Our Story
About Dharma Care Institute
Dharma Care Institute is an applied space focused on understanding stress, behavior, and human complexity within real-world care environments.
This work exists at the intersection of:
yoga therapy
nervous system awareness
behavior understanding
and disability and social service settings
It is grounded in the reality that:
what is taught in wellness spaces often does not translate directly into care environments
The Purpose
The purpose of this work is simple:
to help people respond more clearly, steadily, and effectively in the environments where care actually happens
This includes:
direct support professionals and caregivers
people working in disability and social service systems
yoga practitioners who feel called toward care work
healing artist looking for steady support
Dharma Care Institute
A grounded, embodied approach to care, clarity, and real-world support
The Dharma Care approach sits at the intersection of:
social work and care systems
yoga therapy and embodied practice
and a deep commitment to ethical, relational presence
This work developed from years of being inside real environments:
supported living
reentry and community programs
direct care and service settings
Where the need is not abstract.
It is immediate, relational, and often complex.
✧ What We Recognize
People do not exist in isolation.
What someone is experiencing is shaped by:
their nervous system
their relationships
their environment
and the systems they are living and working within
Care workers, in particular, are often navigating:
high responsibility
limited support
and conditions that directly impact their ability to stay steady and responsive
This approach does not ignore those realities.
It works within them.
✧ How We Work
At its core, the Dharma Care approach is simple:
We help people make sense of what is happening
and respond in ways that are more clear, grounded, and sustainable
This includes:
understanding behavior as communication
recognizing patterns of stress and overwhelm
learning how the nervous system responds in real time
and using simple, embodied practices to support regulation
These are not abstract ideas.
They are tools that can be applied:
in the middle of a shift
during difficult interactions
and in everyday life
✧ A Different Kind of Support
This work is not about perfection or performance.
It is about:
building capacity over time
reducing unnecessary escalation
and creating more stable, supportive environments through how we show up
It also recognizes that:
much of what people are experiencing is not just personal—it is shaped by the conditions they are working within
Because of this, the Dharma Care approach holds both:
individual support
and awareness of larger systems
✧ What Makes This Approach Distinct
This work brings together:
social work principles such as person-in-environment and systems awareness
trauma-informed and strengths-based care
and the practical application of yoga therapy
Not as separate disciplines—
but as a unified way of understanding and responding to real human situations.
Rather than teaching yoga in ideal conditions,
this approach focuses on:
how these tools function in real environments, with real constraints
✧ The Role of Embodied Practice
Simple, body-based practices are used to support:
nervous system regulation
recovery from stress
and increased capacity over time
These practices are intentionally:
accessible
realistic
and adaptable to daily life
✧ Ethical Presence & Leadership
A central part of this work is how we show up in the spaces we’re already in.
This includes:
awareness of impact
relational responsibility
and the ability to respond with clarity, even under pressure
This is a quiet form of leadership—
one that shapes environments not through control, but through presence.
✧ The Intention
The Dharma Care approach is not about fixing people.
It is about:
supporting individuals within real conditions
increasing clarity and capacity
and contributing to environments that are more steady, humane, and sustainable
This is care work that meets reality—while still holding the possibility for change.
The direction of this work
Dharma Care Institute is developing a training pathway that bridges:
yoga teacher training
yoga therapy
and real-world care and social service environments
The goal is to support practitioners in developing the clarity, skill, and grounded understanding needed to work responsibly within care systems.
This work is unfolding gradually and is built from real experience rather than theory alone.
At its core, this work is about:
learning how to meet real situations with clarity, steadiness, and care
This work comes from a desire to bridge what is meaningful in yoga with what is required in real life—especially in spaces where people are often under-supported and unseen.
LINEAGE, LAND & RIGHT RELATIONSHIP
Honoring Lineage
This work is informed by living traditions—particularly yoga and related systems that have been carried, practiced, and preserved over time.
These are not owned or invented here.
They are:
studied with care, engaged with respect, and applied with responsibility
Rather than attempting to represent or teach these traditions in their entirety, this approach focuses on:
working within a clear scope
translating what has been meaningfully studied and practiced
and remaining aware of the limits of that translation
Lineage, in this context, is not a claim.
It is a relationship.
Working in Relationship to Land
This work takes place on land that holds its own history, cultures, and ongoing realities.
Operating in Iowa and the surrounding region means being mindful that:
these lands are not neutral
they carry histories of displacement and resilience
and they continue to shape the communities living here
This awareness informs how this work is held:
with humility
with attention to context
and without assuming universality
Reciprocity & Responsibility
To work with knowledge—especially knowledge that comes from traditions, communities, and lived experience—requires reciprocity.
This can take many forms, including:
ongoing study and acknowledgment
ethical application in real-world settings
contributing back through service, accessibility, and care
Reciprocity is not a one-time act.
It is:
an ongoing practice of relationship and responsibility
Right Relationship
At the center of this work is a simple question:
How do we relate—to ourselves, to others, and to the systems we are part of—in a way that reduces harm and increases clarity?
This includes:
awareness of power in care roles
respect for autonomy and dignity
attention to impact, not just intention
and the ability to stay present, even when conditions are imperfect
Right relationship is not about perfection.
It is about:
continuously adjusting how we show up in response to what is actually happening
A Grounded Approach
We seek to ask important questions, with a commitment to staying oriented to:
where this work comes from
where it is being practiced
and how it is carried forward responsibly
Depth is not something to perform—it is something to be in relationship with.
About Zaria
Zaria Rochester is an E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist and Supported Living Coordinator working within disability services.
Her work is shaped by:
direct experience in care environments
formal training in yoga therapy and embodied practice
ongoing study in disability studies and human services
She works at the intersection of:
individual support
team dynamics
and system-level realities
Rather than separating yoga from real-world environments, her approach focuses on:
applying yogic understanding in ways that are relevant, responsible, and grounded in the realities of care work
Zaria has completed over 2,000 hours of training in yoga, yoga therapy, and embodied studies, and is currently completing a degree in Disability Studies.
Her work is informed by both:
formal study
and lived experience within care systems