Frontline Yoga

Yoga for mental and physical strength and resilience for those at the Frontline.

Police, Paramedics, Firefighters, Defence personnel are amongst those who step up to the Frontline.

These are the people within our community who show up for work at 3am, on Christmas morning or at the worst moments of a person's life. When the chips are down we turn to our Frontline to keep us safe.

The Frontline can be stressful, it often takes people away from their families, shifts can be long and sometimes these roles expose people to trauma; 

Memories and moments that stay with them forever. 

Frontline Yoga has been established to give our Frontline guardians a place to

unwind, release stress and recharge

Yoga is an opportunity to feel strong and resilient in body and mind. Frontline Yoga is taught in a way that provides a safe and relaxing space for those who have been exposed to trauma, including those with PTSD. The development of Frontline Yoga and our teacher trainings has come about as a result of research, teaching experience and advice from professionals. We focus on empirically minded, clinically reserched techniques to bring about quick and effective change.

Frontline Yoga Inc. has come about as a collaboration of several Yoga teachers who have seen first hand the amazing impact that Yoga can have on those carrying stress, pressure and trauma through their jobs. In fact, some of the board members of Frontline are former Defence personnel.

Frontline currently has 9 classes in 8 different locations across NSW, ACT, QLD and WA. Demand for classes greatly exceeds the number of teachers currently available. All across Australia we have willing and able Yoga teachers, spaces to use and people wanting Yoga. Frontline Yoga is run entirely by volunteers, now we are reaching out to the community to ask you to support us in our work. Support us to give back to the Frontline. We have the workshop, we have the experience, we certainly have the passion, we just need the means to take this idea national.

Each week our teachers are being given heart-warming feedback; attendees report that they are sleeping better, feeling more relaxed, improved mental clarity, feeling more comfortable physically and the symptoms of anxiety are easing off. Read more about how Frontline Yoga started with Kate and Rob.

Kate, founder of Frontline Yoga Inc, felt compelled to create a trauma aware class that was readily accessible after a particularly emotive letter from one student. K came to Kate’s class on a recommendation. K had been fighting a daily fight with PTSD for three years. Instinctively Kate gave K space in the classroom, offered K options during class and made sure K knew that she could always leave if she had to. 

A few months later K sent Kate a letter that she had written:

“Living with PTSD, anxiety and depression it is like being scared and tired at the same time. It’s the fear of failure but no urge to be productive. It’s wanting friends but hate socializing. It’s wanting to be alone but not wanting to be lonely. It’s caring about everything then caring about nothing. It’s feeling everything at once, then feeling paralyzing numb.  The frustrating things about having an anxiety disorder is knowing your freaking out and that there’s no reason to be freaked out but lacking the ability to shut down the emotion. I over analyze situations because I’m scared of what will happen if I’m not prepared for it….

"My psychiatrist has recommend many things to help me learn new ways to cope with everyday life issues and I have found that Yoga is the only thing that has worked for me, it is still a struggle some days but having such caring and understanding teachers such as Kate I don’t feel pressured into doing poses or things that bring me undone. There are many times during a class that I become overwhelmed and just want to run out but I know that by just sitting there and letting those moments pass in the safe environment she provides it makes me a stronger person than when I walked through those doors an hour before. I walk out feeling a sense of accomplishment, which with PTSD is a very rare feeling, I can control my breathing better and slow my heart rate down before I get triggered off. These yoga classes are one of the very few things that I can leave my house for without the anxiety of what is about to happen. I completely recommend Yoga to anyone suffering with PTSD, anxiety or depression.”

We as a community, as a country, can give these Frontline people access to free Yoga, in their local areas. Yoga to unwind, to process their day at work, Yoga for stillness and peace.

Even just one class a week. Even if its just for a stretch.

Yoga that is specialised for them

Frontline provides Yoga that is:

- perfect following a long day's work at a desk or in a car

- easy to understand, even for beginners, with no unfamiliar words or chanting.

- taught in a way that is comfortable for those who might be exposed to or carrying trauma.

Every single Frontline class is taught in a very specific way, following well designed guidelines to ensure that the class provides the most relaxing environment that it can.

Frontline Yoga classes are run by volunteer Yoga teachers in donated spaces across Australia.

Classes are free for current and ex Frontline members as well as their support network (family etc).

The Frontline board also wish to acknowledge carers in the community, although not technically a Frontline industry we know first hand the pressure, strain and potential exposure to trauma that can exist in this role. Carers are welcome to Frontline classes by whatever donation they have.

Members of the public are welcome by donation.

With $50,000

Provide basic training to volunteer teachers across Australia, around 12 workshops over a year. Cover set up costs for the organisation. Allow for ongoing teacher training and volunteer management. Create a range of Frontline T-shirts, bands and other items for our supporters. Set up a Frontline HQ to allow for effective and efficient organisation management, volunteer coordination and to hold Frontline classes and workshops. 

With $75,000

As above and we will be able to hold more workshops in more areas across Australia, offer ongoing upskilling for existing volunteers. Frontline will also offer scholarships for current and ex-Frontliners expressing an interest in completing formal Yoga teacher training.

With $100,000

As above and we will change the format of the current Frontline Yoga teacher workshop from a 2.5 hour workshop into a full day of training with input from specialists. By extending the basic course to include a deeper knowledge of applied anatomy, physical and mental wholistic health as well as the unique issues facing our Frontliners, we feel we can send our volunteers out into their communities fully prepared.

With $150,000

As above and Frontline can create and run a clinical study with the assistance of an amazing group of Yogi/scientists. Collecting empirical evidence to back what we, as Yoga teachers and students, are seeing and feeling in each class. A formally compiled and accurately run study will allow the work and experience of the organisation to be held in higher regard, allowing Frontline Yoga to approach Frontline industries offering solutions for mental and physical strength and resilience amongst personnel. 

Frontline Yoga has skilled and experienced teachers, professional contributors and a workshop putting all of the information together, our biggest challenge is getting this info out and about. Another of our big challenges is managing a growth in volunteers.

Our biggest challenge however, is that we are an organsiation run entirely by volunteers, we have already done so much, created something amazing and useful from just an idea. Now we need the support of the community to help Frontline Yoga spread across Australia.