It has been delightful to mentor and support Lydia in her development as a trauma informed movement facilitator. I've witnessed her carefully tend to her passion and curiosity for learning and embracing a trauma informed lens.
Lydia carries the gifts of presence and authenticity, core components for creating a brave practice space. As a skilled movement facilitator, she has been consistent in her commitment to integrating trauma informed care. For myself as a person who specializes in trauma informed care, I have struggled to find practitioners to practice with. However, Lydia is someone I subscribe to and return to with frequency, trusting her authentic language of choice and presence.
- Nicola Mosley
Trauma Center-Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator and Trainer
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“Lydia was the first teacher to help me connect the dots between mega flexibility and over activation within my nervous system. I took some classes with her on the tensegrity series and the practice felt like a tune up and a warm hug: grounding, insulating, and nourishing. Lydia's knowledge about anatomy and her insights into ways we can experientially deepen into our body through curiosity and listening are super helpful - it led me to a stronger awareness of my joint space and connected me more clearly to some of the "noise" my body was producing in motion. One of the things I value most about this practice is how it highlights the relationship between ease of movement, strength, and tensional balance in the body in a way that benefits my whole posture practice as well as other disciplines of movement and physical activity that I take.”
Jade Ponech Yoga Teacher
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“When I reflect on what I am loving about Lydia and her classes ...
~ the playfulness she is drawing out of me
~the strength and the stability cueing she gives - soooo good!
~the creativity, oh my endless creativity!
~her ability to help me find my body with the forms she chooses, with the language she uses, with the suggestions/prompts
~her intentionality in the sequences
~her awareness of her own body, and with that, helping me become more aware of my body (coregulation)
~her laugh
~her curiosity
~her wisdom
~the fact bath after 3 weeks of practicing I am trying arm balances I never would have before!
~the fact that off the mat I am more aware of my body, and can contract and engage better my musculature doing other physical pursuits, AND I feel inspired in asana
~I am feeling like a badass!
She is a gift beyond all measure.
I thank my lucky stars for her and her presence in this world.”
Dana Powell 500 E-RYT, Pain Care Aware Teacher, Physical Therapist
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“Lydia has a real knack for creating refreshing and novel sequences which address so many aspects of one’s essence.”
- Bev Hughes Rowely
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"Thanks as ever for this, I always love myself a tiny bit more after a session with you."
"It's like my body wanted to shine and smile and send the message inward ..something like "hey look fighter jet pilot, cool it. this body, soul, and mind is absolutely an attack free zone."
(participant after a practice)
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"Lydia’s trauma approach to yoga has changed the direction of my life. Our bodies store patterns of thought as much as physical injury. What we believe often limits who we can be.
Active recovery, strong flows, philosophy, playfulness and breaking patterns: these are all present in this digital studio. It’s so easy to experience yoga so that we “look or sound the part”. Isn’t most of life like that too? But with Lydia’s practices and Lindsey’s functional workouts, I frequently drop into the mystery and magic of my evolving embodiment.
I have shared my journey with Lydia, my insights and gains, and she has responded with curiosity, appreciation, compassion and direction. All of this has been online! At the heart of yoga is the ability to deal calmly with tension, to find my edge, go over it, or stay behind it, to be present with my limitations and then play-forward my growth.
For 34 years I have dealt with inflamed joints (autoimmune issues) and countless bike crashes, but once yoga found me, and in particular, since I started working with Lydia’s practices, I feel like I am 18 and sometimes 8 again. I used to take ibuprofen daily, but now I rarely need it. I sleep better, move more freely and powerfully, but also dream of floating to Tadasana or back to Chaturanga Dandasana. I fancy myself a Padawan, learning about prana or the force, and for someone who saw Star Wars in 1977 in the theater, that’s a strengthy feeling."
- David Goldstein