The Branches would like to offer a care package of yoga resources to our neighbours who may be experiencing grief and pain connected to harms to their communities. After the ongoing discoveries of unmarked children’s graves at residential school sites across the country (215 in Kamloops, 751 in Saskatchewan and more being reported on every day) and the murder of the Afzaal family in London, we want to offer both solidarity and support to Muslim and Indigenous community members who are hurting.
At The Branches, we approach Yoga from the perspective that everyone is dealing with or healing from stresses and trauma of some kind. We believe that trauma can occur for individuals and communities even if the violence in question does not extend directly to them; the impact of hearing news stories can bring up all kinds of feelings and experiences, from numbness and shock, to fear, confusion, anxiety or guilt. All of our teachers instruct with a trauma-aware lens, acknowledging that everyone has unique experiences and different needs. In our practice videos you will be encouraged to choose what makes sense for your own physical and emotional needs as you move.
Our Community Care Package includes 20 practice videos: our Yoga Foundations series for getting started with the practice of yoga postures, our Yoga for Stress Relief series, an introduction to Yoga for Trauma Recovery, and a variety of gentle self-care practice videos.
This offering is not linked to any promotions – your email will not be added to any of our newsletter lists, and you will not be marketed to in any way. Our aim is to practice Community Care by sharing our resources. However, we do want to extend the warm invitation that you are very welcome to join us at The Branches for yoga and community events if the way that we teach and hold space feels healing for you. We have sliding-scale priced daily live classes, both online and in-person. We would love to share community space with you.
If you are a member of a Muslim or Indigenous community, click this link to get access to the Care Package. You will need the ability to stream videos to access this package, and you will have access to the videos forever (or as long as we’re around).
The Branches 