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home / 世界杯决赛2022

linzi stoddard helps sexual violence survivors find healing through movement

linzi stoddard, a recent university of saskatchewan graduate, is the founder of the you are more project.

by thia james

oct 31 2022
read time 4 minute read
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linzi stoddard is the founder of the you are more project, which connects survivors of sexual assault and abuse with positive outlets such as fitness or yoga. photo taken in saskatoon, sk on tuesday, october 4, 2022. matt smith / saskatoon starphoenix
linzi stoddard has been finding emotional healing in fitness studios.
movement — paired with music that has meaningful messages, words of affirmation and inspiration — helps re-wire your brain into believing in yourself, others and the power of community, she says.
as a survivor of sexual violence, her own experience led her to see there was a need for programming in saskatchewan that promotes movement as a means to heal.
stoddard encountered a system that relied heavily on talk therapy alone, which she feels is limited and doesn’t allow for feeling your trauma in your body and working through it physically.
she wanted to create a program that would blend movement, group therapy and support for survivors of sexual violence.

during the covid-19 pandemic, she launched the you are more project with virtual events. in september, the program hosted its first in-person event, the free to be festival, where survivors were invited to try one of the five group fitness classes.

physical activity has been an essential part of her healing, stoddard says.
she experienced sexual violence at the age of seven, and started recognizing the trauma many years later in grade 11.
at spin studio ryde yxe and local gym rise strength lab, she found movement was doing much more for her than talk therapy. she felt empowered, but didn’t realize how movement was helping. her academic research led her to understand the mind-body connection.
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she approached a few owners of fitness businesses she knew and felt most safe to pitch the you are more project, a non-profit that has yet to be incorporated.
“most of the conversations started and ended with lots of tears,” stoddard says. “it was the first time that i openly talked about my experience.”
deciding who to approach to help host the program, she chose spaces where survivors felt safer while working through their trauma.
she considered details such as staff learning her name and welcoming her into the studio, and valued an overall sense that instructors were paying attention to their students.
these safer spaces help her feel like she belongs in her body and that she belongs in the community. before, she felt disconnected from her body. now, she has re-established that connection.
“i think a lot of people, speaking from experience, felt like ‘it was just me’ — that you’re the only one experiencing what you’re experiencing,” she says. “but the power of community to uplift, even if they don’t know what’s happening, it’s just so incredible.
“so now, having a group of people that have experienced similar situations or have some similarities, can really help connect them with one another, more into feeling not alone.”
linzi stoddard is the founder of the you are more project, which connects survivors of sexual assault and abuse with positive outlets such as fitness or yoga.
linzi stoddard is the founder of the you are more project, which connects survivors of sexual assault and abuse with positive outlets such as fitness or yoga. matt smith / saskatoon starphoenix
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experience + research

stoddard’s academic research helped her understand the experience, a subject she explored while she was a biomedical neurosciences student at the university of saskatchewan. she earned her degree this year. she had long been interested in studying how neurology and mental health are connected.

cardiovascular movement helps stimulate the development and growth and neurons, which help transmit information and create new brain pathways.
her research paper incorporated existing literature to explore the need for updated treatment beyond talk therapy for people with trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder after sexual violence. it makes a case for incorporating trauma-informed yoga practices into healing processes.
“just providing another outlet, another resource, because you never now what’s going to help someone,” she says.
working with stoddard made sense to brenna bote, co-owner of pure living yoga. as a member of you are more’s board of directors, she is helping develop the programming.
bote has known stoddard for about a year and a half and invited her to attend a class at her studio.
“she had some really beautiful experiences when she started coming to classes,” bote says, adding that they started working closely right away.

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“she’s willing to do the work, she’s willing to get everything organized so steps can be taken. it’s one of her many beautiful qualities — her willingness to just get the work done, to push a project forward.”
they became friends, and last summer stoddard approached bote asking her to join the you are more board.
“it was an easy absolute yes,” she says. “i felt very privileged to be working with the fine individuals that have come together to lend their knowledge, their support and their expertise.”
shaina lynden, co-owner of ryde yxe cycle studio, is another member of the board.
“linzi is a passionate and driven young person that is strengthening the fabric of our greater community and providing a critical service to young people and individuals who have experienced sexual violence,” lynden says. “and i think that working with individuals like linzi that continue to reinvest in the people around them, fuels us.”
stoddard recently finished 200 hours of yoga training and plans to continue developing the project while offering special day events.

she’s also busy in the academic world. she’ s enrolled in a master’s of science and organizational leadership online through arizona state university, and will work with the university of regina’s faculty of social work as a research coordinator on a project relating to women who experienced childhood trauma.

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“i find balance through movement a lot, either through my self-practice or teaching others,” she adds. “and being part of community honestly helps replenish my cup so much.”
tjames@postmedia.com
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