87: The Nuances Of Trauma-Informed Yoga with Sangeeta Vallabhan

Trauma-informed practice is a popular topic in the yoga world, and with good reason. Most people have experienced some kind of trauma and if yoga is to be a healing practice, as teachers and practitioners we must take into account what could make a practice unsafe or triggering for folks, including ourselves.

But like so much of yoga in the west, trauma-informed conversations can often veer into the dogmatic, as if there was only one way to to make a student feel unsafe,  or as if there were set, universal, right and wrong ways of teaching trauma-informed practice. There are certainly some best practices that many experts agree on, but there is also quite a bit of nuance, as there always will be when we’re talking about the human experience.  

And this is why I’m so excited to introduce you to Sangeeta Vallabhan. Sangeeta is a long-time yoga teacher; she has been teaching yoga in NYC since 2003. She began studying trauma-informed yoga with many different teachers in 2013 and pursuing these studies enabled her to better face her own experiences with trauma. Her recovery has inspired her to help others and in 2019, Sangeeta started training teachers in trauma-informed yoga with her own training, solemarch. She just started The Practice Coalition, a non-profit dedicated to providing trauma-informed yoga and to taking care of the teachers who offer it. 

In this episode you’ll hear:

• about Sangeeta’s foundational view of trauma informed practice

• what Sangeeta feels is most important to offer teachers in trauma-informed training

• how colonialism shows up in the yoga world and specifically in trauma-informed teaching

• boundaries that are especially important in trauma informed teaching

• all about The Practice Coalition and what makes this new organization so special! 

Learn More From Sangeeta:

• At her website

• The Practice Coalition

• An important article Sangeeta wrote about her experience with trauma

• Sangeeta on Health.Com !

• Are You Traveling to India for the Right Reasons?- article by Sangeeta

• What It’s Like Being an Indian-American Yoga Teacher- article by Sangeeta

• Solemarch - a trauma informed yoga training (Swiss)

• Solemarch at yogavida in november 2021 (link is not updated yet, but will be soon!)

• Take an asana class with Sangeeta at The Connective!

OfferingTree is a proud sponsor of this episode and I am honored to be an affiliate.  Visit OfferingTree at www.offeringtree.com/mentorand you’ll get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan).   OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up and I’m proud to be supported by a public benefit company whose mission is to further wellness access and education for everyone.