Episode # 77: Accessible Yoga for the Brain Injury Community with Amy Zellmer
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In this episode I sit down with Amy Zellmer an award-winning author, speaker, traumatic brain injury survivor, and Editor-in-chief of MN YOGA + Life magazine. She suffered a life-changing traumatic brain injury (TBI) after a slip and fall on black ice. Since then, she has published four books that focus on concussion and TBI and, in 2019, began publishing The Brain Health Magazine.
Together we explore:
Amy’s journey into Yoga through a brain injury
Entering the world of brain injuries and understanding the limitations from the rest of the society
Amy’s journey through online teacher training
Online Yoga with the brain injury community
Breaking down the benefits of the online community for individuals with brain injuries - allowing people to stay connected
How to handle spaces that are not accessible
Importance of understanding the needs of students if using the language of accessible yoga
Accessible Yoga and Body Positive Yoga
Resourcing and recommending other teachers based on their strengths
Know your audience
Marketing and being in integrity with the language of accessibility
Having the right resources for people to be supported
Amy’s journey into acquiring the MN Yoga and Life Magazine
How Imposter syndrome showed up for Amy when she started her journey with the Yoga Life Magazine
Practices for working through imposter syndrome - Meditation, self work and Reiki
Lessons Learned from the community
How perfection and the desire for more training can hold us back
Letting go if people don’t like you and understanding our own validation patterns
Vision for the MN Yoga + Life Magazine being published twice a year and would like to grow it until 3 times a year
Amy shares her personal vision and what is ahead
How busyness can show up as an avoidance mechanism
Untapped power of educating the yoga community on brain injuries
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