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Amy meets with Dr. Gail Parker, Gail is an author, Psychologist and a Yoga Therapist. She is the author of Restorative Yoga for Ethnic and Race-Based Stress and Trauma and is the current president of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance (BYTA) Board of Directors. Her second book will come out in November 2021 and is the practical handbook that goes with her first book. The second book is called Transforming Ethnic and Race Based Traumatic Stress with Yoga and it is on pre-order now.

Dr. Parker is a lifelong practitioner of yoga and is well known for her pioneering efforts to blend Psychology, yoga, and meditation as effective self-care strategies that can enhance emotional balance and contribute to the overall health and wellbeing of practitioners.

They discuss the following:

·        Gail’s Yoga Journal Cover, and how she felt about it the experience start to finish

·        Feeling completely aligned with your internal self and external image

·        Aging and the challenges/ joys age brings

·        The importance of therapists practicing self-care that makes them feel safe inside so that we can connect with other humans. No safety = no connection = no healing

·        The Nervous System and Its role in race-based trauma and stress

·        Creating a safe internal environment as the key to healing (no matter what the reality of the external environment presents to us)

·        The importance of the therapeutic relationship in healing and how to build trust with clients (note: it is an inside job)

·        Gail’s upcoming book (see above)

·        Difference between trauma and grief

May’s podcasts are sponsored by Teddy’s Heart:  

https://teddysheart.org

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http://www.kym.org

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We have all benefitted from the ancient wisdom of India and her people, so it feels really great to be able to serve in this way. The Optimal State family has pledged on-going support of $500 per month, to go directly to KYM Mitra (www.kym.org). We will collect the monies and gift them each month. Please consider a recurring monthly payment to the fund. Even a small gift or intention makes a difference! If we make more than $500 in any given month, it will roll into the following month’s payment. The hope is that we can contribute for many years to come. If you even lose the link to donate, it is at the top of the homepage at www.amywheeler.com also. I will be reporting on the website the progress, how much money is coming in at any given time and where we are in the process of getting this project off the ground.

Here is the link for you to get started with your donation. We are so happy that you have decided to join us. We thank you for the bottom of our hearts!

Link to click in the description: 

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Music by

Peter Morely

Meet Dr. Gail Parker

Gail’s article https://blackyogateachersalliance.org/love-the-heart-of-the-matter/

Yoga Journal with Gail https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/golden-age-doctor-gail-parker/

Article on grief, guilt and trauma mentioned in the podcast https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/23/christopher-martin-george-floyd-minneapolis-cup-foods

Check out Amy's website