Swan River Yoga

23/08/2025

Sound Rest + Swan Songs with Keith Porteous Meade

Join Keith for one or more of three separate sessions:

Saturday, Sep 13, 2025
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Saturday, Oct 18, 2025
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Saturday, Nov 15, 2025
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Invite cool and calm into your afternoon with restorative yoga, singing, harmonium, and crystal bowls. We will begin in restorative yoga with bolsters, blankets, blocks and more, then move into a SATYA practice (floor-based somatic movements) to open fascia, support injury-recovery, and drop into the pace of the body.

This practice, appropriate for everyone regardless of yoga asana experience, helps us slow down, clear the mind, and re-discover our embodied wisdom. You will also have the opportunity to request a special song before the event and contribute to Keith's graduate studies in Music Therapy (more details on our event page).

Register here: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=7119&stype=-8&sView=day&sLoc=0&sTrn=100000000

20/08/2025

Join Michelle for this informative introductory workshop on trauma sensitive yoga 🙏

Register here: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=7119&stype=-8&sTG=23&sView=day&sLoc=0&sTrn=100000501

Hey YOGA TEACHERS! 🧘🏻‍♀️Wondering how you can be more trauma-informed while leading vinyasa practice? Come get an *IN-PERSON* crash course on trauma theory, attachment theory & neurobiology & how they relate to a yoga class on SEPT 6! movement will be incorporated, & you can claim 4 CEUs with Yoga Alliance. Sign up on Swan River Yoga’s “Events” page. 🙏🏼🍊🪷

14/08/2025

TCTSY 8-Session Series with Michelle Scandurro

Time: 8-9am, Tuesday - Friday
Sept. 9 - 12 and Sept. 16 - 19

Note: pre-registration required for the whole series as these will be closed sessions once it begins.

TCTSY is the world’s original yoga for trauma; twenty years of research have demonstrated that it’s as effective as talk therapy without the need to talk about or even know what trauma you’re dealing with. It’s the only yoga program developed by Bessel van der Kolk’s team (He wrote The Body Keeps the Score). It’s not about exercise, mobility, or alignment. It’s a somatic therapy for the treatment of complex trauma and PTSD. 8 - 10 sessions of TCTSY practice has been proven to reduce trauma symptoms such as disconnection to one’s body, interpersonal distrust, anxiety, and even physical pain.

This series will be closed, meaning that a limited number of participants will be accepted for the entire series and no drop-ins will be allowed. Participants sign up for the entire 8-week series up front, committing to pay for 8 sessions whether they end up attending each session or not. Because of limited space and best practices for trauma, there are unfortunately no refunds for missed classes.

Participants will be invited to move through a set of yoga-inspired shapes during a practice designed to adhere to the five core elements of TCTSY:
- Invitational language
- Non-coercion
- Shared authentic experience
- Choice-making
- Interoception

*note– Although a chair is pictured, chairs will not necessarily be used.

My priority is creating a safe, participant-driven experience. Cues are suggestions, and I’m not attached to outcomes. Hopefully, participants will experience a sense of embodied choice-making and maybe even interoception, which in turn will begin healing their bodies and minds.

As we build a felt sense of safety, I’ll do my best to AVOID: Sanskrit words or pose names, hands-on adjustments, philosophical or religious teachings, walking around the room, guided meditation, and expectations.

The hour will begin with a short talk about a key element of TCTSY, followed by a 40 minute practice and conclude with 5-10 minutes of quiet, individual journaling or sketching for integration.

Your facilitator, Michelle Scandurro, is a 200 RYT yoga teacher with both TCTSY-F and mindful meditation certifications. Once upon a time, she taught high school English and was a high school administrator, both of which she loved. She currently teaches trauma-informed Restorative Yoga at Swan River Yoga in New Orleans. A survivor of complex trauma, she brings her own healing experiences to the mat. She humbly offers to hold a space for mutual learning and healing.

Participants will be required to complete an intake process with Michelle prior to the first class session.

It’s recommended that you have a current working relationship with a trauma therapist or plan to do so and a support system of some kind before you embark on a TCTSY series.

“The first principle of recovery is the empowerment of the survivor.” - Judith Herman, M.D.

Register here: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=7119&stype=-8&sTG=23&sView=day&sLoc=0&sTrn=100000501

08/08/2025

Reiki II Training, Call Your Power Back & Let Go of What is Not You with Raney-Mills Turner

Saturday 10/4 from 1-5pm
Sunday 10/5 from 2-7pm

In Reiki II, we join together with other practitioners of Reiki I, to “Call Your Power Back & Let Go of What is Not You.”

This Reiki II training is not open to the public, as one must first acquire the completion of a Reiki I module. (This may have been completed at Swan River or elsewhere, but please send in proof of completion.)

This training is broken down into two parts on two weekends for ease of practice and learning.

Reiki II requires the student to advance deeper into meditative attunements in order to invite the understanding of the nature of energy exchanges, where we place our power and what we draw from to increase our power. We will assess places in our human energy field where our energy leaks and call upon the teachings of Mikao Usui to clear what must return to the Source in order to feel attuned to a greater Power.
We will continue to enhance our connection to the Divine Source and how to keep the Light Sacred while learning how to ethically practice on others.

Students will learn the following:

* 3 Reiki sacred symbols and their meaning and use.
* How to conduct Reiki healing over distance + time.
* Symbols and protocols that focus on healing earlier life events in past life healing.
* Clearing and balancing energy techniques.
* How to use cord cutting as a means for calling one’s power back.
* How to create and cleanse spaces.
* Enhanced visualization techniques with Reiki mantras and sacred mudras
* Ethics of safe energy healing for the giver and the receiver

Register here: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=7119&stype=-8&sView=day&sLoc=0&sTrn=100000475

07/08/2025

Join Judith Hanson Lasater IN PERSON at Swan River Yoga for The Sacred Column: Anatomy and Movement Principles of the Vertebral Column in Yoga Practice

This 30 hour training offers 30 CEU's with Yoga Alliance and is open to yoga teachers and serious students.

A five-day immersion; 6 hours a day; two 3-hour sessions with 1 hour break

December 3 - 7, 2025

10am-5:15pm

Have you ever wished you knew more about anatomy so you could help your students more effectively as well as deepen your own practice? Maybe you have felt unsure about where to learn more? Or maybe you are intimidated about how to learn more about anatomy and how it effects movement, specifically in yoga asana? Then this course is made just for you!

We will study each section of the vertebral column individually and then note how the column interacts with the pelvis and shoulder girdle.

In the morning sessions we will start with theory and then immediately practice Active asana so you can feel the principals at work in your body and observe it in others. The afternoons will be focused on Quiet asana so we can understand what part the vertebral column plays in pranayama, meditation, and Restorative practice.

The spine is at the core of the body as well as being the basic structure through which we practice asana and move our energy.

This 30-hour professional training will focus specifically on the vertebral column using lecture and demonstration. An emphasis will be on the immediate application of what we learn to the art of practicing and teaching yoga.

We will pursue such concerns as what makes each region different, how do specific poses effect each region, as well as how we can teach in ways that both protect and healthily move the vertebral column.

Payment plan options are available!

Bio: Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., Physical Therapist, has been teaching yoga since 1971. Ms. Lasater has trained students and teachers in almost every state of the Union as well as on six continents, is one of the founders of Yoga Journal magazine and is president emeritus of the California Yoga Teachers Association and has written 11 books.

Visit here for full details or to register: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=7119&stype=-8&sTG=23&sVT=12&sView=day&sLoc=0&sTrn=100000499

06/08/2025

Introduction to TCTSY Trauma Sensitive Yoga Workshop with Michelle Scandurro
4 Yoga Alliance CEUs

In-Studio
Saturday, September 6, 2025
2-5pm

This three hour workshop has been approved by Yoga Alliance for 4 CEUs. We’ll summarize the theoretical underpinnings and methodology of TCTSY, and offer a brief review of the evidence of efficacy. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to experience 20 - 30 minutes of TCTSY movement practice. This workshop will not qualify you to teach TCTSY, but you’ll have a deeper sense of how any yoga class can be more trauma sensitive.

TCTSY is the world’s original yoga for trauma; twenty years of research have demonstrated that it’s as effective as talk therapy without the need to talk about or even know what trauma you’re dealing with. It’s the only yoga program developed by Bessel van der Kolk’s team (He wrote The Body Keeps the Score). It’s not about exercise, mobility, or alignment. It’s a somatic therapy for the treatment of complex trauma and PTSD. 8 - 10 sessions of TCTSY practice has been proven to reduce trauma symptoms such as disconnection to one’s body, interpersonal distrust, anxiety, and even physical pain.

Your facilitator, Michelle Scandurro, is a 200 RYT yoga teacher with both TCTSY-F and mindful meditation certifications. Once upon a time, she taught high school English and was a high school administrator, both of which she loved. She currently teaches trauma-informed Restorative Yoga at Swan River Yoga in New Orleans. A survivor of complex trauma, she brings her own healing experiences to the mat. She humbly offers to hold a space for mutual learning and healing.

Register here: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=7119&stype=-8&sTG=23&sView=day&sLoc=0&sTrn=100000501

27/07/2025

💙 July/August Teacher Feature 💙

~ Angela Cherie Bergeron ~

Angela Cherie Bergeron is a highly skilled and certified professional in the fields of Hypnotherapy, Yoga therapy, and Reiki Energy healing. With a deep passion for helping others, Angela has dedicated herself to mastering various healing modalities to provide her clients and students with exceptional care and support.

Angela’s journey has deepened with her completion of an extensive 720-hour Hypnotherapy training at the esteemed Hypnosis Motivation Institute College of Hypnotherapy in Tarzana, CA. Motivated by her commitment to growth and excellence, she continued her education by enrolling in HMI’s AOS program, Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Mind Body Psychology, working towards becoming a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. Angela’s expertise spans a wide range of areas, including hypnosis for Weight-loss, Smoking Cessation, Past Life Regression, NLP Neuro Linguistic Programming, Law of Attraction, PTSD, Healing the Inner Child, Mental and Emotional Release Therapy, Intuitive Healing and Development, Pain Management, and Reiki Mastery.

Driven by a compassionate heart and a genuine desire to make a positive impact, Angela embarked on her own healing journey following the loss of her mother to cancer in 2016. Recognizing the significance of a holistic approach to healing, she pursued a comprehensive 400-hour Yoga Teacher Training with Swan Michelle at SwanRiverYoga. This transformative experience led Angela to obtain certifications in Restorative and Advanced Restorative Yoga with Michelle Baker, Kelly Haas and Ann Tess, Yoga Therapeutics w/ Kelly Haas, and SATYA 1 with Tias Little, equipping her with powerful tools to assist her clients and students on their healing paths.

Practice with Angela:
* Weekly Class: Slow Flow every Monday at 11 am
* Upcoming Events: Intentional Therapeutics - Sundays 8/17, 9/14, 10/19, 11/16, 12/14 from 4-6 pm

Register here: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=7119&stype=-8&sTG=23&sVT=12&sView=day&sLoc=0&sTrn=100000286

You may also book her for private or group sessions here: https://www.swanriveryoga.com/private-wellness-services

25/07/2025

Kundalini Sadhana Experience
Mon - Fri
Aug 25 - 29, 2025
7:45 AM - 8:45 AM
All Levels Welcome

Each sadhana has a specific focus using a breath exercise, asana practice (kriya) and meditation.

Each day you will deepen your experience of these activities and begin to receive the benefits of daily kundalini yoga practice. The energy of the group supports each individual to help them deepen their personnel practice while experiencing a meditative group consciousness.

It is a beautiful way to begin your morning and support yourself through a group sadhana experience. These yogic tools will provide a means to help restore your nervous system and move through energetic blocks.

Pre-registration encouraged, drop-ins welcomed!

~~~~~

Gong Oasis

Fri, Aug 29, 2025
6 -7 PM

This event begins with a group breath exercise or meditation, and then is followed by an extended gong & crystal bowl relaxation to restore and renew.

Space is limited. Pre-registration required!

Register for either of these events with Steph here: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=7119&stype=-8&sView=day&sLoc=0&sTrn=100000031

13/07/2025

Floor & Restore with Lynn Austin Lalka

Sundays - August 10, September 7, October 12
6:30-7:30pm

Floor and Restore is a blissful 60-minute journey designed to nurture your body and mind.

This all-floor class immerses you in a serene blend of seated, reclined, and restorative postures, infused with SATYA (Somatic Awareness Training for Yoga) inspired movements.

Let go of stress with a deeply soothing 15-20 minute guided meditation, followed by an extended savasana to truly unwind. Class ends with therapeutic oils applied to your forehead (with an option to opt in or out of oil application).

Register here: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=7119&stype=-8&sView=day&sLoc=0&sTrn=100000138

09/07/2025

🙏

Relaxation takes practice.

What’s your favorite way to unwind, release, or reset? Let me know in the comments 👇

03/07/2025

Join Stephanie Steller for a Full Moon and/or New Moon Sound Bath!

Full Moon Sound Baths:
Saturdays, July 12, August 9, October 4
6:15 to 7:30 pm

Sunday, September 7
4 to 5:15 pm

Wednesday, November 5
6:15 - 7:30 pm

New Moon Sound Baths:
Friday, July 25 and August 22
5:30 - 6:30 pm

Upon arrival, we’ll begin with a brief introduction, followed by the opportunity to choose an oracle card. This card can help steer you toward positive self-reflection for the evening. You’ll then be invited to lie down on your mat, using props for added comfort. While Stephanie will recommend a restorative posture, you are free to decide what feels best for you during this 75-minute sound bath experience.

The session will commence with a guided meditation, seamlessly transitioning into a sound bath featuring a variety of instruments, including crystal bowls, Tibetan bowls, tingsha bells, a bendo seed shaker, an ocean drum, and koshi chimes. At the end of the experience, Stephanie will provide writing materials and leave space for journaling any thoughts, visions, emotions, or insights that arise, allowing for deep personal healing.

Our studio is equipped with yoga mats, bolsters, blocks, straps, blankets, chairs, hand weights, eye pillows, sandbags, and four back jacks for those who prefer a seated incline.

Feel free to bring your own props if that makes you more comfortable, but rest assured that we have everything you need for a soothing experience.

Additionally, Stephanie is a Level II Reiki Practitioner. Her sound baths offer the option of distance Reiki healing, channeling positive vibrations through sound.

Register here: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=7119&stype=-8&sTG=23&sVT=12&sView=day&sLoc=0&sTrn=100000465

02/07/2025

Swan River Focus for July & August:

Freedom from Trauma Through Non-Harming & Letting Go 🦢

Here is an excerpt from the full essay written by Michelle Scandurro of Orange Blossom Mindfulness

"My dog stands in ant piles. It used to drive me crazy. For a while, I even tried to teach her to recognize and avoid them. After a little comical trial and error and a lot of mutual misunderstanding, I realized that she just can’t see the difference between an ant pile and not an ant pile. Actually, she just doesn’t seem to care. So, I let go of trying to teach her to know the difference.

[…]

Yoga is a system that fosters self-awareness. Trauma takes us away from our selves; yoga can help bring us back. Complex Trauma happens within relationships, so healing must happen within relationships. If you’re reading this, chances are you have felt the healing power of yoga in your own life. You can probably see how yoga could be a powerful antidote to trauma symptoms.

Over the past year I’ve studied Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY), which was developed through 20 years of research about how yoga can treat Complex Trauma. Because TCTSY is primarily focused on connecting to the felt sense of one’s body in the safe presence of others, it can be a powerful tool to treat many dissociative disorders like addiction, body dysmorphia, and disordered eating.
At the core, trauma is an experience of harming. Sometimes it’s a result of someone crossing a boundary, or being too attached. In the spirit of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, TCTSY seeks to “cultivate the opposite” of trauma with a focus, in particular, on two of the yamas, or moral principles: ahimsa (non-harming) & aparigraha (non-grasping) [...]"

Read the full essay here: https://www.swanriveryoga.com/freedom-from-trauma-through-non-harming-letting-go