We are living amid the first global mass trauma event in several decades. It's arguably the first of its kind since World War Two, and almost certainly the first of such severity in your lifetime.

Trauma is a far subtler concept than many of us realize. It isn't just a word for something extremely stressful. It doesn't always come from short, sharp shocks like car accidents, terrorist attacks, or firefights. And, trauma isn't the same thing as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

What trauma is about is events and their effect on the mind. But what separates it from something merely stressful is how we relate to these events on a deep level of belief.

Trauma can be understood as a rupture in "meaning-making," where the way you see yourself, the way you see the world, and the way you see other people, are all shocked and overturned by an event. Stress accumulates and the nervous system is forced on high-alert.

While yoga isn’t the first-line treatment for trauma, it definitely helps people to acquire a better habit of self-regulation and calm. Yoga has been proven time and again to have a positive impact on a variety of psychological and physiological conditions. It cultivates mindfulness through breathing exercises, intentional relaxation, and body movement.

In addition to helping certain medical conditions and somatic dissociation, yoga has also been shown to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, ADHD, and eating disorders.

The Heal Yourself Flow is a gentle and comprehensive practice, in which we will utilize Yogic intentional breathing exercises to help gain control of emotional regulation, calm the sympathetic nervous system, trigger other biochemical and physiological relaxation mechanisms in the body, and improve our self-concept and coping skills.

With the rollercoaster ride that this last year has been, lots of things have been going on in the world and individually, which means that a lot is going on in the inside as well.

Every organ corresponds to the energy of a certain emotion, and every disease stems from an imbalance in an organ or its meridians (energy channels). This is a fundamental idea in Chinese Medicine. Many times a physical disorder linked to a certain organ actually stems from an imbalance in the emotion associated with that organ. The reverse is often true as well: an imbalanced organ can heighten the specific emotion experienced by an individual. It can easily become a vicious cycle.

All emotions are inevitable, physiologically normal, and will not necessarily cause disease when they arise in daily life. Chinese medicine only considers emotions as pathological when they are repressed, contained, or expressed intensely, often, without control, or out of context.

Yin yoga is a wonderful practice to release trapped emotions and take the time to really feel into current emotions. Including Yin yoga in your regular yoga practice can have a profound effect on your emotional well-being.

During the past few months, many of us have experienced an incredible volume of emotions in such a relatively short amount of time. Not unlike the stages of grief, we’ve gone through a process of shock, anger, and depression, along with plenty of uncertainty and anxiety thrown in there for good measure.

But there comes a point in all situations where we have to decide if we’re going to dwell on the past (pre-COVID) or accept the situation that we’re in and move forward. In moments like this – when we have very little control or choice – radical acceptance can be a transformative skill to utilize.

Acceptance allows us to be autonomous, because when we accept that situations are out of our control, we allow ourselves to cope and we free ourselves from the pressures of trying to resolve situations we cannot change. Coming to terms with reality helps us move on from uncontrollable situations and take charge of our future actions. In doing so, our mood regulates, our bodies de-stress, and we feel uplifted.

Acceptance involves letting go of the desire to protest and force change. Meditation can help recognize feelings in the present, learn to appreciate the moment, view experiences more compassionately, and consciously allow things to be as they are.

It’s easy to fall into the winter blues when temperatures plummet and it’s dark and dreary outside. You might find that you start feeling lethargic, and it might become harder and harder to get out of bed in the morning.

These are all symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, a seasonal form of depression triggered by the lack of sunshine in the wintertime. The source of the problem comes from a disturbance in your body’s circadian rhythm that changes your body’s levels of serotonin and melatonin.

Yoga practice is a great way to combat SAD by tapping into the mind-body connection. It is an incredible tool to reset the nervous system and help release tension and stress by increasing your serotonin levels. If you have a case of the winter blues, this Fire It Up Flow might be just what the doctor ordered.

Reignite your power with this fiery, all-systems-activated Vinyasa yoga flow. This class gets moving rapidly to clear energy and stoke the internal fire. Expect strong abdominal work, plenty of chair poses, and some swift Vinyasa. It’s a perfect opportunity to fire your winter blues away and kick lethargy in the a$$!