Tobias Wiggins is an assistant professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Athabasca University (AU). His research centers transgender mental health, queer visual culture, clinical transphobia, community-based wellness, and psychoanalysis. Broadly, Wiggins’ work aims to address the continued psychiatric pathologization of gender variance and to support the efficacy of trans-competent medical care. At AU, he coordinates the University Certificate in Counselling Women, an interdisciplinary program which applies feminist theory to the practice of counselling. His recent research has been published in the Transgender Studies Quarterly and the anthology Sex, Sexuality and Trans Identities: Clinical Guidance for Psychotherapists and Counselors.
Wiggins has spearheaded trauma-informed Queer and Trans Yoga classes in Toronto, as well as offering yoga-specific social justice education at Yoga Equity Consulting. This work aspires to tackle systemic issues like transphobia, sexism, racism, and accessibility imbedded within the larger yoga communities. In 2017, he was the distinguished recipient of Yoga Alliance Foundation's Aspiring Yoga Teacher Scholarship, which is awarded to yoga practitioners with a high level of leadership and community service expertise. He also produced and directed the popular open access video You Are Here: Exploring Yoga and the Impacts of Cultural Appropriation, which addresses yoga’s relationship to colonization and racism. He has sat on the Yoga Alliance Equity Task force, advising on issues related to gender identity and sexual orientation. Wiggins’ upcoming writing on trauma and transphobia in yoga communities will be found in Embodied Resilience: 30 Mindful Essays about Finding Empowerment after Addiction, Trauma, Grief, and Loss (2020).
Wiggins has spearheaded trauma-informed Queer and Trans Yoga classes in Toronto, as well as offering yoga-specific social justice education at Yoga Equity Consulting. This work aspires to tackle systemic issues like transphobia, sexism, racism, and accessibility imbedded within the larger yoga communities. In 2017, he was the distinguished recipient of Yoga Alliance Foundation's Aspiring Yoga Teacher Scholarship, which is awarded to yoga practitioners with a high level of leadership and community service expertise. He also produced and directed the popular open access video You Are Here: Exploring Yoga and the Impacts of Cultural Appropriation, which addresses yoga’s relationship to colonization and racism. He has sat on the Yoga Alliance Equity Task force, advising on issues related to gender identity and sexual orientation. Wiggins’ upcoming writing on trauma and transphobia in yoga communities will be found in Embodied Resilience: 30 Mindful Essays about Finding Empowerment after Addiction, Trauma, Grief, and Loss (2020).