The ChangeRoom

How The Scientific Method Influences Wellness with Pamela Wong

Today’s episode, featuring the brilliant and hilarious Pamela Wong, is an exploration of some of the ways that we can question and decolonize the practice of yoga. Our ways of thinking are highly informed and shaped by the scientific method and the primacy of objective knowing rather than valuing subjective experience. This is a wild romp through the fields of philosophy, scientific method, colonialism and more so strap the F in. Pamela Wong is a yoga and meditation teacher, a community organizer who has worked in and with communities in remote northern Canada for more than fifteen years and a holder of a doctorate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Toronto. Pam holds and inhabits both Western and non-western identities and models in her approach to work, life and community and she’s a damn good yoga teacher and i’m lucky to have her as a friend and colleague. @pamutayo

Indigeneity, Resilience and Colonization in Wellness with Tareyn Johnson

The unbelievable Tareyn Johnson joins us today to talk about the intersections between yoga in North America and the wisdom traditions of Indigenous communities. The resilience of individuals and groups that have lived through colonization, cultural suppression and attempts at cultural and literal genocides continues to build and be nurtured through the practice of other ways of being and knowing that are radically different from dominant cultural norms.  Tareyn Johnson is the Director of Indigenous Affairs at University of Ottawa,  where she provides leadership to Indigenous Affairs and Senior Administration to develop services and programs, Indigenous Knowledge Sharing sessions for faculty, staff, and students and also integrates Indigenous communities in university life. Tareyn is also the graduate of a 200-Hour Training and a long-time yoga practitioner. Tareyn Johnson is Anishnaabe and member of Georgina Island First Nation. @beadeddreamsca [https://www.instagram.com/beadeddreamsca#] https://www.uottawa.ca/about-us/indigenous/our-team [https://www.uottawa.ca/about-us/indigenous/our-team]

Being A Straight, Cis, Het Man in a Yoga Studio with Dennis Van Dine -

What does it feel like to be a straight, cis-man in a yoga studio? To advance conversations on gender, patriarchy, consent and privilege, it’s really fascinating to explore how wellness spaces might actually be one of few spaces where there are risks for men who attend. It’s a space that is really dominated by powerful women moving in ways that are unapologetically their own…it’s a place where the male gaze is not prioritized even though there are a lot of ways that it could be. Dennis Van Dine has been a lot of things in his life. A mathematician, an amazing musician, a tech start-up mastermind and probably most importantly, my friend for more than twenty years. Dennis is a student but not a teacher of yoga, bringing a different perspective to the table. @dvandine

Activism in Yoga with Indu Vashist

In this week’s episode, we discuss the intersections (past and present) between activism and yoga. In this wide-ranging discussion with Indu Vashist, our brilliant guest, we dig into big topics like the deliberate Scandi-whitewashed aesthetic of yoga studios, white feminine fragility, fascism, the cost of radical politiics and more. It’s a juicy one (and funnier than you would think too). Indu Vashist is a second generation settler in Canada and is of Punjabi ancestry. As a teacher, Indu shares tools like guided meditation, breathwork, movement and stillness that help us ride out our thoughts, feelings and experiences as they arise. In addition to being a movement teacher, Indu is also a trained historian. @indu_geita http://induvashist.com

Scope of Practice with Lisa Messina

Ever notice the creep between physiotherapy, psychotherapy and yoga teaching? Ever felt pressured as a teacher to teach from a modality that you are not actually trained in? In this episode with the highly skilled and hilarious Capricorn-poster child, Lisa Messina, we explore what we are really trained for when we leave a 200-hour and how to make sure to serve our students in the most beneficial ways! Lisa is a somatic (body-based) and relational therapy practitioner, a trauma recovery coach, educator, group facilitator, yoga and pilates teacher, and mobility specialist with over a decade of training and experience in somatic therapy and over two decades of training in a variety of movement modalities.offers thirty minute complimentary online consultations for anyone interested in somatic work. The Messina Movement offers an online eight week small group program called The Process which is an integrative and experiential journey toward embodied wholeness.  @messinamovement themessinamovement.com [http://themessinamovement.com/]