Episode 52
67 mins
Tim Seutter - Fighting Fire with Yoga
Tim is a Canadian Yoga Teacher and yoga studio owner based in Whangarei - a city in the far north of New Zealand.
Tim has worked as a fire-fighter for many years both in Canada and New Zealand. We were really interested in learning about how yoga and meditation could benefit individuals who worked in this profession and first responders in general. As you might imagine this line of work can be very intense, both physically and mentally so yoga and meditation may have the potential to help here.
In this episode, we hear about Tim's background growing up in Edmonton Canada, and how he changed direction from wanting to be a history professor to working as a fire-fighter. We hear about the challenges of the interview process, and what Tim feels got him through the process. We learn about the stress of working as a first responder, and how mental health support often isn't given the priority that it should. We also ask the question, can yoga and meditation help?
This episode was recorded one day after the tragic Christchurch shootings, so we ask Tim his thoughts on the general mood in New Zealand and what it may have been like for the first responders in this terrible situation.
As a note - some of what discuss in this episode could potentially be triggering for some people, so please be advised.
Links
Yoga Fire: https://www.yogafire.co.nz/
Yoga Fire TV: https://www.yogafire.tv/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogafire.nz/
Tim's workshops at Garden of Yoga: https://www.gardenofyoga.com.au/workshops/yoga-fire-workshops/
Amy Wheeler - Assessing and Balancing the Human System: https://www.janetlowndes.com.au/amy-wheeler-workshop-details
Highlights
Click on a timecode to play from that time in the recording.
2:44 Growing up in Canada3:39 How did Tim become a firefighter?
5:55 The effects of 9/11
6:37 What kind of things do they ask about at the interview?
8:58 Does yoga help Tim handle some of the more intense aspects of the job?
12:53 Has Tim found different coping strategies over time?
15:10 How did Tim discover yoga?
17:45 Did Tim have any key teachers?
19:06 Why Tim became a yoga teacher.
20:22 Are firefighters more drawn to a stronger physical practice or a more meditative one?
22:44 Is there a correlation between the flow state in an asana practice, and the mental state that’s required when the team is working together in an emergency situation?
25:08 Learning to be strong, open and loving from Dylan Werner.
28:29 Is it common for firefighters to not prioritise self-care?
31:40 Could yoga be essential for first responders?
35:30 Midroll - workshop announcement!
36:20 Is there mental health support for firefighters?
42:37 Should stress management be part of first responder training?
46:24 What brought Tim to New Zealand?
50:03 How does Tim get time to be a fulltime fire fighter, a yoga studio owner and father to 3 children?
56:18 Tim talks about his online platform yogafire.tv
1:00:08 Tim’s reaction to the Christchurch shootings in March
1:02:01 What doe Tim think the reactions of the first responders would have been?
1:04:21 What is the one core lesson that Tim would like to share with the world?
Friends of Flow
