We have some exciting announcements to share!
I, Mauricio, recently completed the Trauma-Informed Weightlifting (TIWL) Certificate Program! I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to join the cohort for 8 weeks, and met some really cool people who showed me how diverse and interesting the many applications of Trauma-Informed + Weight Lifting can be.
For potentially immediate practical benefit, I encourage you to check out TIWL’s Community page and see what folks are doing all over the world! You can of course find me on there too :). Also, if anyone you know in the bay area or elsewhere might be interested in working with coaches who speak the language of feelings and evidence-based exercise or nutrition coaching, it is probably the easiest place to find practitioners.
If you or anyone you know is a coach, practitioner, or adjacent in their work, I *highly* recommend their Foundations course and Certificate program. I am biased for sure, but I really think the integration of understanding trauma and its intersection in the health and fitness applications is the future, and is of profound importance to all of humanity.
Special thank yous to co-leads Mariah and Candace, you are amazing and inspiring examples of what this work is, can be, and where the future is going. Boldly we go! And a special shout out to my friend and fellow coach Brandon referring me to their scholarship program and that a spot was available. Thanks buddy <3!
It turns out that not many men have joined programs like these historically, and research shows that therapeutic work is more effective when there is shared identity between client and coach/practitioner. TIWL is being intentional to address this, because they’re smart!
Shared identity can mean lots of things though, gender identification being an important one for sure. Lots of our clients are interesting examples of how many other things contribute to this too. I work with many people who on the surface are quite different from me in terms of gender, ethnicity, age, and lived experiences. But shared identity can mean so many things, like values, culture, music and dance, food interests, politics and philosophy, love of doggos and kitters, nature, and of course exercise 💪🏼! It all works together in harmony to bring a sense of relatability that helps build trust towards the otherwise “work” each individual focuses on during their health journey with us.
In other exciting news in this vein… I’m going back to school in the Fall! CSU East Bay’s Marriage & Family Therapy program here I come 🥳. So many things have contributed to this, and an extra special thank you to the people on this email list who wrote letters of recommendation for moi <3!
The program starts on my birthday coincidentally, August 19th! We will of course be working with each of our existing clients on schedule adjustments as the class hours and study time unfold. Please stay tuned for another individual e-mail and/or face-to-face conversation in July, if we have not had one already.
In the meantime I will try to share more about my experiences in this direction where they might be helpful. I am currently completing a couple undergrad Psychology prerequisites online, and I’ve already had some conversations during sessions with folks about lifespan psychology. Most of ya’ll already know: the connections between exercise, health and all of life are oh so real. And we all need unique support at different stages of life.
I will still be holding space for clients, grounding myself via my own health and fitness practice and supports that I have, and will remain open to new client inquiries where there is a good fit. Until next time!
Mauricio