Sara Taylor, CYT-200, SRYT, (she/her) is a certified yoga teacher and a SHE RECOVERS Trauma-informed Yoga Teacher. She became part of the SHE RECOVERS community in 2018 and attended the SHE RECOVERS in LA conference that same year. It was there that Sara spoke to our co-founder, Taryn Strong, and was inspired to become a SHE RECOVERS Trauma-informed Yoga Teacher in 2019. She has been volunteer facilitating SHE RECOVERS Trauma-informed Yoga on and off since 2020. Sara’s nominator says, “Sara gives her all to yoga classes on Wednesdays,” and commends her for showing up no matter the circumstance to volunteer. As a yoga instructor, she leads with love and is best known for gentle practices focused specifically on breathwork, guided stretching, and slow, intentional movement. During her classes, she invites individuals to find meaning, inspiration, and connection on the mat.
She has recently been recognized as a SHE RECOVERS Gem.
SHE RECOVERS Gems are volunteers who have been acknowledged by their peers for their profound and life-altering contributions and service to our community.
We had the honor of interviewing Sara Taylor about her role as a SHE RECOVERS volunteer.
What does being a SHE RECOVERS Foundation volunteer mean to you?
Being a SHE RECOVERS volunteer is truly a highlight each month for me. It is important for me to show up to this space and offer the same words and guidance that I needed (and still need daily) to all those who are new to this movement. I believe in Taryn & Momma Dawn as individuals, and I believe in SHE RECOVERS as a collective resource because I am living proof of the healing and success that stems from this amazing organization.
What made you want to become a SHE RECOVERS Foundation Volunteer?
I was one of the first teachers to go through Taryn’s SHE RECOVERS Trauma-informed Yoga Teacher Training on Salt Spring Island back in 2019. Yoga training was new to SHE RECOVERS, and I saw the need to add this offering of movement medicine. Yoga has played a vital role in my own personal recovery, and when Taryn’s vision came to life, I was front row for the onboarding of this addition, and I still am.
What three words would your friends or fellow volunteers use to describe you?
Intelligent, loving, and open.
How do these aspects of who you are show up in your everyday life?
I am a free-spirited, high-energy Pisces and full of affection for those who know me best. I walk in integrity and look people in the eye when speaking to them. My intelligence and openness allow me to use my voice both on recovery platforms and in my everyday life, as I feel freedom in recovering outloud.
What is something of which you are proud?
I recently celebrated 15 years alcohol free, and I am so proud of the woman I am today and the life I have come to love. I am proud of my three young adult children, who watched me closely as I rebuilt my life around wellness, honesty, and willingness.
What do you do outside of your SRF Volunteer role for work and/or play?
I am an artist and a chronic rock painter! I love taking slow walks, traveling, and I’m loving my new sidekick companion – a kitty cat named Itty Bitty Kitty. I greet people at church, laugh endlessly with female friends, speak at recovery meetings, and will love on any dog you put in front of me. Professionally, I consider myself a serial entrepreneur, and I spend my days teaching yoga, managing rental property, figure modeling, and creating wellness experiences for women in recovery
What does radical self-care look like for you?
Radical self-care for me looks like lots of Epsom salt baths, daily yoga or movement, a slower pace, mindfulness about what I put into my body, steam rooms and hot saunas, taking care of my face and skin with good products, trips to sunshine states and mountain ski lodges, and a solid set of girlfriends with lots and lots of laughter.
Tell us a little bit about your recovery journey. What are you recovering from? What tools and resources do you weave into your patchwork of recovery?
I am a woman in long-term recovery from alcohol and drug abuse, poor relationships, generational trauma, and sexual abuse. I stepped into the rooms of AA about 15 years ago when I was staring at divorce papers and a knowing that I needed to remove alcohol and cocaine from my life. I found SHE RECOVERS in 2018 and attended the SHE RECOVERS in LA conference, and I feel like my life changed profoundly from this experience. I spoke with Taryn in LA, and she told me about an upcoming SHE RECOVERS Trauma-informed Yoga Teaching Training that was launching to incorporate movement as medicine, and I was all in. Since then, I have been using yoga, breathwork, and movement as healing modalities in my life, and I share them with others. I also use art as a pathway to healing by painting rocks, canvas, and various art/craft projects in my recovery experiences. Above all, I use my voice to recover out loud in hopes that those who have not found their own voice may then have the courage to do so.
What or who is inspiring you right now?
I’ve always been a big fan girl of Glennon Doyle and still am (I have a matching tattoo to hers), but currently it is Elizabeth Gilbert with her latest book All the Way to the River (I bought all the readers in my fam a copy for Christmas) and Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
What SHE RECOVERS Intention & Guiding Principle resonates with you the most?
We answer the call to heal our past wounds and intergenerational traumas so we can live fully in the present.
What is your favorite SHE RECOVERS resource?
An obvious answer, probably, but SHE RECOVERS Trauma-informed Yoga is my fav!
What is one piece of advice you would give to another woman/non-binary individual who is seeking a community like SHE RECOVERS?
Come exactly as you are, be vulnerable, and prepare to be held and supported by women who truly understand and who will see you and champion you until you can begin to do this for yourself. Your life is sacred, and we all deserve the gift of recovery. Begin now!
