Regina Trailweaver

I experience and share the practice of yoga as a technology for sanity, a comprehensive system to support holistic health and heal somatic, energetic, and psychological wounds so that we might experience robust mental health. I first started practicing yoga at age 16 and have been teaching yoga for thirty years. I love B.K.S. Iyengar for his emphasis on alignment, anatomy, and physiology while also providing a deep and extensive knowledge of the Vedic literature. I have read many of the writings of Vivekenanda and studied with fascination the history of the transmission of the darshan from east to west. I follow the teachings of Janet Stone and love the way she brings everything I love about yoga together, including the practice of mantras and chanting. In my classes and courses, I focus on the benefits of yoga for mental health. I offer the power of the yogic techniques for healing trauma, depression, and anxiety. Pranayama is the most powerful tool for mood regulation and is accessible to all so I begin every class with the observation and then the regulation of the breath. I also emphasize the social skills of yoga: be friendly, happy, compassionate, and have healthy boundaries. This creates a welcoming environment in my classes and courses and skillful social engagement is also an essential component of robust mental health. I teach about the nervous system's paramount role in mental health, including the social engagement components of the vagus nerve.