INSPIRED by her friend Sue, yoga instructor Michelle Bowler wanted to find a way to help more people experiencing trauma to calm their body and mind.
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Ms Bowler, in partnership with Ballarat Community Health, is offer a trauma-sensitive yoga class to give those most in need a taste of the modified yoga in the hope they may find it beneficial, too.
Sue Walker is a survivor of government institutional sexual abuse in Melbourne. She shared her story, how yoga helps her to breathe during heightened post-traumatic stress, ahead of Ms Bowler's lakeside rock-up class for mental health week last year.
This spark Ms Bowler's interest to take her discipline further and train as a trauma-sensitive instructor. The more she explored this, the more Ms Bowler felt there was a strong need for such classes in Ballarat as a city with a traumatic past and widespread trauma, particularly that of institutional sexual abuse of the Catholic Church.
Trauma-sensitive yoga classes are smaller, there is no music, the pace is slower, rooms are well-lit, poses are named in English and there is no hands-on adjustment. Ms Bowler said there were a lot of vital, subtle differences.
Classes are about trying to give people choice. It's about options and what you want to do with your body. Traumatic events can take away choice.
- Michelle Bowler, trauma-sensitive yoga instructor
"It doesn't matter what trauma you've experienced, it's for people at different stages or recovery and different symptoms. Classes are about trying to give people choice," Ms Bowler said.
"It's about options and what you want to do with your body. Traumatic events can take away choice. In class we use language like, you can choose to do this pose, see how this feels and it is not about a perfect pose."
Ms Bowler and her sister Tracey Hargreaves, also a yoga instructor, have been vocal in a changing cultural perception of yoga and Insta-perfection. They want to break the stereotype yoga is predominantly for "skinny white people".
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Ms Bowler leads classes for people with bigger bodies to practice with the aim of feeling comfortable in moving and using their bodies. The aim is for participants to feel confident to try other mainstream classes.
Is it a similar aim for those trying trauma-sensitive yoga.
Ms Bowler and Ballarat Community Health will run a six-week series for trauma-sensitive yoga from later this month. The theory was six weeks was about the right introductory period for weekly classes to help participants feel confident to continue exploring other forms of yoga.
The free trauma-sensitive yoga class is at Ballarat Community Health in Lucas on October 11, from 10am. For details, contact BHC: 5338 4500.
The class is part of Mental Health Week awareness activities.
If you or someone you know needs crisis support for sexual abuse
- CASA, Sebastopol on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292.
- Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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