About me
Nicole Steward
After two decades as a social worker (MSW) working in foster youth services, rape crisis, juvenile justice, and in education as a behavior intervention specialist, and foster youth/homeless youth liaison, I began to see the vital need for self-care to prevent burn-out.
After experiencing three major burn-outs in my career, I decided to take my own self-care seriously and found yoga & mindfulness as a treatment to the vicarious (and often direct) trauma I was absorbing while working with vulnerable populations.
Mindfulness allowed me the mental and emotional distance from the trauma while yoga allowed me to physically discharge the toxic stress. It changed the way I relate to those I serve and has cultivated a resilience and optimistic outlook that keeps me sustained in this work.
Teaching yoga, offering self-care workshops and professional development that focuses on understanding the neurobiology of trauma to social service agencies, schools, and non-profit organizations allows me to share the good news of self-care and the message of resilience!
The need to adopt RADICAL self-care (deep, courageous self-care beyond manis & pedis) is becoming more & more obvious every day. We must examine what we bring to this work and have practical ways to discharge the toxic stress we absorb as a byproduct of working with traumatized populations.
I truly believe self-care is a RADICAL TENDENCY we must adopt if we are to sustain ourselves as service providers, change makers, and human beings. This is why I created Radical Tendencies Yoga & Mindfulness Education (RHYMEâ„¢).
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​Education & Certifications
​Master of Social Work (MSW) -University of Connecticut (UConn)
200hr Registered Yoga Teacher
100hr UZIT/Deep Healing Yoga
Mindful Schools K-12 Curriculum
Y12SR Yoga for 12-Step Recovery
CASA/Guardian ad litem for Foster Youth
Trauma-Informed Yoga for Survivors of Sexual Assault