NORA O’MALLEY
nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca
In partnership with the Westcoast Community Resources Society (WCRS), Vancouver-based charity Yoga Outreach is seeking individuals to sign-up for an upcoming trauma-informed yoga instructor training course.
The 18-hour certification is scheduled to take place at Coastal Bliss Yoga studio on Friday, September 30th to Sunday, October 2nd.
Course facilitator Sarah Holmes de Castro said that while the trauma-informed yoga course is open to anyone, the training is well-suited for healthcare support workers and therapists who want to broaden the scope of their practices by incorporating body based therapy.
“Yoga is an opportunity to have a very immediate result. It can change how you feel,” she said.
According to Holmes, yoga offers a lot of strategies that can ease a lot of the symptoms associated with trauma, such as sleeplessness, chronic muscle pain, and edginess.
Graduates of the trauma-informed yoga training will have the opportunity to volunteer at Ucluelet’s WCRS for a pilot project called Reaching Out with Yoga.
Women accessing the WCRS face multiple barriers, including: domestic violence, post-traumatic stress disorder, addictions, incarceration, and mental health challenges.
According the Yoga Outreach website, Reaching Out with Yoga is a research project led by the BC Society of Transition Houses and funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. The research explores the impact of trauma-informed yoga on the health and well-being of women and children who have experienced violence and are currently accessing transition houses across B.C.
“We are very much hoping people will step forward and volunteer,” said Holmes de Castro. “Anyone who volunteers will have ongoing mentorship and the opportunity to learn trauma-informed yoga in a much deeper way.”
The unique project is also set to launch in Burnaby, Kitimat and Revelstoke, and will reach 16 transition houses in total across five years.
Holmes de Castro said that trauma-informed yoga instructors will not facilitate the research portion of the project.
“We have a second person involved for that so that there is no bias in anyway,” she said.
Completion of the 18- hour certification will provide yoga instructors with continuing education credits with Yoga Alliance and British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association.
Anyone interested in learning more is encouraged to contact Delanie Dyck: Delanie@yogaoutreach.com or 604.385.3891 or visit www.yogaoutreach.com.