About Alissa

Alissa Firth-Eagland (she/her) is a yoga teacher of white settler descent living with disabilities. Her teaching style is accessible and offers a steady pace. Lived experience with traumatic brain injury, post-concussion syndrome, mental illness, and gender-based violence inform how she teaches. Folks practicing yoga with Alissa can expect to choose what is best for their body and to question what we know about how we move. She shares movement, breath, and mindfulness practices for others like herself so they can benefit from trauma-informed, brain-oriented yoga. She is based in Guelph, traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit.

Statement of Acknowledgement

I gratefully live and work in the city of Guelph, Dish With One Spoon Treaty, on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

Commitments

I commit to calling out white supremacy and undoing cultural appropriation of yoga by the West whenever possible. I will foster understanding of the relationship between yoga and our bodies from the perspective of the brain, grounded in the roots of this practice.

Values

Accessibility

  • Co-creating safety

  • Trauma-informed 

  • Anti-oppressive

  • Disability-led

  • “Cripping” movement as we know it

  • Treat your body with respect

  • Personal choices

Authenticity

  • Be your genuine self

  • Live your life according to your values

  • Be true to yourself above all

  • Self-knowledge keeps you humble and earnest

  • Understand your strengths and weaknesses

  • Seek out feedback

  • Practice with the body you have today

Inquiry

  • Curiosity

  • Question what you think you know about movement

  • Bravery to ask questions and speak up

  • Critical thought 

  • Continual learning

  • Embodied learning

Testimonials about Alissa

  • The instructor is amazing. I leave a session with Alissa feeling so much better going back to work.

  • Alissa is very welcoming and flexible with people coming and going during the workday.

  • The instructor is amazing and that helps ground me. Definitely a great pick me up in the middle of the work day!

  • Alissa teaches the perfect level for a wide audience, offers helpful instruction, and is extremely kind.