All Bodies Yoga is a trauma-informed class demonstrating that yoga can be accessible for all bodies and minds. The class incorporates awareness of breath with movement and dynamic poses adapted and modified for various abilities and access needs. Each class will emphasize strength, balance, and flexibility as well as infusing mindful awareness of our “felt-sense” throughout a sequence. Many of us become disconnected from our bodies as a result of trauma, pain, and shame. By taking a moment to notice how we feel while we move and breathe we begin to reconnect to our bodies and become more present in our day to day lives.
About Instructor Jess Schlesinger:
Jess is a recent graduate from Niroga Institute’s Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher Training and Integral Health Fellowship. She began practicing yoga 16 years ago in an attempt to manage the physical and emotional pain resulting from various disabilities and traumas. She found, however, that most yoga classes she attended were not accessible for her needs. Jess continued to practice yoga on her own and explored various spiritual, psychological, and physical tools for healing personal and sociological trauma (including somatic therapy, Vipassana meditation, dance, and Raja yoga). Passionate about social justice and change, she decided to pursue yoga teacher training so that she could offer affordable and accessible classes to all bodies and minds in her community and to share a practice that has helped her relieve and accept her chronic pain. Jess is deeply grateful to the ancestors of these spiritual traditions and to Niroga and the East Bay Meditation Center for the space they offer.
