Help Me Help You Help Your Clients
Per the NSVRC, 1 in 5 women in just America alone have been victims of sexual violence and this is based on the women who file a police report. Therefore, it is guaranteed that every Pilates or movement teacher is going to teach a sexual assault (SA) survivor. Being an SA survivor, who has taught Pilates since 2009, I can say with certainty that we (survivors) won’t tell you about this part of our physical history and most survivors don’t even realize that being a sexual assault survivor affects our ability to connect with our body and our ability to effectively change our body through exercise.
I have never advocated for myself as an SA survivor. The attack occurred in 2005, and it was not until 2016 that I began to talk about what happened to me. A lot of good happened in those 11 years, but I was also carrying around a big secret, a ton of shame, self-loathing, and a very unhealthy relationship with my body. That is why I've designed a teacher training program for my colleagues to keep the SA population safe and give us a great workout, too. We want one!
I would like every movement teacher to see it as their responsibility to learn about the impact they have when teaching bodies that have been sexually assaulted, because we are also teaching the nervous system of the survivor. Survivors can be triggered by body-based modalities. I have been triggered in sessions with teachers considered Master Pilates Instructors and triggered even in a trauma-informed Yoga training. We not only have to consider our students, but also our colleagues who may be sexual assault survivors.
Though it is very uncomfortable for me, and I am barely getting any responses, I am persisting in asking my Pilates community and all body-based teachers, do you feel a responsibility to be informed about the considerations when teaching the survivor population? If no, why? If yes, what you would like to learn about?
Being informed is not the same as providing treatment, but being informed is going to at the very least keep your survivor clientele from being triggered. Being informed at it’s best can transform lives.
SA survivors are often among those whose lessons always feel like the first session. SA survivors often have joint hyper mobility & cannot touch their toes. SA survivors shake during movement (a good thing) and flinch when touched. I want to address your needs, your experiences with your clients, and where you want to give more, but don’t know how. A lot of nervous system-informed teaching is non-verbal. Everyone has a nervous system, so this training applies to everyone.
Please feel free to message me privately, it would benefit not just you & me, but the huge population of SA survivors. Thank you for just reading this. I hope you connect with me. There is so much silence in our post-trauma life. Please help me change that.
