Yoga with Gail

29/08/2025

Trauma Sensitive Yoga can help reduce symptoms of trauma. Let me know if you are interested and would like to know more or try out a class. 🌻

Experiencing trauma is an immensely challenging journey. It has the power to completely consume individuals and those who support them. Trauma can alter a person's self-perception, and physical sensations, and even restructure their brain. This is your body keeping score.

These physical sensations leave people feeling trapped in fear, isolated, and ashamed. The effects of trauma extend beyond the past and can significantly impact one's ability to fully embrace the present. The goal is to be able to live in the present without your body feeling in danger.

The body is constantly receiving signals of either danger or safety. Giving cues of safety to your students who have experienced trauma can make a huge impact on their day. A cue of safety can be as simple as a smile, eye contact, or your tone of voice.

28/08/2025

This fills my heart up to brim and overflowing. Such gratitude that I am able to be of service. Thank you 🙏✨️🌻

27/08/2025

An invitation to join me for Trauma Sensitive Yoga practice every Friday at The Tree Room, Colchester. 10.30am.

Beginning with gentle mat based warm up, and a trauma sensitive pranayama practice (yogic breathing) ... optional.

Transitioning in your own time to standing asana/forms/shapes for you to explore in your own pace. It's not important how it looks, but how it feels in your body ... cultivating a sense of grounding and calm.

Together we will explore balance.

Then back to the floor based asana practice before some Yoga Nidra which activates the vagus nerve and lengthens the alpha brain waves preparing for restorative rest and closing practice.

Dm me to book or ask for more information ✨️🌻

27/08/2025

Savasana (the asana/form at the end of your yoga session) is often said to be the most important in your practice but this may not be the case or always feel relaxing for everyone.

Asking our bodies to become defenceless in a room full of people may be out of reach for many who may have experienced trauma or are going through something difficult in their life.

In my classes you can choose your shape/form ... this might be lying down ... on your back, side, front, be seated, use cushions, blankets, bolsters... have your eyes open or closed. Finding movement or stillness. You are also welcome to change your shape at any time or leave the room.

You will be guided through a yoga nidra and invited to soften before the final part of the session.

Message me if you have any questions or to book a space at my Friday class.

The Tree Room, Colchester. 10.30am. £10 🌻✨️

Ps This photo is not the tree room.

19/08/2025

How wonderful to receive such lovely feedback... and to know that the staff and volunteers also found benefit from the sessions.

Another feeling from the group was they loved the shared connection of practicing together in their own bodies and afterwards sharing food. We heal together ✨️🌻

I have been working with The Pamoja Project facilitating Trauma Sensitive Yoga.

(AFIUK and RAMA have joined forces to create the Pamoja Project, a transformative initiative aimed at empowering and building resilience among migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.)

I came across such diversity within the group ... limb loss, wheelchair users, language barriers, deaf and blind participants, arthritis and lots of trauma.

This is the group of people that inspired me to undertake the Accessible Yoga Teacher training. I want to be able to serve those I find in front of me in the best way possible... helping them to feel grounded, to find their peace within, to help them feel empowered and have autonomy.

My toolkit is growing... Trauma Sensitive Yoga, Accessible Yoga, (yoga for all using props, the wall, chairs, wheelchairs)) Yoga Nidra, Meditation, Bed Yoga and more knowledge of Accessible and Trauma Sensitive Pranayama.

18/08/2025

Practicing some Accessible Yoga in Greenwich Park today after my training course this week.

Using trees as my 'walls' because I love trees and I love yoga and I can.

Being creative ✨️

I cannot wait to incorporate my new skills into my classes 🌻🙏

Yoga Yoga Yoga Yoga

16/08/2025

Day 2 of our Accessible Yoga Teacher Training with Rodrigo and Uma in Islington, London.

"If you're breathing, you're doing it right. Don't start pranayama with the idea that you're not doing it correctly and you need yo fix it."

One of the things we talked about was Making Pranayama Accessible. In Accessible Yoga and working with disabilities we assume everyone has trauma. Working with breath can be very triggering for people so we always begin with observing the breath as it is without judgement and not changing it. If this feels ok we work on lengthening the exhale before teaching a pranayama practice.

We discussed so much more which I will share another time.

It's been a very long day with buses not turning up and having to catch the tube last minute and on the way home the bus decided to terminate early and then no buses arrived at all for 15 mins for the next part of my journey 🙃 but I did it ... phew ... im well pleased with myself 🤗🥰🌻

13/08/2025