March 14-17, 2024
Thursday 8am–4:30pm
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (8am-12pm)
Sedona Yoga Festival 20-Hour TIYTT
The practice of yoga touches on our deepest layers of being and brings to the surface all of our vulnerabilities. In the right hands, we have an incredible opportunity in practice to heal our wounds, stresses, and traumas. Without the right skills, we risk retraumatization to ourselves or others.
Trauma is in every room. Whether you work in a yoga studio, online from home, or in any environment with other people, you benefit from these teachings.
Join yoga teacher trainer and somatic coach, Lara Land, author of The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga, for a weekend of exploration and empowerment as you redefine yoga and its purposes and learn how to create safer spaces for both yourself and others. Lara will share her experience teaching yoga in Rwanda to genocide survivors and how that experience has influenced her teaching style and mission since before Trauma Sensitivity was part of our collective awareness in the yoga community. Dive into the inner workings of your brain and nervous system Look more closely at the kinds of traumas experienced in different cultures and increase your awareness and cultural sensitivity.
Included in your training is the opportunity to observe Three and a Half Acres Yoga Trauma Sensitive Yoga Classes either in person or online and to co-teach or trial teach another two experiences. Lots of opportunities here! Those who complete their observations and co-teaching have the chance to be invited to teach for Three and a Half Acres Yoga at their preferred site supporting survivors and continuing mentorship and advancement to become senior teachers and teacher trainers for the nonprofit.
A digital manual will be provided for all registrants.
In this Program you will Explore
How to define and look for trauma
What happens to the mind/body system during and after a traumatic event
How yoga can regulate the nervous system
Specific practices for grounding, awakening awareness, and centering
Common trauma triggers and how to avoid them
Ways to reframe your teaching to increase accessibility
How to teach yoga from a chair
Room set up and teaching in unconventional yoga spaces
Mindfulness and self-care for the trauma-informed Yoga Teacher and why that is important
Self-knowledge and awareness and privilege in the yoga room
When we know better, we do better
70% of the US population has survived some form of trauma which means, trauma is in every room. Whether you work in a yoga studio, online from home, or in a shelter, food bank, or recovery center, you are interacting, probably without even knowing it, with someone who has survived trauma. Our duty as yoga teachers is to do no harm and yet even with best intentions without knowledge of the ways trauma shows up, our actions may be unskillful. Three and a Half Acres trauma informed yoga teacher training will ensure you have the guidance and practices you need to reduce harm and create safer spaces.
Why Get Trained?
When we know better, we do better
Our Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher Training Program teaches yoga instructors how to work with members of vulnerable and under-resourced communities that have experienced trauma. This includes trauma survivors in the following five categories: domestic abuse, LGBTQ+, recovery, housing/food insecurity, and justice.
Opening talk
Everyone has been through at least one traumatic life event. In this talk, we explore how our assumptions and presumed limitations are molded by past experiences in our lives and family histories and what we can do to start shifting that. We discuss the ways stress shows up uniquely in each person and how we can support moving it and enjoying more peace in our practice and in our lives. Lara shares her work bringing yoga to genocide survivors in Rwanda and to shelters and harm reduction spaces throughout the USA.
Workshop
Dive into the inner workings of your brain and nervous system in part 1 of Trauma Sensitive Training. You will learn what happens when we are stressed and how yoga, practiced intentionally with these insights can regulate your entire system. Look more closely at the kinds of traumas experienced in different cultures and increase your awareness and cultural sensitivity. We will detail everything from room setup to the use of language and detail how small changes can shift a practitioner’s experience. Discover how to look more closely at the messages coming from your own body and what to do with the information you are receiving. This training will include movement and details on how to teach or practice from a chair and still break a sweat!
Sunday Workshop
In this second half of your training, you will begin to practice working with trauma sensitivity by teaching each other in small groups and have the opportunity to lead the class through various exercises geared toward addressing the trauma response. We will discuss the important role of mindfulness and compassion in your work as a teacher and practitioner and close with a trauma-sensitive body scan.
Support Our Scholarship Fund
Your contributions make a significant impact. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we were able to distribute over $21,000 in scholarships at SYF2023, supporting those who needed it the most. Help us continue this vital work.
A heartfelt thank you to the individuals whose contributions have been instrumental in our journey:
- Margaret Joy Weaver
- Lisa Dahl
- Linda Goldenstein
- Suzi Heath
- Jane Sanders
Consider supporting the Sedona Yoga Festival Scholarship Fund. Your donations are not only greatly appreciated but are also tax-deductible. Whether through Venmo, PayPal, or direct invoicing, every contribution helps us extend our reach and impact.
Training Faculty
Lara Land
(she/her)
Lara Land is a deeply compassionate L2 Authorized Ashtanga yoga teacher, somatic life coach, consultant and yoga teacher trainer specializing in trauma sensitivity. Her work is in helping to heal trauma both subtle and significant and train others using trauma sensitive yoga, meditation, mindfulness and breathing practices. Lara has spent the last 25 years studying Ashtanga yoga and sharing yoga asana, chanting, meditation, and philosophy directly from her teachers in India. Her commitment is to honor the traditions of yoga by responding to the needs of each individual, using a unique combination of practices and techniques that are appropriate for their personal growth. Some of her many certifications include: trauma informed mindfulness, life coaching, therapeutic fasting, and mindfulness in nature.
Lara is the owner of Land Yoga, Executive Director of Three and a Half Acres Yoga and co-producer of SOULFest yoga festival. She is the author of My Bliss Book and The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga, has a podcast, The Beyond Trauma podcast and has been featured in and contributed to New York Magazine, Huffington Post, Yoga Journal, Apartment Therapy and on Fox5, CBS, NY1 and SiriusRadioXM.
@laralandyoga
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Trauma Conscious Yoga Training
Who is this training for?
This training is for anyone who is teaching or interested in teaching yoga to people and communities who have experienced trauma.
Can I earn continuing education credit or contact hour CEUs for this training?
Yes, this training is eligible for continuing education units (CEUs). Eligible yoga teachers will earn contact hour CEUs through Yoga Alliance. If the course instructor is a Yoga therapist, they may also offer CEUs through the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Upon completion of the course requirements, you will receive a downloadable certificate you can submit for credit.
Can I earn continuing education credit or contact hour CEUs for this training?
Yes, this training is eligible for continuing education units (CEUs). Eligible yoga teachers will earn contact hour CEUs through Yoga Alliance. If the course instructor is a Yoga therapist, they may also offer CEUs through the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Upon completion of the course requirements, you will receive a downloadable certificate you can submit for credit.
Will attendance be taken?
Yes. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each session.
Can I miss a day and still receive CEUs and a certification of completion?
No. Due to the YACEP guidelines students who are not present for the entire 20 contact hours will not receive or be eligible to apply for CEUs.
Are the 2 presenters teaching the whole 20 hrs?
The 20 hour training is designed to be taught by the two presenters collaboratively as well as individually, and is also supplemented by additional SYF Faculty.
What is the amount of time between lecture, practices, and group work?
You will receive this information at the training via syllabus and training guide.