Trauma Informed Weight Lifting with Mariah Rooney and Mark Schneider

During this episode of the Rebel and Be Well Podcast we connect with Mariah Rooney (MSW, LICSW) and Mark Schneider- Co Founders of Trauma Informed Weight Lifting (TIWL). TIWL is a healing co-operative focused on researching the healing potential of weight lifting for trauma-impacted adolescents and adults, and training coaches and personal trainers, to take a trauma informed and healing centered approach to their work with athletes and clients. 

On this episode we talk invisible insults to the body, symptomatology of trauma, what's contributing to it, and how a program building strength with physical weights can bridge into the psychological. 

Mariah and Mark grant us insightful opportunities to utilize our gyms to heal trauma. They opened up this podcast discussion by sharing how, in lifting weights, we see a tangible example of progress; it offers us the chance to work against something- an external stress or resistance. We find control, we can manipulate it, and we can grow in more ways than physical as we notice a change.

"Strength is a product of trust [yourself to make an attempt, to potentially fail, to recover, those around you if you need help]" - Mark Schneider, Co-Founder

Christa Rymal chose to discuss this concept much further with Mariah and Mark, especially given our relationship with Point guests who work in healthcare, and many others who were/are gravely and severely impacted by the pandemic. Topics that are becoming more relevant which we discuss on this episode:

- How can we comfortably re-integrate ourselves into community- in-person with one another? It's an emotional experience, often on many levels for us to be in a physical space with others after learning to brace ourselves for safety in the midst of a pandemic.

- Nervous system ad our bodies: How can we remember feeling safe around others, or how can we react and stay present with one another (co-regulate to the best of our ability) in the midst of active chaos?

- What is trauma, how do I know if I have had trauma, and/or how will I know if others have experienced it themselves?

- Once I can recognize the above, what can be done?

When we break down a program such as theirs, we're looking at education from all angles- foundational understanding of trauma before diving into important specifics. Learners reflect not only on themselves and their explicit experiences, but also on systems, cultures, and outside forces that are causing potential traumas (or that we are possibly perpetrating ourselves). In understanding our own selves, we can also make mindful decisions and truly create a trauma- informed approach to coaching, healthcare services, or other professions. 

We invite all to tune into this episode as our communities are currently still in, or trying to recover from, survival mode. Whether you identify as having trauma or not, these leaders cover a culturally hot topic in a novel way that directs you to where you may begin to increase physical strength in order to develop new thought patterns, mentally.

"Remove the label of trauma and just look at the manifestations that it may surface...higher anxiety levels, higher depression levels, difficulty sleeping"..." you may or may not label it as trauma" - Mark Schneider, Co-Founder of TIWL

Resources

- Get more information about Trauma Informed Weight Lifting, it's founders, and it's programs below:

https://www.traumainformedweightlifting.com/

- Meet and learn from Mariah and Mark in-person winter 2022 during their February workshop- open to all. The event is hosted at SEB (Anytime Fitness) Headquarters in Woodbury, MN: https://www.traumainformedweightlifting.com/workshops-events/2022/2/17/anytime-fitness 

A bird's eye view of a Trauma-Informed Workshop:

A. Education, Seminars 

 - Gain a foundational knowledge around trauma

 - Biology, nervous system, impacts of trauma & how they manifest in different ways

 - What does it mean to take a trauma-informed approach as a coach, trainer, PT, healthcare professional, etc.

 - Tools to help you better understand yourself

B. Hands-On Experience

  - In the Gym

  - In Person Discussion