A yoga class for LGBTIQ folks now being offered in Portland! Check out the end of the post for class times and locations.
I am offering Queer and Trans Yoga because I love my community and want to give back in a meaningful way. I want to celebrate our beauty and support our authenticity and wellbeing. The hatha yoga practice with its aim to unwind tensions and increase energy flow, lends itself perfectly as an offering. Increased energy flow has the potential to foster balance, which leads to overall wellness; bring a sense of inner cohesion, which fosters empowerment; and makes being you absolutely irresistible so that your unique expression shines through with more freedom. By providing a class especially for us, LGBTIQ folks, I hope that we can rest in a sense of belonging, be less preoccupied with discerning safety, and deepen into the practice itself, thereby more readily reaping its powerful benefits.
The benefits of hatha yoga are for all practitioners, however we can often feel that it isn’t for us when we don’t see ourselves reflected in the teachers or other students. My hope is that this class will provide a different experience where you will be reflected in a room full of people you can relate to, all tending to their self-care. It sends a strong message that we are worthy of loving ourselves and each other, which is a radical sentiment in the face of the adversity that so many of us have experienced and continue to face.
Speaking further to adversity, there are unique ways that we store the trauma of being othered and shamed in our bodies as unconscious holding patterns. These patterns hum along in the background informing everything we do on subtle, and in some cases, not so subtle ways. With the emphasis on physical postures combined with intentional breathing patterns and cultivated mindfulness, hatha yoga can actually begin to shift these patterns and create new ones that serve us better.
Ultimately, this class is a home for LGBTIQ folks to enjoy a hatha yoga practice free of judgment. It is an all-level hatha flow class that combines the best of flowing breath-linked movement with longer holds that emphasize alignment. In some classes we may explore a particular theme where we dive into a physical or philosophical teaching and in other classes we may simply enjoy the practice of moving and breathing with mindfulness. Each class will start with a centering phase, move gradually into movement that builds in intensity, and end with a settling phase that includes a restorative pose, a final rest, and a short meditation.
Two studios are hosting Queer and Trans Yoga:
Sundays, 6:00pm – 7:15pm at The People’s Yoga, NE Alberta Studio – 4940 NE 16th Ave. Class Schedule
Thursdays, 7:15pm – 8:30pm at The Movement Center, 1021 NE 33rd Ave. Class Schedule
I look forward to seeing you in class and sharing this affirming and healing practice!
/ Zeyah
Original post from Zeyah Roge’s personal website and blog.