My Story

My name is Chelsea. I first entered a yoga studio 11 years because my life had become unmanageable with anxiety, depression, trauma, and suicide attempts. I was emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically broken. I was also addicted to adrenaline and extreme sports, often sustaining concussions, breaking several bones and undergoing multiple orthopedic surgeries per year.

I am a work in progress, a traveler on this one shining day.

-Richard Wagamese

The physical pain was tangible, it made sense to me, but it was nothing compared to the emotional pain I carried deep within. After a PTSD diagnosis in 2011, I was finally able to put words to what I was feeling, and begin a journey of recovery. I learned how much my addiction to adrenaline and success as a downhill ski racer were deeply rooted in trauma. Through yoga, meditation, and somatic practices, I learned my body can be a safe place. Through community and connection with a therapist, I learned it’s a life long process, but we can, and do recover from trauma.

My entire purpose for becoming a yoga therapist is to help others with trauma and sport injury, specifically TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). Through education and lived experience, I’ve found pain and injury not only travel in the physical body, but to emotional, mental, and spiritual levels within our body. It affects all levels of our psyche, and must be treated holistically for long term healing and recovery.

 

When not practicing yoga, I can be found in the Vancouver Island backcountry hiking in the summer and seeking deep powder for ski touring in the winter. I have found healing, spirituality, and a deep calm in those high mountain places. I believe healing and recovery, like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder. They can never be mandated, dictated, or forced.
So many aspects of our lives are mandated by the confines of society and the eco-socio construct; our health, recovery, and even how we practice our own spirituality. Power of choice over your body, your health and recovery, and your spiritual practice is a basic human right, not to be determined by politicians, big pharma, or social constructs. Richard Wagamese said ‘we are not a $10 bill lost in last years coat pocket, waiting to be found. We are already who we were meant to be, covered by layers of societal conditioning’. The beauty of yoga therapy is that it doesn’t fit into the confines of a constructed yoga class. This is your journey, this is your yoga. I’m here to help and guide you to a practice and path to recovery that works for you; physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Education and Training

Certificates and Diplomas

  • 200hr Teacher Training (Vancouver School of Yoga)
  • Foundations of Yoga Therapy (Vancouver School of Healing Arts)
  • Yoga Therapy Diploma (Rhodes Wellness College)

Coursework

  • Concussion Prevention, Management, and Detection (Universite of Laval)
  • Reiki Level 1 (Natural Healer)
  • SMART Recovery Facilitator Certification (SMART Recovery International)
  • Trauma Informed Yoga for Mental Health and Addictions (Nicole Marcia)
  • Healing Addiction and Trauma Certification for Therapists (Gabor Mate)
  • The Integrated Systems Model for Yoga Therapy (Chelsea Lee)
  • Advanced Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathophysiology (Heidi Brown)
  • Myofasial Lines and Yoga Therapy (Chelsea Lee)
  • Mind-Body Integration (Michelle Dennis)
  • The Professional Yoga Teacher (Natalie Rosseau)
  • Applied Yoga Philosophy (Rebekka Walker)
  • Chair Yoga and Healthy Aging (Annette Wertman)
  • Ayruveda for Yoga Teachers (Natalie Rosseau)
  • Yoga Therapy for Womens Health (Tamarah Nerreter)
  • Subtle Body Anatomy- The Chakras (Chelsea Lee)
  • Sacred Story Immersion (Natalie Rosseau)