The undervalued power of co-regulation in yoga
/The nervous system holds so many keys to our health and happiness, which is why it’s a big part of all my trainings courses. Last weekend on my 300 hour yoga teacher training, whilst exploring Polyvagal Theory, we discussed how important co-regulation is in helping us to feel calm - this is when being around a regulated person helps to soothe the nervous system of someone who is dysregulated, a bit like osmosis.
This is one reason why being a yoga teacher is such a privilege and, for me anyway, it’s fundamental to the concept of ‘creating a safe space’. We make the environment that helps people to co-regulate through our energy, attitude, voice and even through collective movement and breath.
There is so much power in relationships, whether this be with friends, partners, therapists, and even yoga teachers, who can help us to soothe just through interaction. My go-to these days is to phone a friend (I have a couple on speed dial!) and this knowledge just gave me permission.
Today’s world seems to teach us to be strong, independent, individualistic, to not “burden” others when they ask how we are... but we are hard wired to need community, to talk, share, soothe each other. And it’s not a weakness to need this sometimes, something I’m also learning to accept!
I really love the 300hr YTT because it’s a space for teachers to share and feel supported too - this is so lacking in the yoga world. I’m currently thinking of ways I can create more opportunities like this for yoga teachers to gather.
But in the mean time, I’m super excited to be running my 200 hour and 300 hour yoga teacher trainings in Sussex at the end of this year, as well as offering all my self paced/online trainings. If you’re curious, pop me a message and lets chat!
