Yoga with Shyla

May 5th is a day of remembrance for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people.

This is not just about individual tragedies it is about systems. The Indian Act disrupted our governance, displaced our families, and imposed structures that have contributed to ongoing vulnerability and harm. It created conditions where women were stripped of status, separated from community, and left without protection in their own lands.

When we speak about MMIWG2S, we must also speak about the policies that made this crisis possible. Colonial laws did not just exist in the past they echo into the present.

Today, we remember.
We honour.
And we continue to call for justice, accountability, and the restoration of our inherent rights and safety.

We’re excited to share that presenters for the 13th Annual National Indigenous Physical Activity & Wellness Conference (NIPAW 2026) are currently being confirmed!

An inspiring lineup of Knowledge Keepers, leaders, and wellness advocates is coming together — and we can’t wait to introduce them to you.

Hosted at the beautiful Dakota Dunes Resort, this year’s conference will feature 20+ speakers from across the country and beyond.

✨ Featured Presenter: Shyla Gaebel
Presentation Title: Movement and Sound for Youth Wellbeing: A Trauma-Informed Approach

Join us for this 60-minute workshop exploring trauma-informed movement and sound practices to support youth wellness. Experience gentle yoga, breathwork, and grounding sound exercises, and learn culturally grounded tools to build resilience, focus, and wellbeing for youth of all abilities.

🎟️ Get your tickets:
https://NIPAW2026.eventbrite.ca

Sound healing isn’t something new for Indigenous people. We’ve always used sound, drums and songs to pray, to grieve, to celebrate, and to come back into balance.
For many of us carrying stress, trauma, or the weight of generations before us, sound can be a gentle way back into the body. The vibrations help calm the nervous system, quiet the mind, and create a sense of safety sometimes without needing to talk or explain anything at all.
Sound meets us where we are. It reminds us that healing doesn’t always have to be hard or heavy. Sometimes it’s as simple as listening, breathing, and remembering. 🌿

I’m honoured to share that bi-weekly yoga gatherings for Indigenous, Métis, Inuit & Two-Spirit relatives are returning to community.
These classes are offered as a space to move gently, breathe deeply, and reconnect to body, spirit, and one another. Come as you are, there is no expectation.

Upcoming gathering dates:
• January 8 & 22
• February 5 & 19
• March 5 & 19
• April 2, 16 & 30
• May 14 & 28
• June 11 & 25

This is a space rooted in care, cultural safety, and remembrance where our bodies are honoured and our presence matters.
All Indigenous, Métis, Inuit & 2Spirit relatives are welcome.
I look forward to moving with you ✨

In a trauma-informed space, every body becomes a story returning to itself.
Folks often ask me to take photos of what we’re doing, how we move, or to film content during class.
However, when someone is lying down, resting close to the Earth, or folded into shapes like downward dog, their spirit is in a place of remembering.
These moments are tender like sitting with the ancestors or listening to the heartbeat of the land.
They are not meant to be captured only honored.
By choosing not to photograph vulnerable positions, we protect that sacredness.
We uphold trust.
We move with the teachings of respect, consent, and humility.
And we allow each person’s practice to unfold in a way that feels safe, sovereign, and held.

Join me on September 30th, Orange Shirt Day, for a special yoga practice dedicated to truth, reconciliation, and collective healing. Together, we will move, breathe, and reflect in honor of the children who never came home, the Survivors, and the ongoing healing of our communities.

This class will be a space of remembrance, grounding, and hope where movement becomes medicine, and breath becomes prayer.

All are welcome.

🌿 Space is limited to 15 spots.
📧 Email [email protected] to save your spot.

For many of us, health and wellness is more than exercise, it’s a way of remembering who we are. Colonization tried to separate us from our bodies, our lands, and our ways of knowing. But when we move, breathe, and take up space with intention, we reclaim that connection.

Yoga can be one of these pathways. It’s not about shapes or flexibility, it’s about listening inward, building strength, releasing what we carry, and returning to balance. For Indigenous folks practicing yoga becomes an act of reclamation: of wellness, of sovereignty over our own bodies, and of the right to heal on our own terms.

🌿 Movement is medicine.
🌿 Breath is ceremony.
🌿 Wellness is resistance.

📷: .mugz

BOX & STRETCH 🥊🧘‍♂️

High-energy boxing combos ➝ calming guided stretches.

First we sweat it out, then we stretch it out!

Join us for the perfect balance of power + recovery.

📅 Tuesday, Sept. 23

⏰ 6:30PM – 7:30 PM

📍 Queen City Boxing | 1620-D McAra St.

🔴 $20

💥 Powered by Lululemon
Every attendee will be entered to WIN a $150 Fit Session — shop in-store and pick out your gear (on us 😎).

✅ All fitness levels welcome

✅ No experience required

✅️ Bring Your Own Mat

✅️Sign up here:

https://www.queencityboxing.com/box-stretch

🌿✨ Relatives, I’m so excited to share that our yoga circle now has a new day and time: Thursdays from 7–8 pm.
This practice is rooted in warmth, connection, and community — a space where Indigenous people can move, breathe, and reconnect with body, mind, and spirit.

🪶 All levels are welcome.
🪶 Mats and props are provided.
🪶 Come as you are, this space is for you.

Let’s gather together each week to move with intention, honour our bodies, and carry that good energy back into our lives and communities.

✨ Send me a message to save your spot or to learn more, I’d love to see you there. ✨

People often ask me, what is trauma-informed yoga?

It’s a gentle, supportive way of practicing yoga that centers emotional safety, body awareness, and choice. In trauma-informed spaces, the focus isn’t on how flexible you are or getting into a certain shape it's about how you feel and what your body needs in the moment. You're invited to move at your own pace, rest when you need to, and explore your practice without pressure or judgment.
This approach acknowledges that healing isn’t one size fits all. Trauma-informed yoga helps create a space where people can reconnect with themselves in ways that feel empowering, grounded, and compassionate.
And while it’s important to adapt yoga in ways that support healing, we must also remember that yoga is a practice with deep roots in South Asian culture and philosophy. It doesn’t mean stripping away tradition it means being mindful of both the people in the room and the lineage of the practice.
We can hold space for healing while also honoring the cultural and spiritual traditions that have carried yoga through generations.