June Jaunts
Since my May newsletter, book #2 launched on Amazon. I am still enjoying the number #1 position in New Releases in Medical General Psychology.
It might seem like a small thing, but I must say it is a bit of a buzz seeing the gold #1 in New Release sticker. Buzz is hard come by during the months of solitary slogging to bring a book to completion. It was also lovely to have a Launch Party in person, something I didn’t get to experience the first time around because of the pandemic.
Another significant difference with this book is that while I am the author and the director of the project, I got to involve 25 wonderful folks – who helped bring my vision to life. I often write about yoga being for every body, they showed us that yoga truly is for everybody. One of the comments that I already hear quite a bit is “they have shoes on,” or “look, they’re not in yoga clothes,” or “I see myself in this line-up.” That makes my heart sing.
I don’t want to make this a whole newsletter about my new book (though, for sure, the practices in the card deck/book will contribute to your wellbeing), but I do want to take time to celebrate the moment. I asked some professional colleagues for some reviews. I am always amazed and deeply grateful when busy people take time out of their schedule to endorse a book. I often find that they more someone has published, and often the more well-known they are in the field, the quicker they respond to a request for a review.
I want to include a few of these review’s here – all of them can be found on Amazon under “Editorial Reviews.” Stephen Porges, the originator of polyvagal theory, is one of those accessible scientists. Here’s what he said:
“Joanne Spence has distilled the yoga practices that she eloquently described in her book, Trauma-Informed Yoga: A Toolbox for Therapists, into the Trauma-Informed Yoga Card Deck. This efficient and accessible deck complements her book by providing succinct instructions and illustrations of practices that serve as ‘neural exercises’ to calm the autonomic nervous system and optimize nervous system regulation. Users can select specific practices to form a personalized toolkit that can be easily accessed and implemented throughout the day.”
―Stephen W. Porges, PhD, distinguished university scientist and founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium, Kinsey Institute, Indiana University Bloomington; professor of psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Then there’s Andy Gonzalez, one of the co-founders of the Holistic Life Foundation. We met over ten years ago. We often hang out at the same conferences. But now he, and his co-founders, Ali and Atman Smith (brothers), regularly give keynote speeches at bigtime conferences. We got together again at the National Social and Emotional Learning Conference in Lancaster, PA last month. They were giving the keynote and promoting their new book, “Let Your Light Shine.” Theirs is an amazing story of moving back to the hood in Baltimore and of their rising interest in yoga and their journey learning the ropes of having a meditation practice. They share their story of how they started working in schools and all the challenges along the way. Their story story inspires me to keep going. It’s real and honest. If you want to know what teaching yoga in schools is really like, read this book! Here’s what Andy said about my book:
Joanne Spence's Trauma-Informed Yoga Card Deck is a perfect companion to her book Trauma-Informed Yoga: A Toolbox for Therapists. The beautifully designed informative cards provide a variety of practical techniques that will benefit people of all ages.
- Andres Anirt Gonzalez, co-founder Holistic Life Foundation, Baltimore, MD
The final review I will share with you is from Catherine Cook-Cottone:
The Trauma-informed Yoga Card Deck is a hands-on, visual, and instructional tool that will help you bring embodied practices into your healing and recovery journey and help you share these practices with others. Joanne Spence, a certified yoga therapist, has transformed years of yoga teaching experience into this easy-to-use yoga card deck. A welcoming and accessible format, the trauma-informed practices are modeled by a diverse group of relatable people and the instructions are clear and concise. You do not need years of yoga training or studio practice to get started. With this deck, you will know just what to do!
- Catherine Cook-Cottone, PhD., C-IAYT, Professor of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo and author of six books on mindfulness and embodiment in mental health treatment
I have to pinch myself because I am also co-authoring a book with Catherine who is the author if six books on mindfulness. Our book is for yoga teachers in training. Coming to you sometime in 2024.
Here are some pictures of us celebrating at the Launch Party. About fifty people showed up at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary on a hot June evening! It feels good to soak in this moment and feel the satisfaction of completing something big. But, it is also easy to miss the moment because of the busyness of life. Has that ever happened to you? I know it can be tough, but see if you can make space for celebrating special moments in your life. Pause and take it in.
What I am listening to and thinking about
I enjoy listening to the Tim Ferriss Podcast. Over the years, the podcast has introduced me to people that had not been on my radar. So when Kelly Starrett was recently a guest, I leaned in. I had heard of Kelly before. I was introduced to his work through Jill Miller of Yoga Tune-Up Fitness. I use the yoga tune-up fitness balls several times a week as part of my own practice.
The podcast is long form (2+ hours) and a lot to take in but there’s a couple of key points I took from the podcast that I’d like to share with you. First, there was a lot of overlap with my thoughts and teaching on yoga and the concept that yoga is for everybody. I like hearing someone who is a doctor of physical therapy and author and trainer of world acclaim promote the same things. For an example – stop and think of your what your body needs in order to go through a typical week? This is called functional movement. It includes movements like squatting, raising your hands over your head (think airport scanner at TSA), and sitting on the floor. A gentle yoga practice has names for these poses – standing squat (goddess), chair pose, easy sitting pose.
Kelly says “if you don’t breath in the pose you don’t own it.” This is also another way of saying “only move in your pain-free range of motion and link your breath to your movement.” These are two of the ten foundational principles I write about and that my work is based on. The skills we learn transfer to functional movements. It is not about doing the perfect Tree Pose, it is about learning to balance and have both stability and mobility as your move through your day.
I love that Kelly mentioned that the emphasis on the simple movements and breath work are “hard to monetize.” Why? Because you already have what you need in order to do these movements at home and inside of yourself. Yes – so true – which is why I feel as if I state the obvious much of the time when I teach yoga. Only to realize that some of the finer points of doing yoga and being mindful are because of years of practice and are not known or at least not understood to be as powerful as they are until you practice them over and over. Because if they were understood then surely everyone would be doing them. I have noticed we want to take a pill or do a course that “will change your life” rather than use what we already have and practice what we may already know (on a daily basis).
Other sound bites I enjoyed (from Starrett’s new book “Built to Move”):
- Rinse, wash, and repeat for a few decades
- Progressive overload
- Do Warrior 1 to nurture hip extension
- Become skilled at moving
- His latest book “Built to Move” is for those who have been “left out”
- Eat fruits and veggies and you will have less desire and need for crackers and toast
- Lymph – the body’s filter system
To listen to the whole podcast, click here.
Where you can find me over the summer
I am taking a break from seeing clients and teaching classes this summer in order to finish book three, lead some workshops, and take some downtime to enjoy the summer.
I will be teaching in person at the some beautiful places. Here’s where you can connect, find more details, and register below.
Kripalu
For details click here.
Chautauqua Institute
Click here for the Special Studies Catalog. Look for me on page 36: Embodied Writing Practice and page 27: Kind Yoga.
On writing a short review
Lastly, thanks for reading this far. I am glad you here and learning some of the ways you can take care of yourself better. If you are able to free up ten minutes (or less), here’s a link that takes you to my linktree profile. From there it is a matter of clicking each link to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or Barnes and Noble. You do not need to have purchased the card deck book to write a review. It really is a huge help to authors when you take the time to do this.
Tip: If you are not sure what to say, try this: hold the card deck book in your hands. Get quiet and still for a few moments, then flip the card deck book open to any practice. Read it, then try it out. Write what happened and say how you feel. That’s it. Of course, you can say more if you wish, but that’s all I mean when I ask for a short, honest review. If you don’t have the card deck book, you can go to my YouTube channel and watch one of video clips of me leading one of the practices.
Many, many thanks.
Be well!
Joanne