Meet Linda TROUTMAN

I started yoga over 30 years ago when my doctor told me to find a way to destress.

My first child had a serious medical problem, and as a result, I had a stress induced near miss stroke. 

I was hooked from the first yoga class that I took. I have a lot of flexibility so the physical practice was easy. The benefits that I noticed right away were the deep peace and a great night sleep. I love movement, and yoga helped me to feel more at ease.  More importantly it helped me to cope with my daughter's ongoing medical concerns, literally breath by breath. I used yoga as a life line when I became consumed by fears of the unknown outcome of my child’s illness. 

After several years, my first teacher Vici Batac, encouraged me to deepen my practice, and so I apprenticed with her, demonstrating to others under her guidance and eventually substitute teaching for her.  I realized that I needed additional yoga education.  Tricia Fiske, another teacher of mine, introduced me to Daren Friesen, who was leading a 200 hour teacher training at Moksha Yoga in Chicago.  

At the same time, I also enrolled in the YogaKids® program, because I wanted to share yoga with children,  especially special needs children. 

Fast forward several years,  I completed Prairie Yoga's 500 hour teacher training with Lori Gaspar.  

I have used yoga to heal from my own diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. 

My pain level was a constant intensity of a 7 on a scale of 1-10. It affected my ability to care for my children. I remember thinking I am 30, and I feel like I am 90! I was beyond discouraged and frustrated.

Back then there wasn't any medication to treat this disorder, and so my doctor’s advice was to make my life as stress free as possible, to stay as strong as I could, and to lead as healthy a life as I could. 

I was hurting, but I strongly believe that there are two kinds of pain: the pain that comes from not using your body, which will only bring you more pain and disability, and the pain/discomfort that comes from taking accountability for your own health and staying as fit as you can be. 

I am so grateful that I had the knowledge of yoga. No matter how difficult this disorder became; I felt optimistic that I could deal with it, because I practiced yoga. My mind became more peaceful, and my nervous system responded to this practice in a very positive way. Yoga helped lift my spirits, decreased my pain, and created space for me to heal.   

As I was studying yoga, teaching and raising my children, I knew with complete clarity I could not have been the same mother or spouse without the centering effect of yoga.

These experiences enabled me to understand just how powerful yoga could be, and it naturally influenced my work as a yoga teacher. 

This is the seed that was planted to project me toward my current practice of being a therapeutic yoga teacher. As a result, I have shared this beautiful gift of yoga with students experiencing diverse challenges. 

I have witnessed many students embrace the same empowering effects of yoga. I have worked therapeutically with students who were dealing with conditions like arthritis, cancer, MS, Fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s, to name just a few. I also started working with children with Autism, ADHD, Sensory issues, and Down Syndrome. Gabriel Halpern took me under his wings and showed me how to use yoga as a therapeutic tool. One of the most important things that he taught me was that working therapeutically was about creating space in order for the Spirit to allow the innate healing of each student.    

To support my passion for sharing therapeutic knowledge with teachers, I enrolled in a 1000 hour yoga therapy certification program with Yoga North International SomaYoga Institute in Ely, MN. This program specialized in a therapeutic background in SomaYoga, combining somatics, as practiced by Thomas Hanna, and therapeutic yoga.

It soon became clear that combining these practices could profoundly shift the way people can overcome pain and discomfort to live a more embodied life with lasting ease.

I think of my body as my dance partner. It embodies my spirit and it allows me to celebrate life.

My story does not end there. I am one of the lead teachers in Prairie Yoga's 500 hour teacher training, and have taught as the lead teacher in their 200 hour All Embracing teacher training. I love teaching teachers how to work with special populations and students with therapeutic concerns. I’ve created  a new advanced yoga teacher training program called Yoga Therapy Immersion to further enrich the skills learned in the Prairie Yoga 500-hour yoga teacher program. Teachers can also apprentice with me to refine their practical skills of working therapeutically.   

In addition to training teachers, I work privately with students, teach multi-level classes, therapeutic classes, therapeutic workshops, and teach a 5-week beginner series that I developed for brand new students.   

When I am not teaching or taking my own yoga practice, I enjoy spending time with Wilson, my husband of 35 years and my four legged friend Oliver. I love to work out in Pilates and Surfset. My favorite place is by the ocean. I love music, dance, plays, good food, reading, and listening to audio books.