Trauma informed. It sounds good but that term isn’t well understood by the general public and has been diluted by the wellness community by click bait, quick buck certifications. There’s an assumption that because yoga is often recommended for ptsd, chronic pain, anxiety and depression that any and all yoga is trauma informed and that is simply not true. Today on The Work IN we’re taking a look at what being trauma informed means, what it looks like in yoga classes and why it’s something that all fit pros should understand. Today's discussion is going to focus on yoga but it applies across the fitness industry to all formats.

No matter how strong, fit or healthy we all get injuries from time to time. It’s petrifying for fit pros because so many of us are contractors so no work no pay. I don’t know any instructor who hasn’t had to deal with an injury from time to time. Sometimes you have to take time off. But you can take less time off if you know how to teach off the mat. Today on the work IN we’re talking about how to navigate recovery and maybe up our instructor skills along the way.

Co-regulation is a full format communication skill that’s rooted in your own self regulation and awareness, defined by your personal and professional boundaries and directed by curiosity and discernment. These things are accessible to all of us with practice.

When we are looking to raise the bar for both ourselves and our students we have to start somewhere. And today's work IN we’re going to get into the nitty gritty, boots on the ground for how to integrate gold standard instructor skills that are so simple but they’ll take your craft to the next level, make you more comfortable in your own skin and inoculate you against the dreaded imposter syndrome. These are things you can apply to pretty much any area of your life where you come into contact with other human beings.

That skill is holding space. What does that mean? Safety, Predictability, Agency, Communication, Energy…

For coaches it is really easy to get that certification and then just ride it for a while. And if you’re not careful the ever changing world of wellness will leave you behind. Science changes, health recommendations changes, people and society change.  And what it means for you to be a good coach changes. And all those things are important because you never know who will be standing in front of you at any given time. And if you’re not big on self awareness and you haven’t cultivated any understanding of human nature, communication skills or holding space you risk your students.

In my experience there isn’t much certification or continuing education providers can do to guarantee any level of or standard of quality in their fitness professionals. Let’s face it, if you know how to take a test or can spend a weekend at a conference you can get certified in pretty much anything. The fitness industry doesn’t provide any professional oversight. It’s up to the individual fitness professional to raise the bar and perhaps for our students and clients to raise their expectations.

So the next few podcast episodes we’re going to focus on that idea. How to Raise the bar as a fit pro in any format, one on one and group setting, for yourself personally, your professional credibility and your clients. Today we’re starting at the top by challenging certification mediocrity.