Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dawn Walter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dawn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
Prior to teaching yoga, I was a non-profit professional, working for large grant-making foundations in the New York metropolitan area. In September of 2001, I was on my way to work in downtown Manhattan, 2 blocks from the World Trade Center. As I stepped off the ferry at the World Trade Center, a plane hit the North tower. I stood and watched as the waves of heat glowed through the diamond shaped hole in the building. I started to slowly walk toward the South tower when another plane, flying very low and very fast, flew over my head and directly into the South tower. I ran from the falling debris above me, and made my way back to the ferry and back to Hoboken where I eventually found a train home. The next few days are a blur.
That experience made me realize that I wanted to live my life differently. I eventually moved from my home state of NJ to Sedona Arizona, where I made my new home and new life and found yoga. After years of experiencing symptoms of PTSD, I found relief as I explored the different paths of yoga (movement, breathwork, meditation, sound, etc.). I left my non-profit consulting business and dove into Yoga teacher trainings, specifically aimed at trauma conscious yoga. That path led me to working at a farm for rescue animals where they also have retreat space for grieving families who have lost a child. Grief therapy, counseling, art therapy, time with the animals, and yoga for grief and loss. I dove into training offered by the farm (The MISS Foundation and Elisabeth Kubler Ross Family Trust), where I found that I, too, had unresolved grief to process, including that of the 3,000-plus lives that were lost that September day as I walked to work.
That day changed me in so many ways. It gave me perspective. Compassion. Empathy. It gave me pause. How did I want to live my life? WHERE did I want to live my life? What did I want to do with my days? Today I live in Cornville AZ with my husband and two dogs. I teach yoga to special populations, including trauma conscious yoga, yoga for grief and loss, wheelchair yoga, gentle yoga, crystal bowl sound therapy, journaling, meditation, breath work, and more. The amazing gifts of yoga, in all its forms, physically, emotionally, spiritually, have inspired me to share the gift of yoga with others. This is my new path. This is what I have been called to do.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Dawn Walter, and Yoga has changed my life.
For some people, yoga brings spirituality into their life. For me, it was spirituality that brought yoga into my life. Through movement, breath, and awareness, I found yoga to be another channel for the connection with the strength within myself (Spirit, God, Source). In addition to spiritual benefits, the physical aspect of yoga has improved my health in a myriad of ways.
Perhaps most importantly, though, the overall practice of yoga (physical/spiritual) has relieved decades of anxiety and depression. I am a PTSD survivor, a 9/11 survivor, and have not found as much peace of mind in the past two decades as I have through my yoga practice in just the last few years.
These physical changes and incredible spiritual awakenings have brought me to a place where I am inspired to share the gift of yoga with others. I share the gift of yoga with individuals and groups seeking a transformative yoga experience. I do this through: Yoga hikes and retreats, Compassionate Yoga for Grief and Loss, Trauma Conscious Yoga, and additional classes/modalities such as Gentle Yoga, Yin, Yoga Nidra, Sound Healing, Meditation, Breath Work, and more.
As a survivor of PTSD (a 9/11 survivor), I was inspired by the teachings of my yoga instructors in the New York Metropolitan area. Following years of suffering from the symptoms of PTSD, I moved to Arizona and went on to study with yoga and breath work practitioners in Sedona, as well as completing numerous courses and certifications in Trauma Conscious Yoga, Compassionate Bereavement Care Yoga (Yoga for Grief and Loss), meditation, breath work, Crystal Bowl Sound Therapy, and Yin yoga.
I graduated from 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training early in 2020, as well as completing full Trauma Conscious Yoga certification in 2021 through The Trauma Conscious Yoga Institute. In 2023, I completed training provided by the MISS Foundation and Elisabeth Kubler Ross Family Trust, and became a Certified Provider of Compassionate Bereavement Care Yoga. Currently, I am enrolled in a two-year program through InBody Academy to complete my RYT-500 and become a Certified Yoga Therapist.
My goal is to teach/share yoga, in all its forms (including meditation, breath work, journaling, and sound), with inspiring music, quotes, humor, and compassion, to those who need it most.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
In Compassionate Yoga for Grief and Loss, I use the ATTEND model, a mindfulness-based bereavement care model built upon the precept of self-care and compassion, integral for those who work in emotionally intense fields. ATTEND stands for ATTUNEMENT: mindful, responsive, self-aware, empathetic; TRUST: compassionate, communicative, relationship-focused; THERAPAUTIC TOUCH: judicious contact, reflexivity, therapeutic intimacy; EGALITARIANISM: shared decision making, humility, creative caregiving; NUANCE: cultural awareness and sensitivity, individual awareness and sensitivity; DEATH EDUCATION: education of provider, education from provider to family/client.
This model is build on self care and compassion, more so than training/knowledge. Traits such as humility, empathy, awareness, sensitivity, cannot be taught. Without these character traits, a yoga instructor for grief, loss, or trauma would not be as affective, or affective at all.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
I believe everything happens in Divine order. I was blessed to work in the non-profit world for many years, helping organizations reach their goals, thus helping different populations that benefited from those non-profits. It was very meaningful and rewarding. Following my experience with 9/11, however, I felt a shift. A desire for more of an independent lifestyle. More relaxed. A longing to help individuals reach their highest good, thereby reaching mine. Yoga and mindfulness has been the path that has helped me immensely in my own personal journey, and what I am now blessed to share with others. I would do it all over again.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.yogaretreatsofsedona.com
- Instagram: Dawn Lorenzo Walter