Introducing YIELD: A Somatic Practice of Surrender
Learn to recruit the support of the earth & soften into discomfort in this new, FREE monthly offering with the Soft Animal Coven.
Dear soft animals,
I am so excited to invite you to our first monthly online 75-minute yin yoga class, YIELD: A Somatic Practice of Surrender this Sunday, Apr 5th 12pm PT/2:00pm CT/3:00pm ET. Free for all newsletter subscribers* and suitable for all bodies and abilities, this is a something I have been thinking about for a long time and am very excited to finally be offering.
I began my journey as a somatic practitioner by teaching adaptive, restorative and yin yoga for a dozen years. Yin yoga in particular—an adaptive practice of floor-bound, long-held poses—immediately felt like home, and became the center of my practice & teaching.
Yin yoga was my lifeline in the early years of polyamory (which coincided with years of mothering very small children) when my nervous system was going through the wringer on a daily basis. (Did I mention NONE of us knew we were Autistic then? Not me, not my two partners, or my two kids? Wild times!)
It was also immediately very clear that teaching yin yoga was where my teaching gifts really shone. My classes were super popular, I had dozens of devoted regulars, and teaching felt as meaningful as it was effortless because I could just tune into the vibe of the room, close my eyes, open my mouth, and fucking WISDOM and ZINGERS would drip like jewels from my mouth.
It’s clear to me now, looking back, that in my teaching I was establishing the early foundations of Soft Animal Magic. In addition to my weekly classes, I dreamt up workshops and advanced yin trainings on yin yoga for emotional resilience, yin yoga & meditation for strong emotions, and yin yoga for trauma repair.
Though I haven’t taught yin yoga formally since 2019, the principles of yin yoga began to creep back into my mind in the last few years and to demand that I bring them back into my teaching because my people, the chronically tight and bracing witches, weirdos, and other low-capacity bodies, desperately need a somatic practice of softening, of surrender, a way to learn to feel safe in our bodies by learning to feel held.
Yin yoga helps us to work directly with the somatic structure of shame and trauma in the body, where they are stored in the fascia. It serves to teach the body, in a very titrated way, that support is available, that it is safe to soften into discomfort, and that discomfort is not going to last forever.
This can support us with trauma repair, burnout recovery, emotional resilience, and authentic embodiment for neurodivergent and low-capacity bodies.
YIELD is a FREE offering held inside of the Soft Animal Coven, my monthly membership community for witches & weirdos in low-capacity bodies who want to fuck shit up without burning out. We’re serving up potent-yet-accessible nervous system magic, low-demand connection, and seasonal rituals. It’s giving neuroqueer church & craft club vibes—for as little as $33/month. Check this shit out here.
I hope you’ll join us this Sunday for some very gentle, nourishing movement and to learn more about Soft Animal Magic!
*My newsletter is separate from my Substack, and many of my Substack readers are NOT subscribed to my newsletter. IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM ME ABOUT YIELD PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HIT THE SIGN UP BUTTON BELOW SO YOU DON’T MISS THE ZOOM LINK.
Yield: A Somatic Practice of Surrender
Sun, Apr 5th 12pm PT/2:00pm CT/3:00pm ET
Accessibility notes:
Each pose will be held for 3-4 minutes, but you are welcome to come out of them at any time.
Everything can be done on the floor or a bed. We will come to sitting, but not to standing.
Fenn teaches in a very adaptable, trauma-informed and PDA-sensitive way, using simple invitational language.
Everyone, including Fenn, is invited to be off camera and guidance will happen with easy-to-understand verbal cues.
A similar flow will happen each month, so that classes are predictable, making them friendly to neurodivergent and traumatized nervous systems.
If you like, you are welcome to do this in a dark room with your eyes closed.
The class will be held on Zoom, and a replay will be made available within 48 hours.