November 22, 2023
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EXHALE TO INHALE RECEIVES GRANT IN SUPPORT OF WELLNESS ON NYC COLLEGE CAMPUSES
New York City, N.Y. —
Funds Will Support 36-Weeks of Trauma-Informed Yoga and Training on Campuses
Since 2013, Exhale to Inhale has partnered with nonprofit organizations, community agencies and other groups to bring the healing power of trauma-informed yoga to survivors of sexual and domestic violence.
Based on demand for support, Exhale to Inhale proudly announces the “From Wellness to Wellbeing” program launching in 2024 to deliver trauma-informed yoga curriculum to NY students to support their wellbeing and create safe campus communities. ETI will bring its training curriculum to college staff, faculty and all students to support cultural changes and individual understanding around sexual trauma, impacts on survivors and communities, and the use of trauma-informed tools to create welcoming spaces, reduce harm and understand consent and power dynamics.
This groundbreaking program, open to all NYC-based public colleges and educational institutions, is made possible through the generous support of Kate Spade New York Foundation. The Kate Spade New York Foundation focuses on giving across a range of mental health resources, support and intervention in underserved communities of women and girls in NYC.
“The Kate Spade New York Foundation is deeply committed to mental wellness, and their generosity helps us expand our services to address the prevalence of sexual violence on NYC college campuses. More options in healing are needed, and education and practical tools should be centered in our discussions around prevention,” said Maggie LaRocca, Exhale to Inhale Executive Director.
“We are proud to be partners of Exhale to Inhale,” said Taryn Bird, Executive Director of Social Impact at Kate Spade New York and Director of the Kate Spade New York Foundation. “We believe that access to culturally competent mental health resources is foundational to women and girls accessing their authentic voice, choice and power. It’s through interventions and programs like Wellness to Wellbeing where survivors can learn to feel safe in their bodies again along their healing and empowerment journey.”
To learn more about this program or to apply for one of the 10 spots available in 2024, visit our website or emailcollegeprogram@exhaletoinhale.org.
Kate Spade New York Foundation
At the Kate Spade New York Foundation, we believe that a woman’s mental health is foundational to her achieving sustainable long-term empowerment. We provide women and girls with access to a spectrum of mental health resources and support in the New York City Area.
Exhale to Inhale
Exhale to Inhale is the leading trauma-informed yoga provider for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. The organization's mission is to use the healing practice of trauma-informed yoga to empower survivors, while helping communities to develop skills and knowledge to support them. We carry out our mission by providing direct services to survivors at shelters and other social service agencies, while providing trauma-informed training to yoga teachers and community members to build more supportive communities across the United States.
For information on Exhale to Inhale, email: info@exhaletoinhale.org
April 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EXHALE TO INHALE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH
New York City, N.Y. —
Every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted. During Sexual Assault Awareness month, this April, Exhale to Inhale is joining with wellness instructors, studios and gyms across the country for a campaign called Movement for Meaning. Founded in 2013 and now celebrating 10 years of service, Exhale to Inhale wants to ensure that every individual impacted by sexual violence has access to the healing power of trauma informed yoga.
Starting on April 1, fourteen different classes around the country will kick off a powerful movement highlighting the prevalence of sexual violence and how Exhale to Inhale’s mission of empowering survivors through trauma informed yoga is offering pathways for healing.
Movement for Meaning Committee Chair, Mimi Chiahemen says, “I come to this work first and foremost as a survivor. After I was assaulted, yoga gathered and held me, and helped me to feel whole again. I believe full heartedly in the power of this practice to heal, and I believe that when taught from a trauma-informed perspective, that healing power is magnified. Yoga has been the gateway into my understanding of the mind-body connection. WhatI’ve learned is that movement can help us to make meaning of ourselves, and the world, and all the experiences imprinted on our bodies. We all have a body, and everybody feels and had needs and wants to heal.” Proceeds from the donation based classes support Exhale to Inhale’s mission of using trauma informed yoga to empower survivors and help communities develop skills and knowledge to support them. Since 2013, Exhale to Inhale has supported over 7,000 survivors and partnered with over 50 different shelters and nonprofits to offer trauma informed yoga classes, while training over 1,000 individuals in trauma informed yoga. Exhale to Inhale is a community of support - offering a Weekly Online Public Class, Coninuing Education, and a Scholarship program. Executive Director, Maggie LaRocca, shares, “With 1 in 5 women being impacted by sexual violence, it is important that there are choices when it comes to healing. Trauma informed yoga is an empowering, accessible took that can be used anytime and anywhere. This month’s Movement for Meaning puts the conversation around sexual violence and healing at the community level, and we are so grateful for the collaborative action that we are seeing across the country.”
Executive Director, Maggie LaRocca, shares, “With 14771 in 5 women being impacted by sexual violence, it is important that there are choices when it comes to healing. Trauma informed yoga is an empowering, accessible took that can be used anytime and anywhere. This month’s Movement for Meaning puts the conversation around sexual violence and healing at the community level, and we are so grateful for the collaborative action that we are seeing across the country.”
Thank you to all of the instructors and studios collaborating with us for April, Sexual Assault Awareness month.
To read more about Movement for Meaning, click here.
November 3, 2022
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ANNOUNCING OUR 2022 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
New York City, N.Y. —
Funded by Flamingo, Exhale to Inhale’s Scholarship Program highlights and uplifts a group of talented individuals each year to attend Exhale to Inhale’s 16-hour trauma-informed yoga certification training, receive one-on-one mentorship, and access to ongoing monthly education.
We are thrilled to welcome 19 recipients as part of 2022’s scholarship cohort to our community. Each individual will be an integral member of our organization’s mission, allowing us to continue providing trauma-informed yoga classes to those who need them most.
We are delighted to share that our trauma-informed yoga training program trained more than 325 training graduates in 2021. This in turn has a ripple effect on the number of people we reach, share our resources with, and teach classes to every day.
In the words of Teacher Trainer and Project Coordinator, Amy Apgar who led the implementation of this program in 2022:
“Each member of our Scholarship Cohort is integral to our mission of providing healing resources to survivors. Not only will each individual bring the knowledge and skills gained through the program back to their communities, where they are already incredible leaders in service, but they also enhance our training & teaching communities with their unique perspectives and lived experiences.”
Congratulations to our 2022 Scholarship Candidates!
To see more about our 2022 Scholarship Recipients, click here!
July 14, 2022
Exhale to Inhale Statement on MLB Grant Partnership
New York, N.Y. —
Exhale to Inhale issued the following statement on the Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) awarding the Healthy Relationships Community Grant to expand Exhale to Inhale’s efforts to provide programs, classes and trainings that support and empower survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Exhale to Inhale is proud to partner with the MLB and MLBPA as we work to provide powerful, body-based resources for healing from trauma for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Through this generous grant, Exhale to Inhale is able to advance our mission to provide survivors with the resources necessary to reconnect with their bodies, calm their nervous systems, and decrease levels of stress. In 2022, Exhale to Inhale strives to partner with 75 different shelters and community agencies supporting survivors and offer an online weekly class to survivors everywhere. By the end of the year, Exhale to Inhale will have shared their trauma informed yoga training with over 1,000 individuals, filling an unmet need and ensuring that every survivor has the opportunity to feel empowered and safe in their bodies again.
Since 2013, Exhale to Inhale has empowered over 3,500 survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault through the healing practice of trauma-informed yoga. Their unique approach helps survivors reconnect to their bodies' inherent strength to better navigate healing after trauma, while helping communities to develop the skills and knowledge to support them.
For more information, please visit www.exhaletoinhale.org and contact Development and Communications Manager, Christina Brannon for press inquiries at christina@exhaletoinhale.org.
June 30, 2022
Exhale to Inhale Statement on SCOTUS Decision
New York, N.Y. —
Dear Exhale to Inhale Community,
Since 2013, the Exhale to Inhale Community has come together to help survivors of sexual and domestic violence restore a sense of agency and choice making over their bodies through our trauma-informed yoga. For thousands of survivors of domestic and sexual violence, Exhale to Inhale has offered trauma informed yoga classes and training. Our goal is to help survivors reconnect with and feel safe in their bodies again.
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade directly opposes and undermines our mission at Exhale to Inhale. It is rooted in power and control over another individual’s body, a direct contradiction to all that Exhale to Inhale has been advocating for since our founding. And we are particularly worried about the impact it will have on survivors of sexual, domestic and other forms of gender-based violence.
Agency and choice making over one’s body is a human right. By removing the federal protection for abortion, the decision erodes agency and denies women and people who can become pregnant the freedom to make decisions about their own health and bodies, including the decision as to whether to carry a pregnancy.
In particular, survivors, women of color, and low-income women have disproportionately lacked freedom of choice to ensure that their reproductive rights are protected. This decision will further diminish the ability of those who are most in need to protect their reproductive rights and maintain full control over their bodies.
While some states will continue to allow abortion, many others will criminalize abortions, even in the case of rape and incest. Many survivors, women of color and low-income women, as well as other trauma survivors, are not emotionally or financially capable of traveling cross-country to ensure their rights are protected. And they shouldn’t be required to.
In these difficult times, Exhale to Inhale is even more resolute in our mission of providing effective, trauma informed tools to support agency and healing.
We stand in solidarity with our partners and sister organizations in supporting a women’s right to choose and advocate for the rights of all survivors to have autonomy over their bodies.
We urge individuals in power and political leaders to ensure that access to reproductive health resources is available to all, especially those who have difficulty accessing these resources.
And in all of this, we urge you to continue to take empowering steps towards your healing and reconnecting with your agency. Each of us has the power within us to make a difference for ourselves and for others, and now more than ever, Exhale to Inhale will strive to remain a source of support and hope for our community.
Sincerely,
Maggie LaRocca
Exhale to Inhale Executive Director
April 28, 2022
Exhale to Inhale Statement on Sexual Assault Awareness Month
New York City, N.Y. —
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), a national initiative to raise public awareness about sexual violence and educating communities on how to prevent it. This year, Exhale to Inhale is highlighting how trauma informed yoga can help survivors of sexual assault heal by offering simple self-care practices that support the mind and body and providing community events to bring awareness to our mission.
Since 2013, Exhale to Inhale has met an unmet need in NYC, and now 6 states by providing accessible methods of care and wellness for individuals impacted by sexual violence. Every 68 seconds an American experiences sexual assault, and 1 in 6 women have been a victim of rape. More options are needed when it comes to supporting mental well-being as the physical impact of trauma is often not addressed.
“While the prevelance of sexual violence can feel daunting, we are hopeful about how Exhale to Inhale can help survivors understand how trauma impacts their body and ways that simple tools can help in their long-term healing journey,” said Maggie LaRocca, Executive Director of Exhale to Inhale. “ The efforts of our community during this important month bring hope to survivors everywhere, and we are committed to ensuring access for anyone that can benefit from our support.”
Partnering with 48 different shelters and nonprofits and providing public classes online to survivors everywhere, Exhale to Inhale is committed to empowering survivors through its unique trauma informed class instruction, while educating communities on ways to support survivors through our trauma informed yoga training program. Since 2018, 900 yoga teachers, social service providers and community leaders have been trained with the Exhale to Inhale Trauma Informed Yoga Training program.
This month, Exhale to Inhale partnered with the below organizations:
RAINN: RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. To recognize Sexual Assault Awareness Month, on April 26th, Exhale to Inhale offered RAINN's partners a wellness workshop about trauma informed yoga and how the modality can support post traumatic growth.
Girls for Gender Equity: Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) uplifts Black girls and gender-expansive young people of color to reshape culture and policy through advocacy and youth-led programming. On April 12th, Exhale to Inhale and GGE partnered for GGE's Just Us event to provide youth with trauma-informed yoga and self-care education.
Day One: Day One partners with youth to end dating abuse and domestic violence through community education, supportive services, legal advocacy and leadership development. On April 14th, Exhale to Inhale and Day One partnered during SAAM by spotlighting selfcare and bringing trauma-informed yoga classes to youth at their Queens, NY site.
SUNY PolyTech: SUNY PolyTech is a global leader in higher education. SUNY recognizes the prevalence of sexual assault on campus and actively support students throughout the year on self-care, prevention, and policy. On April 19th, SUNY Exhale to Inhale offered a special yoga class for students and staff at SUNY to honor the importance of self-care during this month.
Mayor’s Office Crime Victims Services: Mayor's Office Crime Victims Services offers support to victims of crime and their families. They partner with hospital staff and other individuals. On April 25th, Exhale to Inhale offered training for staff and healthcare workers. The training offered resources and support for self-care and burnout prevention.
Community Ambassadors, Ishta Yoga, YO BK, Tangerine Yoga, and Yoga Spark joined our efforts by hosting a training or donation based class for Exhale to Inhale.
To learn more about work, visit www.exhaletoinhale.org. Partnership opportunities and trauma informed yoga classes and training are available to all survivors of sexual and domestic violence, and community members and organizations striving to support them.
For more information, contact marketing@exhaletoinhale.org