Nervous systems, Superhero Energy & More

Dear One,

Energy is a funny thing.

Sometimes we're exhausted even though we slept plenty. Sometimes we're riding high even though we should feel exhausted.

Our energy often has less to do with our physical body, and more to do with our nervous system state. For example ...

Safe & social nervous system state: I'm doing all the things, I'm paced, I'm efficient and I can prioritize. I can creatively problem solve. Happy Superhero Energy.

Rest & Digest: I'm slow, resting, lounging, restoring, appropriately tired. Big Hammock Energy.

Fight & Flight: I'm spinning, I'm over-performing, I'm running on fumes, I gotta keep going until I crash. Spiky Porcupine Energy / Big Hamster Wheel Energy.

Freeze & Shutdown: I've fallen and I can't get up, I am flattened, I forgot what it's like to be joyful or awake, I need to crawl under a rock. Deep Fog Energy / Short-Circuited Robot Energy.

All of these states are adaptive and practical functions of our nervous system. In the right context, it's very practical to go from zero to fight in .01 seconds. Buttttt.

1) Our nervous system state *often* does not match the context. Trying to go to sleep but stuck in fight/flight mode. Trying to finish a difficult work project but you're in shutdown and have zero creative faculties. The alarm goes off but body is still in rest/digest mode. And so on.

2) We don't acknowledge the true context we're living/working in because it's become so normalized. Living in a pandemic but have to go about business as usual? That's an override of your fight/flight response to danger. Having to engage in a workplace where microaggressions may come flying at you at any point in time? Insert constant hypervigilance fight/flight stance that may eventually turn into numbing shutdown. Constant marriage conflict in the household? Of course the nervous system doesn't want to let the guard down. And so on.

Okay, maybe it's time to take a breath. <<Breathe>>

So, what do we make of this?

A first step may be to recognize that your nervous system state is indeed interacting with the world, your relationships, your work, your energy. YOU MAKE SENSE. Your energy is responding to the world, its past/present/future, your associations, your predictions, your perceptions, your context & situations.

And when you understand that you make sense, you're more likely to have some self-compassion for the ways in which you struggle.

And when you have some more understanding and self-compassion, you may find surprising ways to support yourself and respond to your nervous system throughout the day.

It takes practice. And one place where I know how to engage in practice around attuning to your body, energy, and nervous system is ... drumroll please ... the yoga mat.

Ways to practice together this month through JP Centre Yoga:

• Saturday's 6pm Restorative Workshop with optional hands-on support.

• Flow & Restore weekly class on Mondays at 6pm.

For more individualized support: I am building a waitlist for new client slots opening up this summer/fall.

For more education about the nervous system states, I love Magdalena Weinstein's content on Instagram.

Phew, thanks for reading this one. Always curious to hear how it lands.

High five from my nervous system to yours,

~Alex

PS: If you do the Instagram thing, let's connect at @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

What your body cares about most

Dear One,

Culturally, many of us were taught that our minds should be able to conquer all.

All the bad thoughts, feelings, fears, triggers, reactions ... we think we should be able to think our way out of them.

But our bodies have their own agenda. Bodies have their own tracking and assessment systems for safe vs. unsafe, good idea vs. bad idea, friend vs. foe.

Your body frankly doesn't give a f*** about your mind's opinions when your visceral nerve endings are consumed by a sense of imminent danger, threat, humiliation, exile, rejection, contagion, entrapment, or general overload.

So, there's that.

But this doesn't mean that your only option is to burrito into the covers for eternity.

There are ways to work with your body's tracking and assessment systems directly. Instead of relying on the mind as a nagging, mis-attuned, relentlessly repetitive voice of "shoulds", you can learn to befriend your body. To learn its unique wiring, and to understand where wires might have gotten crossed, stuck, zapped, cut off. So that you can meet the world and its challenges with a bit more self-knowing, self-soothing, self-compassion, and self-regulation.

If yoga therapy for nervous system care is up your alley, I am building a waitlist for new client slots opening up in June. And to befriend your body more deeply on the yoga mat, there are many events this month to connect in person or virtually. See below.

Ways to practice together this month through JP Centre Yoga:

• Saturday's 6pm Restorative Workshop with (masked & optional) hands-on support.

• Flow & Restore weekly class on Mondays at 6pm.

• 25hr Restorative Yoga Teacher Training, happening in person over May's Memorial Day Weekend.

So looking forward to seeing you again soon.

~Alex

PS: If you do the Instagram thing, let's connect at @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

PPS: How does this land with you? I always appreciate hearing your reactions to these words.

Space to wring your heart out

Dear One,

Resting well, grieving well, loving well, fighting well.

We think these things should come naturally, but they often don't. Cultural conditioning gets its hands on us. Trauma starts renovation projects in our nervous system. Life builds scar tissue around our hearts. Overwhelm can paralyze our senses.

Sometimes, it takes real effort to just be in the truth of what is. To ride out the waves of emotion and chaos that are life's way of letting itself be known.

I hope you have a space that allows you to unravel into what's real and true for you in the moment.

To wring your heart out.

To reclaim your senses.

If the yoga mat is one of those spaces for you, join me at Saturday's 6pm Restorative Workshop with the offer of (masked) hands-on support, or drop in for my weekly Flow & Restore class on Mondays at 6pm. More details below.

These are hybrid offerings that you can join live in-studio, via livestream, or via recording. Masks are now optional in the studio (you check out JP Centre Yoga's health and safety policies).

For those of you learning to hold space for others, check out the 25hr Restorative Yoga Teacher Training, happening over May's Memorial Day Weekend.

Riding the waves alongside you,

Alex

Yoga therapists/teachers to the front

Dear One,

If you're a yoga therapist / therapeutic yoga teacher struggling to define, refine, and run your business: you're not alone. And if you also feel alone, isolated, and adrift: you're not alone in that either.

This industry, and this world, are weird AF. In the business of yoga, it's way too easy to replicate the harm we were trying to get free from when we fell in love with yoga in the first place.

Let's support each other in aligning our yoga work with our life's work and values. On MONDAY, a small group of beautiful beings will start gathering for THRIVE: Six months of small group coaching, mentorship, skill building, peer support, and mutual accountability for your yoga business.

Will you join us? Together we will tackle:

• figuring out a yoga business and work model that make sense for your unique life, and this world

• excavating the nervous system triggers and protective patterns that get in the way of you marketing yourself effectively

• practical stuff, as well as the mental/emotional stuff, to make your yoga client work flow

• best practices for being a trauma-informed, therapeutic, professional presence

• and all the other stuff that our unique constellation of participants will bring to the table ... Learn more and sign up here.

For some personalized one-on-one nervous system regulation and support, drop in for a yoga therapy or mentorship session. Hop on my scheduling page, or respond to this email with your questions.

Always shifting, learning, adapting, growing alongside you,

~Alex

New Year's Awakening & Radical Resilience

Dear One,

These times. They'll throw even the most well-regulated and well-medicated among us.

Our nervous system doesn't really differentiate between chronic stress and trauma. But then again, our nervous system doesn't really differentiate between perceived safety and actual safety. Because the world has never objectively been safe, at least not for most identities. But nervous systems can find a sense of safety within the chaos. A sense of okay-ness within the not-okay-ness.

The trick is ... where the h*ll is that nervous system switch to get us out of fight-flight-freeze-appease and into rest-digest-heal-reveal? Well, finding your regulation intervention is a very personal journey. But I do have some workshops coming up to help you stumble into soothing, sustainability, and resilience. Here's what we got:

• New Year's Awakening 12/31 at 6-7:30pm ET

• in-person at JP Centre Yoga OR via livestream, PLUS recording for 48hr

• Mindful embodied flow to help you connect to your layers of self -- energy, body, mind, emotion, and higher self. Plus journaling to help you uncover intentions and authentic needs for each part of you as you move into 2022.

PLUS

• Radical Resilience : Yoga Therapy Series 1/6, 1/13, 1/20 & 1/27 at 5:30-6:30pm ET

• virtual series PLUS recording available for 1 whole week

• Coping skills meet yoga philosophy to help you find your footing in the world. Each week we'll work with a different theme, blending embodied poses and self-inquiry. You'll have the recording so you can practice in between live sessions! And yes, there will be PowerPoint as we learn about different tools, tricks, and nervous system hacks. :)

For some personalized one-on-one nervous system regulation support, drop in for a yoga therapy session. Learn more here, or hop on my scheduling page, or respond to this email with your questions.

More details are below, along with other opportunities for practice, training, and mentorship.

Resiliently and lovingly,

~Alex

PS: If you do the Instagram thing, let's connect at @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

You are a permeable membrane

Dear One,

Hi. It's me.

I hope this email finds you in a moment where you can remember to breathe. To notice where your shoulders are. What your jaw is doing.

Remember, you are a permeable membrane.

As you move through the world, the world moves through you.

How can you meet it? What do you need to sustain, nourish and comfort yourself, so that you may sustain, nourish and comfort your part of the world? What do you need to evolve and disrupt within yourself, so that you can help evolve and disrupt what's not working in our world?

Below you'll find offerings to help you replenish what's being drained, and refocus what's being scattered. Self-care for the sake of awakening to our humanity, our creativity, our resilience -- personally and as a collective force for growth and change.

<3

~Alex

PS: If you do the Instagram thing, let's connect at @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

PS #2: On a personal note, it's been a while! I have been resting (in the way that fibroid removal surgery makes you rest; yay I did it!). I have been learning (in the way that an MSW program and internship makes you learn). And I have been reconnecting with the things that fuel me (in the way that a pandemic will make you re-assess everything). I hope to reconnect with you soon ... drop me a note if you're so inspired! <3

Tending to your mind/body filtration system

Dear One,

Maybe because my wonderful therapist is Californian, we came up with a pool metaphor. It goes something like this.

I am a pool. When my filtration system is working, my water stays relatively clear. When my filtration system is backed up, or offline, the water gets murky.

Sometimes I neglect my filtration system and it stops working well.

Sometimes life happens in a way that outpaces my filtration system.

Sometimes I try to throw a tarp over the pool and yell "Please just STOP and give me a chance to catch up with all this sh*t!"

And sometimes other things are needed, like learning how to swim in murky water, or practicing patience and acceptance with my filtration system, or calling in a support crew.

May this long-winded metaphor be a reminder to tend to your filtration system.

Things like putting the damn self-care into your calendar, placing the journal and pen by your bed, making the appointments in advance, finding ways to substantively catch up with your mind, body, emotions, and spirit.

May this be a reminder to remember what you need, and a nudge to negotiate creatively with reality to make inroads towards meeting that need.

If mindful yoga is part of your filtration system, here are upcoming ways to practice together:

• This Friday 5/14 at 5pm ET (or via recording): a re-calibrating 90min Flow & Restore practice, hosted online via JP Centre Yoga

• Fridays in June (or via recording): weekly 60min Embodied Self Care: Flow & Restore class series

• Also on Fridays in June (or via recording): 16-hour professional training in Trauma-Informed Yoga Therapy (this includes Embodied Self Care class series)

Finally, I know many of you are feeling the depth of the Covid crisis in India, and finding ways to honor the cultural interconnection with your yoga practice. By now I'm sure you've seen many opportunities to donate. Here are links compiled by Susanna Barkataki if you're looking to send some support.

If this newsletter inspires anything for you, I'd love to know. Virtual life can sometimes feel like speaking into the void ... I'd love to know what lands.

With a big breath, appreciation, and a virtual high five from my little heart to yours,

~Alex

PS: If you do the Instagram thing, let's connect at @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

Soothing from the outside in

Dear One,

When our nervous system is chronically in shutdown or fight/flight, our system does all kinds of automated and pre-patterned things to approximate safety.

Among many other survival mechanisms, our fight/flight/shutdown brain ramps up this annoying thing: NEGATIVITY BIAS.

Negativity bias *helps* us imagine, scenario-plan, and physically/emotionally/mentally brace for all possible bad things. It's different from truth telling -- it's interpretive and leans towards worsts.

In spite of what some self-help memes might say, we often can't just think/talk/choose our way out of it. It's hard to generate #positivethoughts or #gratitude when your mind is busy anticipating the worst. So instead of expecting our negatively biased brain to soothe us from the inside out, we might need to soothe from the outside in.

Here are some things you could try.

1) Recognize the negativity bias. Call it out. Get to know its voice, quirks, belief patterns. Track it to discern how it's different from your truth and wisdom. Practice taking it with a grain of salt, to not believe every thought it generates. And explore appreciating the way this well-meaning survival response is trying to protect you by keeping your guard up.

2) Soothe from the outside in, rather inside out. Get curious about what soothes and nourishes you. Notice what has only temporary effects, and what has a longer soothing shelf life. Notice what induces a physical or energetic hangover, and what creates physical or energetic refueling. Notice what feels like a privileged luxury, and what feels like a human right.

Some inspiration:

• a soothing yoga pose, movement, or other physical expression

• a weighted blanket, warmth, comforting clothing, or coziness

• focusing on lengthening your exhales

• certain foods or beverages

• authentic human connection

• a welcome distraction

Ways to practice together: If you're looking for some group practices to help shift your nervous system state, keep reading below. You'll also find updates about yoga therapy, the BIPOC scholarship fund, and Alex's children's yoga book. Coming up next:

• Flow & Restore bi-weekly series starts 2/13

• Pandemic Partner Yoga happening 2/14

From my nervous system to yours,

~Alex

PS: If your system has the capacity for books right now, Buddha's Brain offers a pretty accessible getting-to-know-you of the nervous system. If you do the Instagram thing, let's connect at @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

Starts Sunday : Embodied Self Care

Dear One,

Sometimes self-care looks a whole lot like adulting. Especially in a pandemic. It's not always indulgent, fun, or motivating. Sometimes self-care is a freakin' chore that our nervous system isn't up for. And yet the more we tend to our full selves (energy, body, mind, emotions, and higher self), the more resilient our nervous system can be.

The January Embodied Self Care Series is an experiment in nervous-system-responsive self-care. Less should's, more attunement. No forced gratitude practice. No assumptions about what's "good for you." It's a different kind of discipline. It's gently loving, witnessing, and caring for the various parts of yourself that you'd otherwise shove under the couch cushion.

Tomorrow is the kick-off class:

Embodied Self Care: Weekly Flow & Restore Series
Sundays in January from 2-3:30pm ET
(practice live or via recording, available for unlimited playback for 7 days)
For deeper presence, mental/emotional stamina, and nervous system tending

And if you're thinking about the 50-hour Trauma-Informed Yoga Therapy Training, register by 1/3 at 1pm Eastern to get free enrollment in January's Sunday series!

And thanks for receiving my many emails, social media posts, and carrier pigeons. It's weird being a yoga teacher these days. I'm so grateful for yoga in Zoomland to help us stay connected, to ourselves and each other.

From my nervous system to yours,

~Alex

PS: If you do the Instagram thing, let's connect at @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

Bridging the distance within

Dear One,

We will not spiritually bypass our way out of 2020. We will not love-and-light our way into 2021. We will be real. We will be present. We will be in touch with ourselves, and the world. We will hold the pain alongside the fury and the joy and the boredom. We will hold the complexity of being okay and not okay at the same time.

Or we'll try. It's a practice, after all.

Here are some practices for body-heart-mind-soul regeneration over the next month. I know I need it.

New Year's Awakening
12/31 from 6-7:30pm ET (+ recorded)
Flow, Restore, & Meditative Reflection with Journaling throughout

Embodied Care: Weekly Flow & Restore Series
Sundays in January from 2-3:30pm ET (+ recorded)
For deeper presence, mental/emotional stamina, and nervous system tending

50-hour Trauma-Informed Yoga Therapy Training
Select weekend days January 30 - March 28
For current/aspiring yoga teachers, therapists, and healing professionals

Thank you for all you're doing and sacrificing in service of personal and public health. We were not built for this kind of distance. But in the meantime, we can try to bridge the distance we feel from our Selves.

~Alex

Our liberation is tied up together

Dear One,

Sometimes we think we're helping someone else, when really we are (also) helping ourselves.

When we work towards racial equity in yoga, we're actually working towards a cultural shift in the wellness industry. Inclusive, welcoming, diverse, safer, body-affirming, trauma-informed yoga spaces are ultimately better for everyone.

So this Saturday, let's pool our individual efforts to make a big collective impact. Join us *virtually* for a special JP Centre Yoga fundraiser class in support of BIPOC Yoga Teacher Training Fellowships! Flow with Johnathon Holmes, restore with me, and community mat chat with Chanelle John. Practice live at 1-3pm Eastern, or via recording (available for 48 hrs).

All $ raised will go towards scholarships and mentorship for aspiring yoga teachers who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC). See details below, along with info about the New Year's eve workshop, January Flow & Restore series, and Yoga Therapy Training.

Because our liberation is tied up together.

~Alex

Priority registration now open

Dear One,

If you've ever thought about yoga therapy training, let's talk about this:

50-hour Trauma-Informed Yoga Therapy Training + Practicum
Online with yours truly, Alex Bauermeister
January 30 - March 28, 2021

Priority registration is now open to folx on my email list before I start promoting in social media land! See below, along with December class announcements and a sneak peak at the January flow & restore series.

Riding the waves alongside you,

~Alex

PS: If you do the Instagram thing, let's connect at @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

Grief & evolution in the yoga industry

Dear One,

Reminder: grief will sometimes reveal itself easily. But it's also a master of disguise, cloaking itself in another emotion, nesting in your mind, burrowing in your heart, sitting on your chest.

There's so much to grieve in this moment. So much has been lost. Within the yoga industry, it's not just the ability to come together in collective, face-to-face, breath-to-breath practice. The losses are personal, communal, cultural, political, economic, spiritual, relational. The ruptures are also shedding light on long-standing cracks in the system.

If there's something for the yoga industry to gain, it's an awareness of itself. An awareness of its systemic biases, shortcomings, problematic practices. A chance to evolve. And with evolution comes new tools.

For yoga teachers (or teaching-curious practitioners), I have two trainings coming up to expand your toolbox and support you in your own evolution and growth:

• Trauma-Inclusive Yoga Teaching: Mini Training with Alex 10/18

• Restorative Yoga Immersion & Skills Training with Alex & Brenna 11/6 - 11/9

For all, here are upcoming classes that provide care for your mind, body, heart, energy and nervous system to navigate this incredibly complex time:

• Flow & Restore: Nervous System Reset 10/18

• November Restorative Series: 5 Sundays via JP Centre Yoga Online

Weekly anti-oppression practice space, aka Office Hours, continues on Wednesdays in October.

If you're moved to, send me a note! My nervous system will thank you for the interaction and connection.

~Alex

PS: If you'd like to connect on Instagram, follow @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

Protective, not defective

Dear One,

Sometimes we're so good at adapting to the world that we forget to remember what we're missing.

So. If you don't love who you are right now, there's a reason. If you don't love how you're coping right now, there's a reason. In survival mode, what seems defective is actually protective, as Resmaa Menakem would say.

You might feel very far away from yourself. Self-care is about getting closer to yourself, coming back towards the part of you that can be steady, sturdy, and flexible beneath the waves. It's a freakin' discipline.

Some ways to practice coming back to ourselves this week: Anti-Oppression Office Hours Wednesdays, and Flow & Restore this Friday for a Nervous System Reset (with unlimited replays for 2 weeks).

Right there in the practice with you.

~Alex

PS: If you'd like to connect on Instagram, follow @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

[Virtual yoga classes and human growth offerings for nervous system regulation and transformation]

Ways to refuel this week (& beyond)

Dear One,

When so much is being asked of us, we need all the refueling stations that we can get.

WEDNESDAY: One more Office Hours session August 19th at 12pm EST, then starting up again September 9th. This is anti-oppression practice space for white folx working to untangle our insides and outsides from white supremacy culture. White anti-racism affinity group space supplements the social justice growth process, and drop-in's are welcome. Learn more and register

THURSDAY: I'll be teaching another Flow & Restore class for a Nervous System Reset (and the recording will be available for 14 days). This is for anyone who feels like their self-care practice is in the sh*tter. For anyone who knows they need stillness, but stillness feels impossible. For anyone who knows they need to move, but the heaviness feels non-negotiable. For anyone who kinda remembers what wisdom feels like, but seems to have forgotten the lock combination. Live on Thursday 8/20 @ 6-7:30pm EST, or register to practice via recording. Sliding scale $0-$25. Learn more and register

I'd also love to give a shout-out to what's sure to be a powerful training starting this week with an amazing teacher, Kelley Palmer: Race & Equity in Yoga: Disruption as a Practice. Registration closes Monday 8/17.

Right there in the practice with you.

~Alex

PS: I'm doing a lot of communication via Instagram at this time, so I welcome you to follow @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

Disentangling from dominant culture

Dear One,

Our dominant culture tells us that we are meant to be productivity machines. That we only deserve to rest once we've exerted. That our mind is who we are. That the only way to know, is to overthink. To be a human doing, not a human being.

But there's more to you than that.

You have a body that deserves care and appreciation.

You have energy levels that need nourishment and resets.

You have a mind that needs gentle checks and balances.

You have emotions that need space to flow and breathe.

And you have a deeper kind of discernment, intuition, and higher self that wants to be in relationship with you, to signal truth, guidance, and unhurried, wise action.

I hope you'll join me for upcoming practices that help us nourish these layers of self (Koshas), and disentangle dominant culture from our bodies, minds, hearts, and nervous systems.

Read below about weekly Wednesday Office Hours for Anti-Oppression Work, and the upcoming virtual Flow & Restore: Nervous System Reset class this Friday 7/24 at 6pm EST (live and recorded).

From my humanness to yours,

~Alex

PS: I'm doing a lot of communication via Instagram at this time, so I welcome you to follow @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy. And for some music to help you ride the waves of this time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

Race & Racism in the Yoga Industry

Dear One,

I’m honored to be supporting Chanelle John of Hive Soul Yoga this Saturday in facilitating a candid conversation about race and racism in the yoga industry. Open to all in the yoga sphere -- students, teachers, and studio owners. JP Centre Yoga is hosting us and holding space for this important reckoning, self-study, and community growth. I hope you'll join us -- virtually via Zoom. Details are below and here.

If you’d like some embodied preparation, check out Resmaa Menakem’s ON BEING podcast interview. He speaks about his book, My Grandmother’s Hands, on racialized trauma, and how starting the healing process within our own bodies is key.

Fierce love,

~Alex

PS: I'm doing a lot of communication via Instagram at this time, so I welcome you to follow @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy.

PPS: If you need some music to help you ride the waves of this stormy time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister. Just started a new one today called "Brave New World".

Surviving the moment

Dear One,

These layers of trauma are acute and complex. They're subtle and obvious. They're personal, cultural, historical, intergenerational, political, individual, communal.

My work as a yoga teacher is to help you navigate the moment, so that you can be an agent of transforming the moment. Small, incremental shifts of progress, through the thorny briar.

And yeah, sometimes the best we can do is survive it, with whatever brilliant survival skills our systems are programmed for.

Whatever your sphere of influence is, I hope you use your own power, privilege and nervous system availability to help someone else navigate the wild terrain.

Below are some upcoming opportunities to practice together. <3

~Alex

PS: I'm doing a lot of communication via Instagram at this time, so feel free to follow @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy.

PPS: If you need some music to help you ride the waves of this stormy time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

Dislodging Impostor Syndrome

Dear One,

This Thursday, we're getting specific: impostor syndrome, viewed through a trauma-informed lens. This virtual workshop will include yoga to help you get out of your head and into your body, coupled with self-study, journaling and discussion prompts to help you get from Fear to Fierce. Details below!

~Alex

PS: I'm doing a lot of communication via Instagram at this time, so feel free to follow @alexbauermeisteryogatherapy.

PPS: If you need some music to help you ride the waves of this stormy time, check out my public playlists on Spotify under abauermeister.

Fear to Fierce: Transforming Impostor Syndrome

Dethrone your inner critic and transform impostor syndrome so you can do the meaningful work the world needs of you. In this workshop, Alex will guide meditation, embodiment and journaling to help you get at the roots of your roadblocks and get unstuck. You’ll cultivate a middle ground between humility and confidence, contentment and innovation, wisdom and drive. We’ll apply a trauma-informed perspective to self-doubt, fear and perfectionism, so that you can move forward with compassionate understanding for the needs of your unique nervous system.

We’ll connect through Zoom. Come with your journal, a comfortable seat, and space to stretch and move to support inner reflection and self-inquiry. We’ll close with some optional community sharing and discussion to inspire each other’s courage and joy. This workshop is designed for anyone struggling with impostor syndrome in their current or aspirational work.

Thursday May 14th from 6-7:30pm Eastern Standard Time ** Workshop will be recorded, so you’re welcome to join live or tune in to the recording. You can access the recording to practice on your own time for 7 days after the workshop.
*** I have one birth doula client in May. If their birth coincides with the day of this workshop, it will be rescheduled to Monday May 18th from 6-7:30pm EST.

Sliding scale:

• $35 full fee

• $25 if you’re somewhat financially impacted (use coupon code DISCOUNT10)

• $15 if you’re severely financially impacted (use coupon code DISCOUNT20)

Coping during Covid

Dear One,

As you watch yourself react to the state of your world, please remember : the range of normal is long and wide.

It's normal to cry, suddenly, for "no reason".
There's always a reason, even if it takes an indirect route through your brain.

It's normal to not feel much -- or to numb yourself towards feeling less.
The shutdown/freeze response is our body's way of managing overwhelm.

It's normal to start ALL the home beautification projects.
Your mobilized fight/flight energy needs an outlet.

It's normal to realize you're actually fine, and to feel guilty about it.
Inequity is real, privilege is real, and feeling guilty is your brain's 1st step to mobilize you towards actively sharing resources.

It's normal to have stress dreams.
Your brain is negotiating with danger IRL and needs to do scenario planning.

It's normal to be angrier than usual.
Your fight response gathers strength in rage, aggression and defensiveness.

It's normal to be worried about yourself and others.
We are wired to get stressed about threats to our survival ... worry helps us figure out how to survive and care for each other.

It's normal to hoard things you don't yet need.
Your nervous system wants to keep you as safe as possible. It might not trust that your community will take care of you. It might need you to teach it about collective care vs. self centered care.

It's normal to wish for a different number of people living with you.
Feeling trapped in your environment can wreak havoc on your system.

It's normal to sleep more. Or less.
Sleep can be a great escape hatch (flight) or a byproduct of shutdown (freeze). On the other hand, hypervigilance might keep you up, on edge, protecting your nest.

It's normal for your self-care-for-mental-health-care routine to crumble.
Stillness might not feel safe, movement might not feel possible, your practice might not translate to a screen, feeling your body might be incompatible with a trauma response. The couch might feel safer than going outside.

We're in it. And when we're in it, practicing compassion towards your own nervous system responses, and towards others', sets off a domino effect that can make trauma less traumatic.

From my nervous system to yours,

~Alex