I'm Nicole Westlund, a Twin Cities based yoga facilitator.
About | My Background
When I was fourteen, my mom took me to my first yoga class. Slowly, yoga became a steady pillar of my life. It evolved into my primary movement practice, started me on a path of mindfulness and embodiment, and led me to meet an incredible community of educators, facilitators and friends.
My professional work with underserved youth along with my own personal healing arc has yielded a strong draw to trauma-informed spaces.
Over the years, I have stumbled upon teachers that layer the movements of yoga with trauma-informed facilitation. This combination has given me the opportunity to discover what it means to have a body with autonomy and choice in this world. For that, I am forever grateful for this practice and hope to provide a similar space to those that think it may be useful for them.
My professional work with underserved youth along with my own personal healing arc has yielded a strong draw to trauma-informed spaces.
Over the years, I have stumbled upon teachers that layer the movements of yoga with trauma-informed facilitation. This combination has given me the opportunity to discover what it means to have a body with autonomy and choice in this world. For that, I am forever grateful for this practice and hope to provide a similar space to those that think it may be useful for them.
About | My Approach
I approach yoga with the belief that everyone is the expert of their own experience. In the wise words of Judith Herman, "no intervention that takes power away from the survivor can foster [their] recovery, no matter how much it appears to be in [their] immediate best interest." As a facilitator, I believe it is my responsibility to take into account how trauma can show up, and do my best to create a practice that allows for individuals to experiment with autonomy over their choices.
Ultimately, I see a movement practice as a way to experiment with our own sense of agency and what it means to choose what we do with our bodies. Trauma survivors deserve spaces, facilitators, and movement practices that prioritize them and that is my intention when offering this practice.
In 2020, I received my 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher Training from Up Yoga in Minneapolis, MN. In 2023, I received my 300 hour Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator (TCTSY-F) Certification from the Center for Trauma and Embodiment in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Ultimately, I see a movement practice as a way to experiment with our own sense of agency and what it means to choose what we do with our bodies. Trauma survivors deserve spaces, facilitators, and movement practices that prioritize them and that is my intention when offering this practice.
In 2020, I received my 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher Training from Up Yoga in Minneapolis, MN. In 2023, I received my 300 hour Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator (TCTSY-F) Certification from the Center for Trauma and Embodiment in Brookline, Massachusetts.
