to focus so that you can begin to identify beyond the body and mind.
dhyana: allow a merge with that stream of consciousness, god, innermost self through meditation and beyond.
samadhi: a bi-product of meditation. samadhi includes levels of understandings that lie outside the limitations of intellect. the phases may come and go but effects will remain.
so yea i’m in a brace and on crutches and lots of things are super hard limited and lost right now. but not my practice. the practice remains intact
🥰👊🏼🙏❤️
by the way announcing an online sadhana soon!

07/22/2021

https://news.emory.edu/stories/2021/06/son_ptsd_yoga/campus.html

Break-through study led by Emory University’s Ursula Kelly finds trauma-sensitive yoga programs just as effective, faster to work and easier to complete than “gold-standard” cognitive therapy.

07/03/2021

This week I was listening to a Tara Brach podcast on loving the self. I usually turn to her podcasts on the hard weeks. Her teachings help me turn towards myself with an energy that remembers what love feels like.

I’m paraphrasing here, but in her podcast, Tara tells us to hug ourselves with the left arm over the right. This is symbolic of loving the parts of ourselves that are easy to love. Then she asks that we switch up our arms so that right is over left. Again we hug, but this time it’s loving the parts of ourselves that we brush up against.

I gave myself these hugs, while on a walk with Jema. When she instructed us on the second hug, I involuntarily said out loud, “well F**K.” It was exactly what I needed to be reminded of.

Life is challenging- that’s inevitable. But as we move forward, we must remember to love all of ourselves. To ALLOW all of ourselves to be here. To value and nourish all of ourselves, as we are. Not because we’re perfect and flawless, but bc we are worthy of self compassion, especially when we’re in struggle.

I guess I’m sharing in case you had a tough week and needed the reminder too. The yoga practice teaches us that we are always whole. Nothing can make us more or less whole. We don’t have to hustle for wholeness, strive for it. Instead we can practice noticing when we forget and choose to remember as an act of love.

❤️✌️

06/15/2021

Memories ❤️