ALI RAE

ECY TEACHER

Ali came to yoga early in her recovery, joining one of ECY’s outreach classes in 2014. She was struck by how powerful a simple movement and breath practice could be in lifting and lowering the nervous system, bringing a sense of balance which, over time, created enough safety for her to start to reconnect with her body and breath. Essentially, yoga opened her to trust.

Keen to enable others to experience the healing benefits of yoga, she was encouraged by ECY to undertake training with The Minded Institute, London in Yoga Therapy and Mindfulness for Addictions and, subsequently, for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Ali was then able to support her peers in the recovery class and also start assisting in a class for women who had experienced trauma. In 2017 she went on to do the Yoga Scotland Foundation course and the following year was fortunate to be awarded a scholarship by ECY and The Yogologist, Shaura Hall, to embark on her Yoga Teacher Training programme. In the years that followed she went on to do training in Meditation and Yoga Nidra, whilst continuing to teach in the recovery community, a women’s trauma class, a veterans residence and a homeless drop-in.

Ali has a real depth of understanding as to how trauma, of whatever nature, continues to play out over our lifetime – and she knows on a visceral level that it sits deep within our bodies and breath patterns. With this understanding, she guides students in cultivating a felt sense of their body and an awareness of their breath, in the present moment, and shares mindful movement and breath practices which help to regulate the nervous system and nurture a sense of safety. If time allows, she also likes to incorporate Yoga Nidra into her classes to offer students the opportunity for deep rest, an essential part of the healing process.