Becky Thompson, PhD, is a scholar, poet, activist and yoga teacher whose work focuses on trauma and healing. She is the author of Survivors on the Yoga Mat and several other books related to social justice and healing. She is Department Chair and Professor of Sociology at Simmons College and a senior level yoga instructor who teaches at conferences, workshops, and community centers internationally. Becky’s poetry can be found in her book, Zero Is the Whole I Fall into at Night as well as The Harvard Review, Tidal Basin Review and Sinister Wisdom. Her honors and awards include Rockefeller and Ford Fellowships, the Gustavus Myers Award for Outstanding Books on Human Rights, the Mosaic Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Creative Justice Poetry Prize. Please visit www.beckythompsonyoga.com
Desc
Our attitudes, knowledge and treatment of trauma has changed over time. When I was a child, people rarely spoke openly about trauma. They hid it out of shame or a misguided belief that they should tough it out. Some, like my father, dealt with childhood abuse by creating the outer appearance of a successful, happy family. Others, like my aunt, whose oldest son died in WWII, paced the floor while talking to herself, struggling to find the will to go on. Then counseling became acceptable and dominated the field until drugs became a panacea. Now we know that some things canât be put into words or solved with a pill. Research shows us that when we have no way of understanding what is happening to us or the skills to process it and let it go, our painful experiences, thoughts and emotions get stored in our bodies. Thatâs why some of the new work that focuses on healing through the body is so important. Please join us Thursday to learn how yoga, meditation and spirituality can heal trauma.
