Exhale to Inhale Statement on SCOTUS Decision

New York, N.Y. —

Dear Exhale to Inhale Community,

Since 2013, the Exhale to Inhale Community has come together to help survivors of sexual and domestic violence restore a sense of agency and choice making over their bodies through our trauma-informed yoga.  For thousands of survivors of domestic and sexual violence, Exhale to Inhale has offered trauma informed yoga classes and training.  Our goal is to help survivors reconnect with and feel safe in their bodies again.  

The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade directly opposes and undermines our mission at Exhale to Inhale.  It is rooted in power and control over another individual’s body, a direct contradiction to all that Exhale to Inhale has been advocating for since our founding. And we are particularly worried about the impact it will have on survivors of sexual, domestic and other forms of gender-based violence.

Agency and choice making over one’s body is a human right.  By removing the federal protection for abortion, the decision erodes agency and denies women and people who can become pregnant the freedom to make decisions about their own health and bodies, including the decision as to whether to carry a pregnancy.

In particular, survivors, women of color, and low-income women have disproportionately lacked freedom of choice to ensure that their reproductive rights are protected.  This decision will further diminish the ability of those who are most in need to protect their reproductive rights and maintain full control over their bodies.

While some states will continue to allow abortion, many others will criminalize abortions, even in the case of rape and incest.  Many  survivors, women of color and low-income women, as well as other trauma survivors, are not emotionally or financially capable of traveling cross-country to ensure their rights are protected.  And they shouldn’t be required to.

In these difficult times, Exhale to Inhale is even more resolute in our mission of providing effective, trauma informed tools to support agency and healing.  

We stand in solidarity with our partners and sister organizations in supporting a women’s right to choose and advocate for the rights of all survivors to have autonomy over their bodies.  

We urge individuals in power and political leaders to ensure that access to reproductive health resources is available to all, especially those who have difficulty accessing these resources. 

And in all of this, we urge you to continue to take empowering steps towards your healing and reconnecting with your agency.  Each of us has the power within us to make a difference for ourselves and for others, and now more than ever, Exhale to Inhale will strive to remain a source of support and hope for our community.

Sincerely,

Maggie LaRocca

Exhale to Inhale Executive Director