Grand Canyon Yoga with Stephanie Washington E-RYT 500, YACEP

My name is Stephanie, and I am the founder of Grand Canyon Yoga.

This is a survivor-centered, woman-owned business built to serve those navigating a path to healing rooted in autonomy and truth. My personal journey with chronic illness and recovery from systemic harm—including religious trauma and spiritual abuse—has deeply informed my path as a teacher and facilitator.

This space is an extension of that journey: a commitment to a practice that honors the reality of our lived experiences over the performance of health. Whether you have felt marginalized, dehumanized, or forced to make yourself smaller to fit into traditional wellness or faith communities, you are centered here.

We believe that building inner awareness is a tool for collective liberation, and I am honored to support you as you reclaim your own agency, one breath at a time.

A Note from Stephanie:

I am currently on an indefinite medical leave from all in-person classes, private sessions, and group bookings. To honor my own journey with Lyme and environmental mold toxicity, I am prioritizing my recovery and letting my health dictate my timeline.

Thank you for your grace and for being a community that values the reality of healing over the performance of health.

How to Practice with Me During This Time:

The Agency Library (On-Demand): Access our full archive of gentle, trauma-sensitive yoga and mindfulness videos. I will continue to add two new videos each month.
- Explore the Agency Library Pass (Best for unlimited access to 25+ yoga practice, tutorial & guided meditation videos/recordings)
- Agency Archive A La Carte (Best for one-time rentals or for Existing Package Holders to use their remaining credits).
Monthly Sanctuary Sample ($0): Each month, I curate one high-value practice from the Library to offer as a free on-demand gift. This allows you to practice on your own timeline, as many times as you need, without the pressure of a live schedule.
- Find this month's offering here.
Community Virtual Sanctuary (Local/Hybrid) For our Grand Canyon community: join us for a virtual-hybrid practice on the big screen at the Rec Center.
- When: Wednesdays at 6:30 PM (Registration closes at 6:20 PM).
- How: Use your Local Hybrid Pass, an existing package, or a $12 drop-in.

Stephanie Washington

E-RYT 500, YACEP, C-HYI Trauma Sensitive, Size-Inclusive Certification

The Journey to Agency

My path with yoga began in 2009 as a search for relief from chronic pain following a traumatic brain injury. While I completed my first teacher training in 2011, my journey hasn't been a linear path to "wholeness." For years, I practiced and taught in environments that—despite their "wellness" branding—often mirrored the systems of coercive control, ableism, and spiritual bypassing I had experienced in other areas of my life.

On the mat, I spent years pushing through pain and injuring my own hypermobile body because I hadn't yet been taught the principles of active engagement or the power of a "No." It wasn't until my specialized trauma-informed trainings in 2017 and 2023 that I began to understand how to move from a state of survival to one of reclaiming agency.

A Practice Rooted in Reality

In 2019, my husband and I moved to Grand Canyon Village, where I established Grand Canyon Yoga to serve our unique, underserved community. My work here is deeply personal. I am a survivor of systemic harm and religious trauma, and I have lived with chronic illness for over 20 years.

2025 was a pivotal year of unravelling for me—a time to finally name the abuse I had experienced within "spiritual" communities and to begin the deep work of therapy and recovery. This season has shifted my focus from the "performance of health" to the reality of healing. I no longer feel the need to hide my neurodivergence or the demands of my recovery.

Advocacy through Facilitation

I am not a "guru" or a spiritual superior. I am a facilitator who believes your autonomy is the highest authority in the room. My mission is to provide you with the tools to build the internal awareness and sober judgment necessary to think for yourself and resist toxic power structures—both on and off the mat.

Expertise & Specializations

With 15 years and over 2,300 hours of teaching experience, I specialize in adapting the ancient roots of yoga to meet the complex needs of diverse bodies and lived experiences:

Trauma-Sensitive Facilitation: Creating a sanctuary for autonomy, choice, and internal safety.
Accessible & Adaptive Movement: Specialized training in Size-inclusive, Wheelchair, and Water Yoga, as well as support for limited mobility and hyper mobility.
Restorative Practices: Nervous system regulation and deep rest for those navigating burnout and chronic illness.
Anatomy-Informed Alignment: Focused on proper muscle engagement to protect and support the body.
Specialized Outreach: Experience in Yoga for Substance Abuse Recovery and faith-integrated meditation for those seeking a safe way to navigate spiritual practice.

Mission & Vision

Our Mission

Grand Canyon Yoga exists to cultivate a Survivor-Centered Sanctuary—a space where agency, autonomy, and collective liberation are the highest authority. We explicitly center the safety of those who have been marginalized, dehumanized, or harmed by toxic power structures and coercive control.

Our Vision

We envision a future where healing is a radical act of reclaiming agency. We see a community liberated from "guru culture" and the pressure to perform, where the reality of our bodies is honored over the performance of health. In this sanctuary, we use sober judgment and curiosity to explore the narratives held in our bodies, transforming our practice into a tool for inner knowing and critical thinking.

Our Roots

While we focus on creating a sanctuary for survivors, we also recognize and honor the rich, ancient roots of this practice in South Asia. Our classes are taught with deep respect for yoga’s origins, acknowledging that the physical postures (asanas) are part of a much broader philosophical tradition centered on self-inquiry and liberation from all forms of oppression.

Core Values

INCLUSIVITY & LIBERATION

Survivor-Centered Sanctuary: Our space is prioritized for the safety of the abused and the marginalized—not the comfort of abusers or the systems that protect them. We reject "all are welcome" narratives when they are used to force victims into proximity with their oppressors.
Yoga as Social Justice: We believe self-inquiry is a tool for collective liberation. We stand in solidarity with those fighting for equity, recognizing that silence in the face of systemic harm is complicity.
Agency over Authoritarianism: We empower practitioners to build sober judgment and critical thinking. Stephanie does not position herself as a "spiritual superior" or a "guru," but as a facilitator of your own inner knowing.

TRAUMA SENSITIVE APPROACH

Reclaiming Power: Trauma often results in a loss of agency. Our practice is a somatic unravelling of coercive control, returning choice and authorship to the individual.
Sensation over Shape Duplication: We emphasize your internal experience over outward appearance. In a world that demands you "perform" health or compliance, we prioritize your right to opt-out, vary a posture, or honor the wisdom of your body's "No".
Curious Inquiry: We practice slowing down to explore the thoughts, emotions, and sensations connected to our movement. This allows us to deconstruct outdated survival narratives and rebuild trust in our own instincts.

COMMUNITY & COLLECTIVE WITNESS

Protecting the Sanctuary: We foster a community that honors the reality of healing. This means valuing the truth of chronic illness, neurodivergence, and trauma recovery over the superficial "performance of health".
Collective Safety: We value a "low-demand" environment where you can show up exactly as you are without the pressure to perform or interact.
Accessible Belonging: We use trauma-sensitive principles to bridge the gap for those who are homebound, chronically ill, or geographically isolated, ensuring your needs are a priority, never an afterthought.

Our Articles

Reclaiming Agency: Insights from Our Blog.

Topics:

Thank you for supporting this business. You are helping to build a vital wellness resource right here in our community.

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Welcome to the Sanctuary

A Season of Rest & Recovery