Graduate Spotlight on Nicole, Aleksandra and Tammy
Online Yoga School Greater Community
Nicole Ashley Chuba is a Chronic Illness Movement Coach, Certified Yoga Teacher, and founder of nicolechuba.com – a blog dedicated to helping women with chronic illness reduce tension in the body through low-impact movement and mindfulness.
Nicole understands how you must work with the body, not against it, in order to manage chronic pain. Determined to create a holistic pain management routine, Nicole established a program influenced by yoga, tai chi, and the body's natural movement. Nicole provides movement techniques that help women heal and establish a connection with the body. Because no two bodies are alike, the program is designed for student and teacher to meet through a 1:1 consultation where routines are custom-tailored to individual needs. Nicole is known for her understanding teaching style and passion to help people work with their body on a deeper level. For more information head to nicolechuba.com or reach out to Nicole at [email protected].
Meet Aleksandra J. Labucka. She is a yoga teacher and a personal trainer at the gym.
Aleksandra finds that yoga and weightlifting are not the opposites, instead they perfectly complement each other. She offers private yoga for weightlifters online so gym people can have the benefits of yoga and stretching wherever they are, all around the world, at the comfort of their homes.
Her website is: www.ajlfitness.com and IG: @aleksandra.j.labucka
By: Tammy Fuller
“This is Yoga”
Today I participated in a session of deep yin yoga with the set intention of love and gratitude. When we got to the “½ split” on my left leg, we visited gratitude for that leg. I got tears in my eyes when I said, “Thanks, leg. We sure played a lot of hopscotch together!” I immediately flashbacked into a schoolyard in 1976 and a bully. I was immediately aware of long buried pain and shame. I loved myself for being open to this and let the yin do its job.
You see, yoga has been touted forever as a profound therapy. In the book, The Body Keeps the Score, yoga is referred to over and over as a top recommended therapy, in fact, for PTSD and APTSD (Acquired PTSD). This book has been on the top of the non-fiction/self-help charts for years now. My experience on the mat today is exactly the point of yoga as therapy. Latent traumas are uncovered in this body-mind union to be exposed and healed in an organic, safe environment.
I will add that, in the forward bend ½ split, I noticed the bunching of my baggy, yoga pants. The creases were also folding in what appeared to be faces, totems if you will. I realized in that moment that I am also addressing the buried trauma of my ancestors each time I hit that mat. It’s not just for me in the mindful moment, I also practice for my ancestors who could not as well as in prevention of future pain for my descendants. This mind-body union… healing and hope… This is yoga.