Yoga: a Radical Practice

WHAT CAN I EXPECT?

What does yoga have to do with social justice? How does social injustice create trauma, and how might that trauma show up in our bodies? How can we contribute to healing the harm created by prejudice and discrimination — not only in individuals but in our community as a whole? How do we move beyond our understanding of self-care to include care for the collective as well?

These are some of the questions we will explore during ‘Yoga: A Radical Practice.’

Friday 6-9pm. Sat & Sun 9am – 6pm

WHO'S THIS FOR?

This course is open to everyone who is interested in the connection between yoga and social change. It might be particularly useful to yoga practitioners, yoga teachers, community workers, activists, counsellors, health care professionals, educators, and anyone else looking to bring an inclusive, embodied, and trauma-informed approach to their work.

Yoga teachers can receive 16 hours of CPD through Yoga Alliance Professionals.

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

Yoga as a Wisdom Tradition – consider the history and philosophy of Yoga, and the ways in which it invites us to engage with issues of social justice.
Trauma Informed Yoga – learn more about our nervous systems, as well as some of the principles of trauma-informed yoga facilitation.
Embodied Social Justice – explore some of the foundational concepts in social justice, including power, privilege, and systems of oppression.
Embodied Practices – engage in a number of yoga, mindfulness, and somatic practices throughout the weekend to nurture yourself, connect with others, and explore the embodied aspect of these topics.

Maggie McKeever (she/her)

Maggie is a Yoga facilitator and has a background in working in the Arts, events and community sector. In 2015 she went to India for her first Yoga teacher training, and has continued to practice and train in contemporary Hatha, Flow, Yoga Nidra, Pregnancy, Yin, Restorative and Nidra. In 2021 she completed a 100 hour training in Trauma-informed Yoga & Embodied Social Change. In March ‘22 she completed the empirically-validated Trauma Centre Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) method, a 300 hour training with the Center for Trauma & Embodiment at Justice Resource Institute. Since 2021, along with Yoga Quarter colleagues Susan and Ally have been co-creating Belfast Community Yoga, a project that works in partnership with communities to deliver yoga and mindfulness programmes that are accessible, inclusive and respond to their unique needs.

Maggie’s teaching is influenced by trauma-informed yoga, mindful self compassion teachings, the cyclical wisdom of the Celtic wheel, nature, and rest practices. She is passionate about making yoga accessible, community based, and useful for navigating the ups & downs of everyday life.

Yoga and her yoga studies have been key for supporting her to regulate her nervous system, get to know her own unhealthy relational patterns, coping mechanisms and to find embodied ways to feel empowered and have agency in her life. While in Australia Maggie began teaching yoga in outreach settings and that was where she first came across the trauma informed yoga approach and has been finding ways to integrate this into her facilitation since. She’s currently inspired by bell hook’s ‘Love Ethic’ and her definition of Love as a verb; a combination of care, commitment, trust, knowledge, responsibility and respect. (hooks, 2002) This feels like the embodied actions of ‘not trauma’ and aligned with TCTSY as a therapeutic practice.

Ally Armstrong (she/her)

Ally (she/her) is a yoga facilitator and community work practitioner who is passionate about the intersection of individual and community well being. She is a 200-hour registered yoga teacher, with additional training in trauma-informed yoga, children and teen’s yoga, and restorative yoga. With a background in Sociology, she is also halfway through completing a PgDip in Trauma Studies. Ally is a community work practitioner and has over a decade of experience working in community development, youth work, and social justice. Her current work in that area is focused on facilitating trauma-informed peacebuilding programmes for women in Northern Ireland.

Along with Susan and Maggie, Ally co-created Belfast Community Yoga, a non-profit organization that works in partnership with communities to deliver yoga and mindfulness programmes that are accessible, inclusive and responsive to their unique needs.

As a facilitator, Ally hopes to nurture brave spaces for folks to reconnect with their embodied sense of self. She believes that the wisdom that emerges in those spaces allows us to engage with others in ways that are more equitable, just, safe, and liberating. Her work is influenced by yoga and somatic practices, healing centered principles, and liberatory traditions. Originally from Texas, she now lives in Belfast with her husband, Jonny. She loves a good book and a good dinner party.

Susan McEwen (she/her)

Susan is an experienced yoga teacher and teaches a vinyasa flow style of yoga and Yin.

She has been practicing yoga for 20 years and over that time yoga has evolved from being a purely physical practice developing strength and flexibility to a practice that has helped Susan as she says ‘do life well’

Her practice has supported her through challenging times such as grief, anxiety, and menopause.

Prior to being a fulltime yoga teacher and studio owner Susan worked within the 3^rd sector and around peace and reconciliation. In that context Susan has gained over 25 years’ experience in facilitating groups, creating space for difficult conversations, and developing experiential approaches to group work.

She has worked locally, regionally, and internationally leading out trainings.

In more recent years she has taken this learning into her yoga world and explored how the yoga practice supports a lifestyle committed to social justice. She has been inspired by teachers such as Sean Corn and Hala Khouri who have founded the NGO Off the Mat and Into the World.

Susan is a continual learner and has completed the following trainings:

2016-2017 200hrs YTT Flow Studio Belfast
2017 30hrs Kids Yoga Rainbow Yoga
2018 30hrs Intro to Yin – Grace Tempany
2018 80hrs Well Women Yoga Therapy Uma Dinsmore Tulli
2019 200hrs YTT Yoga Works
2019 30hrs Yin Part 2 – Grace Tempany
2019 Assisted at Well Women Yoga
2021 40 hrs Yin Part 3 Grace Tempany
2022 10 Hrs Collective Resilience – Trauma Informed Yoga and Somatic Basics
2022 100hrs Yin ISFYT
2023 30 hrs Yoga Social Justice and Spirit Yoga For Human Kind
2023 8 hrs Supporting Common Injuries Dr Andrew McGonigle
2023 ongoing 300hrs with Laura Gilmore Yoga

Susan is the lead trainer in the Yoga Works 200hrs YTT

She is a mentor for the NGO Women in Business in Belfast

Woven through everything that Susan does is a desire to nurture inclusive community where people can thrive.

OUR LOCATION

Whitespace Yoga & Wellbeing Studio

5 St Pauls Court (off the High St),

Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, MK11 1LJ

Duration & location

Courses are held at our beautiful, light-filled dedicated yoga studio in Milton Keynes – the perfect environment to immerse yourself in this wonderful practice and share experiences with like-minded people.

PARKING

We have very limited free parking available to the rear of the building, entering via Fagan’s Court, although we do recommend you use of the other car parks:

Yoga Quarter Team – ALLY ARMSTRONG, SUSAN MCEWEN & MAGGIE MCKEEVER