Meet Cole Schlam of Buffalo + Sparrow Yoga Collective

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cole Schlam.

Cole, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Like many folks who enter into jobs of service, my inclination to teach yoga came from witnessing its benefits to others, specifically, folks who had directly or indirectly experienced violence. It was only once I started really diving into practicing for myself that I realized the benefits of yoga run deep and are supportive of all of us. More importantly, it was clear that to offer yoga to others, I first had to have a consistent personal relationship with the practice of yoga and acknowledge my own wounds. An activist from Australia named Lilia Watson said something that has left a lasting impression on how I teach and offer support, “If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let’s work together.” Yoga became the main tool as I moved through my own life experiences, the pleasant ones and the painful alike.

We all have specific ways in which we move through life in order to avoid pain and also to hold on to things or experiences that make us feel good. Many of which keep us safe, and we need them. Some of which really aren’t that helpful and may actually hinder our capacity to connect with ourselves and others more fully. By paying attention and also offering myself compassion, I am able to bear witness to my patterns, learn to change them, while also leaving space for my human-ness. Space for making mistakes, or allowing opportunities for myself to be vulnerable and to share the more tender parts of myself. My yoga practice is where I get to practice both the discipline of self-awareness and the kindness of self-compassion in an environment that offers space for curiosity, exploration and that has less risk than other places in my life.

When I notice my reaction to falling out of a balancing pose such as feeling embarrassed for not being perfect or my tendency not to try again because of fear of failure, I get to build my awareness of this sequence of experiences, and in a safe place, work to shift reactions that I am now aware exist. It then becomes easier to witness where else in my life, I have that same reaction and trust in my ability to make changes that support me. And boy do some of those patterns run deep! Some of them feel like they will take this whole life to loosen and others vanish simply by acknowledging they are there!

There is a trust I build with myself in my practice. This self-trust is a constant work in progress and each time I feel it, there is a sense of letting go of some of the restrictions that hold me back. In that, there is a sense of freedom and deeper connection with myself and with the people in my life. It is this trust and sense of connection that gives me courage to then bear witness to the more ingrained tendencies.

Since I began to teach nearly a decade ago, I have aimed to cultivate a space where folks feel safe and welcome to explore their relationship with themselves and to challenge themselves. Some of the techniques I use are simple, like letting myself make mistakes in front of students showing that we are in this together, and others are more nuanced – such as the language I use and affirming variance in the experience. I believe that every person that walks into a yoga class has experienced some sort of trauma, has their own stories that I will never know and that my main responsibilities as a teacher is to make no assumptions and to hold space for each person as they are.

Mainly I teach within studios and use these same techniques and awareness within my public classes. This particular lens of teaching has provided me a few powerful opportunities to teach in more nuanced locations such as detention centers and more recently working with veterans.

Eventually, I would meet Rachel Stroud (co-founder of Buffalo + Sparrow Yoga Collective), who has her own profound story of how she started this work. We realized we both share a passion to make yoga more accessible, specifically for trauma survivors. It was in those initial conversations the seed was planted for what would become Buffalo + Sparrow Yoga Collective, offering trauma-sensitive yoga to people with various backgrounds of trauma.

Yoga can support many of us as we navigate the effects of trauma. Such as cultivating a compassionate relationship with our bodies and regulating our nervous system to name just a few benefits. While all yoga inherently intends to do this for everyone, trauma-sensitive techniques were created to meet the specific experience of trauma survivors in order to make a space where they feel safe and can gradually learn to support themselves with these techniques.

When we consider that in the United States that 61% of men and 51% of women report exposure to at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, it becomes clear there are many trauma survivors in every yoga class, and in all of our communities. This is the way I have found I can support my community and the individuals within it in finding some ease. It’s my dream, as well as the vision for Buffalo + Sparrow Yoga, for everyone living with trauma symptoms to have the ability to live life as their whole self… free from trauma symptoms. We believe that yoga, when taught with intentionality around trauma, can support in this journey towards freedom.

Links to above states: https://www.integration.samhsa.gov/clinical-practice/trauma

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Relatively, yes. However, I chose a career that is intertwined with my beliefs and my understanding of human connection. I teach from my heart. This can make for some challenging experiences, profound growth and moments of humility that are a little harder to swallow.

One of the biggest challenges I face is sharing with folks what it is I do. Sure, I teach yoga. However, in this day in age, what does that actually mean? Many people when they think of what yoga is think about putting your body into outlandish shapes, a fitness routine or the idyllic image of a deeply spiritual person in deep meditation outside of society while burning incense. While some of these assumptions may have some truth to them, what I love about teaching yoga is not captured in those visuals. A challenge I constantly feel is describing what I do and how it relates to them.

It absolutely involves movement and can cultivate a balance of healthy strength and mobility within the physical body. I do love geeking out on the physicality; I think it is incredibly interesting, important to self-awareness, and simply a masterpiece! Think about what needs to happen for us to feed the body oxygen and to move that oxygen through the body. It is a work of art! Some of the moments when I felt more connected to myself is because I can feel the strength of my own body, or have heard my heartbeat move from an elevated pace to a slower rhythm.

To describe the empowerment, self-awareness, and freedom that comes from the practice can be difficult. I have found the best way to understand is to experience it. Yet, it can take a bit of time to really notice changes, and the type of changes vary for all of us. The postures (the movement part of yoga) are a great entry point to the practice of yoga. The physical experience is often easier to feel and experience. The emotional or psychological benefits take more time to notice.

There have been times where the “why” behind my teaching has inhibited potential professional growth. The choices I make when I teach in order for the experience to be more accessible and supportive means that there are some differences between how I teach and teaching models that some studios or locations require. Which has meant I have been turned away from teaching at some places unless I shift my model. This has been hard to reconcile, and ultimately I had to come back to my reason for teaching and my commitment to cultivating safe and welcoming environments. In a similar yet different experiences, I have had to leave some opportunities because I felt the environment wasn’t safe for their participants and could potentially leave the students more vulnerable to harm.

Another challenge is that while yoga is inherently accessible, the yoga industry is not. There are many barriers for folks to find a place to practice. The industry, as it exists, is tailored as an exclusive offering for people of privilege. Specifically, thin white women with a certain level of financial means, which is a demographic that I fit. Whether it is finding a yoga class that is accessible (in a multitude of ways), affordable or the view that yoga is meant for someone else, many folks are unable to get a yoga class that truly meets their needs. I grapple with these systemic challenges.

As a white cis-gendered woman, I fit the demographic that the yoga industry is focused on. This in and of itself, means that while I have the skills and the hope to support as many folks as possible, there are students who may be better served by teachers they feel they can more easily relate to their lived experience. This has been a humbling and important part of serving – knowing how to rely on the fantastic groups supporting folks throughout the Denver area who may cultivate a safer space than I am able.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
My work is to teach yoga that meets the individuals in front of me where they are at. I do this in several ways, all with the same through-line I have been speaking to above. While all teachers aim to meet their student’s needs, my capacity to hold space for each person as they are and the ways in which I create that space are unique. My aim is never to fix or heal someone. It is a relationship that I enter into with the individuals in front of me. In that relationship, we work together to explore and become curious about what shows up. I do this as an individual yoga teacher and the trauma-informed yoga business Rachel and I co-founded Buffalo + Sparrow Yoga Collective. 

Teaching Public Yoga Classes: I offer weekly classes at Samadhi Center for Yoga in Denver and Englewood as well as in Arvada at Asana Studio. I teach mostly flow (moving with the breath) and yin (holding supported poses) in these locations. Both help release stress in very different yet similar ways and they can be great compliments to each other.
Teacher Trainings: I offer teacher training for those interested in becoming teachers and continuing education for those teachers looking to expand their skill set.

Some of which include: Yin and Restorative Teacher Trainings Level 1 and 2 (with Heather Lindemann). 50-hour Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Teacher Training (through Buffalo + Sparrow Yoga Collective). All of the training comes from the perspective of seeing the individual rather than making the individual fit into the pose.
Yoga for Resilience Series: I offer a six-week series throughout Denver for trauma-survivors to gain yoga tools that can support trauma symptoms. These are a great adjunct to other treatments and a safe place for trauma survivors.
Retreats: An opportunity to remove yourself from the stressors of daily life in order to fully recharge and rest.
Private Yoga Sessions: These are great for individuals who need a more specialized take on yoga or are looking to refine their practice in a particular way.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There isn’t one but rather a handful of moments where I know I truly supported someone. It is the small moments like the honor of seeing a student find new strength.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ColeSchlam.com and www.BuffaloandSparrow.com
• Email: cole@coleschlam.com
• Instagram: @coleschlam, @yin_and_restore and @buffaloandsparrow
• Facebook: @coleschlamyogafromtheheart, @yinandrestore and @buffaloandsparrow

Image Credit:
Mcleod9Creative, Green Lion Images and Heather Lindemann

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