OG Yoga Stories: The Dancer

In this ongoing series, we’re taking a look at some of our members’ stories. Their names have been left out to respect their anonymity as we share part of their trauma stories. Here’s The Dancer’s story.

Photographed by Mick Mcmurray

My Journey

I was a dancer my whole life, and while I really enjoyed it, there was no mindfulness to it. When I was doing ballet, it was strict and regimented. I never felt very comfortable in my body. Instead, I felt like my body was something that I had to work against in order to be a dancer. I remember when I finally found yoga. I felt like something really exciting and new was happening because I could just sit and be with my body. There were no expectations, and I could play around. I loved that freedom. After a couple of years of practicing yoga regularly, I found that it was so much more than just a physical practice.

I became really interested in breathing and meditation, and I found that it helped me a lot with my mood. It helped me with work a lot, especially working in such a demanding space where you're constantly working with people who are experiencing trauma. The outlet was really helpful for me to manage stress and anxiety, and it helped me reconnect and find a safe space to just be with myself.

How Can I Make the World a Better Place?

Ever since I graduated college, I knew that I wanted to help people in some capacity. As cliche as it sounds, I always think: how can I make the world a better place? How I can include as many people as possible? I like being a part of something bigger than myself.

Because yoga and meditation were so helpful for me, I thought it would be an amazing thing to bring to other people. I knew that I wanted to complete a teacher training, but I also wanted to go to grad school for social work. I wanted to find a way to combine these two things - not thinking that somebody out there was already doing it.  

My Experience: OG Yoga Teacher Training

When looking for a teacher training, I was referred to a studio where one of the OG instructors was working. OG Yoga’s card was sitting at the desk, and I decided to call Jo the next day. I immediately knew the program was what I had been looking for. It combined two totally different things and brought them into one: trauma and yoga. That’s a big part of my passion. And, the training started that following weekend, so I took it as a sign and joined two days before it started. I really jumped in. 

Photographed by Mick Mcmurray

Honestly, it was a tough journey. I was excited to throw myself into the program, but I did not expect how intense it would be at times. I was treating trauma at work during the week, and then I’d go straight into discussing it on the weekends. But, I was grateful for the work because it was truly preparing me and the other instructors for seeing how trauma affects people from all walks of life. It also helped my own growth. I saw where my story fit in and how I could tap in to help  others in their own healing. 

Overall, It was a really supportive environment. Everyone going through the training was open and honest, and we were all there for similar reasons. We were all able to hold space for each other. The training brought us together in an authentic way. 

Now What’s Next?

I have taught classes for my clients at work, which was a great opportunity because I was able to advocate for trauma informed yoga  with research. I was nervous and unsure at first because of the sensitive needs of the population, but it went really well. The response was that most people didn’t know this was yoga. People think of yoga as handstands. But, after class, people said they could actually use these techniques and tools next time they felt  overwhelmed because it helped them feel calmer. 

Long term, I want to teach a class regularly with OG Yoga and their populations.

Another one of my long term goals is to be a therapist, which is why I'm going to graduate school. Things like art therapy have been important to my own healing because you're tapping into something different than just traditional talk-therapy. So, I'm looking at that as something that I want to incorporate in my therapy practice down the road. I’d love to offer alternative approaches to problems that we've been experiencing for hundreds of years as humans. I want to incorporate yoga into a therapy practice as well.

More Mindful Individuals

OG Yoga is something that everyone needs to be exposed to.

Incorporating the trauma piece is really important and needs to be spread as far and wide as it can because it can not only help the people who are working in this sphere become calmer, more mindful people, but it can help so many people who are already suffering. I love the idea of yoga as a form of social justice, and that's a huge part of why I wanted to join OG Yoga in the first place. It’s accessible, and it's so scalable to all different abilities. 

Photographed by Mick Mcmurray

About OG Yoga

OG Yoga is a San Diego-based nonprofit whose mission is to deliver trauma- and diversity-informed, mindfulness-based yoga through partnerships with the systems serving marginalized individuals to support healing, resilience, self-development, and positive social change. To date, OG Yoga has worked with over 50 organizations across San Diego to deliver our services to 6,000+ individuals over 10,000+ class visits.

But our work is far from over. We really need your help. Support our mission and promote healing by helping us bring yoga and mindfulness practices to those populations who need it most - youth, homeless, disables, veterans, and many others. Just $20 supports one student who has experienced trauma, and $163 funds an entire trauma-informed class.