Meet Hannah Uiri | Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher + Folk Herbalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Uiri and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
The reason I’ve pursued both trauma informed yoga and herbalism are really one and the same: embodied connection with myself and others. I became certified as a yoga teacher with the sole purpose of learning a somatic tool that would aid in processing trauma and allow myself and others to feel at home in their bodies. As a survivor of CPTSD, I am well acquainted with what it means to live with the repercussions of trauma on a daily basis. My teaching style and the offerings that I’ve created center around this understanding. In addition to yoga, much of my healing has come from working with herbs and creating herbal medicine that I share with my community. I have a special connection with herbs that support the nervous system and aid in healing trauma on a more energetic level. So really, my business began less as an idea or concept and more of who I am and what I’ve overcome being shared with others.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I began work in somatic trauma recovery because I know firsthand what it means to live with the repercussions of trauma and how it impacts daily life and relationships. I became a trauma informed yoga teacher and folk herbalist because it’s what fostered the most healing in my own life.

Trauma informed yoga became a way for me to heal myself and serve others in their healing. While my yoga practice pulled me inward and taught me how to live embodied, herbalism pulled me outward and was the conduit I needed to connect with something bigger than myself. The merging of these two practices wasn’t necessarily planned, but rather an organic creation.

I’ve had many triumphs and challenges over the years. I can remember the first offering I every created, a four week series for survivors of trauma. No one came, but I learned a lot about tuning into collective seasons and waiting for the right moment.

Eventually my classes grew and I began working with clients one on one. Out of all the things I’ve offered, sitting individually with and holding space is one of my favorite ways to support survivors. There’s a special moment that I’ve witnessed each of my students experience when they remember and reconnect with their sovereign autonomy. I say “remember” because their bodily autonomy was never lost, but rather forgotten and disconnected from due to past experiences. I watch their shoulders soften and their breath become a bit easier as they experience a home coming within themselves that sometimes has been years in the making.

Eventually I began receiving messages from people in other states and countries asking for trauma informed yoga classes online. After searching and coming up short on affordable and accessible classes, I decided to create my own online platform that would provide trauma informed yoga for survivors anywhere in the world. And so Soma Yoga was born, and at the time, nothing like this existed that I could find. I saw a gap in care and I filled it. I’m proud to say that Soma Yoga has grown to include students from all over the globe and I’ve also had the privilege to offer free memberships to those in war torn countries, such as Ukraine.

In this season of my business I’m focusing more on one on one care, and rolling out my first line of herbal remedies. One of the remedies is something I’ve worked with for years. It contains a blended extract of herbs that soothe and strengthen the nervous system and is especially helpful for those with recovering nervous systems. It’s the herbs in this remedy that first drew me outward into the garden and into a new sense of safety. It is my joy to see others work with these herbs and slowly feel their way back into their body.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Eat: The Meat Cellar in Claremont

Visit: Santa Ana Botanical Gardens

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Josiah Lorsung, owner of Odin Marketing House, a marketing agency that actually cares about the local business owner.

Michelle Pasos, owner of United Yoga Studio, a yoga studio that cares about collective healing for all.

Website: https://hannahuiri.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahuiri/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFMQf11ng1mAhMtIp_ch6xw

Image Credits
All photos captured by Savannah Sanchez of Savannah Wilde Photography. https://www.savannahwilde.com All students in the photos signed a release for the photos to be used in any capacity.