Yoga for First Responders: Yoga Teacher Training

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I couldn’t be more excited to announce that later this month, I’ll be participating in a Yoga for First Responders teacher training!

For quite a while, it has been in my heart to teach yoga to trauma-sensitive groups and to create classes geared toward resilience for mental health. In the last year I’ve had family members join law enforcement and I’ve witnessed my own community here in Butte County respond to the devastating Camp Fire. The need for yoga is great, especially in groups that are often affected by PTSD, and yoga is such an effective tool for healing and working through stress.

I’m honored and proud to take this step toward broadening my knowledge as a yoga teacher and acquiring the tools to hold space in an even more powerful way in my classes. I plan to return to Chico and hit the ground running helping build programs here for our police, fire, EMS, military and veteran groups, and to work locally in Sacramento as well.

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It will be an incredible adventure spending the last week of September in Pflugerville, Texas, training with other yoga teachers, first responders, and passionate members of Yoga For First Responders who are changing lives all over the world.

This training will provide me with new challenges — both mental and physical — to build my own strength and resilience, too.

What I love about YFFR is that their program is job-specific and culturally-informed, meaning I will walk away understanding how first responders cope with high-stress environments, and how they operate in groups— and how yoga postures and breathing techniques can support them in their environment.

It will be nothing like a relaxing yoga class held in a quiet, calm yoga studio.

We will be training in a warehouse facility with shoes on some of the time, and I’m pretty sure I may have to gear up, lift fire hoses, and/or be ready to respond to alarms going off at some point in the training!

Throughout this year, my mantra has been, “The year of not holding back, of not playing it safe.”

This training is a huge step in that direction, of embracing courage, empowerment, strength, and trust.

I know in the depths of my soul that I’m meant for this work, and I invite it and embrace it fully.

At this moment, I am stepping into my power as a yoga teacher and stepping up to fulfill my purpose as a healer.

My deepest thanks to all of my teachers, and to all of you for supporting me on my path.

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If you’re interested in ways to support me while I’m in training, please send me an email so we can connect, make a donation directly to Yoga for First Responders, or consider purchasing snacks to from my Amazon wish list to help keep me energized throughout the week ;)

SO, so grateful to be launching on this new adventure!

Thank you for following along, and for all your support. Namaste.

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First two photos by Carin Dorghalli.