Trauma-informed yoga

PORTRAIT

JALISA WILLIAMS FOUNDED

SOULFLOWER EXPERIENCES TO PROVIDE SAFE, HOLISTIC SPACES FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR TO HEAL THEIR BODIES AND MINDS.

JaLisa Williams is breaking down the barriers between Black bodies and holistic spaces. Black people’s impediments to yoga, meditation and wellness classes include cost, music selection and the fact that instructors often don’t look like them or share their experiences, she said. But the biggest obstacle she sees blocking Black people from holistic spaces is the trauma in their bodies. “We need to learn how to breathe because we have not been offered that in the past,” said Williams, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Exercise Science (2013) and a Master of Social Work (2016) from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

She is the licensed clinical social worker, therapist, yogi and selfdescribed “badass” behind Soulflower Experiences, which provides safe spaces for people who are Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) to practice wellness. It is the realization of Williams’ dissertation for her Master of Social Work, in which she examined Black people’s access to holistic spaces.

She is also an affiliate faculty member in the MSU Denver Department of Social Work, where she focuses on anti-oppressive pedagogy and creative modalities and last year developed the curriculum for the Centering Black Experiences in Social Work class. It’s exciting to teach and be around the University’s diverse, complex community, Williams said.

“Those are my people. It just feels best here,” she said.

As one of the few Black therapists in Denver, she is keenly aware of how the identity work she does with BIPOC and LGBTQ populations benefits from holistic practices such as yoga and mindfulness.

“They come for the spiritual stuff and then think, ‘You know, it’s like we’re doing therapy now. Look at that,’” she said.

The convergence of the public health crises of racism and Covid-19 over the past 18 months has added painful layers to the experiences of Black people and increased demand for trauma-informed therapy, Williams said. The starting point for healing is to return to the fundamentals.

“Just breathe,” she said. “That’s all we have.”