WHAT IS INDIVIDUAL YOGA THERAPY?

HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM GOING TO GROUP YOGA CLASSES EACH WEEK? 

I’VE NEVER DONE YOGA BEFORE – IS THIS ACCESSIBLE TO ME?

These are usually the first questions people put to me when they first get in touch about one-to-one yoga therapy sessions.  Group classes can be extremely beneficial on many levels (I teach some group classes). However, yoga certainly is not ‘one-size-fits-all’ and there is a limit to how much a yoga teacher can work with an individual within the group class setting.

People seek different therapies for many reasons, but there is very often the desire to move towards healing of some kind with the support of a therapist.  

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by Sarah Yearsley

“Every client is naturally creative, resourceful and whole.” (International Coach Federation Cleveland, 2021)

Up until the second half of the 20th Century, psychotherapists focussed solely on an individual’s traumatised past rather their client’s growth potential and the equal role both play in the process of healing.

This began to change in the 1950s and set the stage for the evolution of modern coaching practices. As Humanistic Psychology is at the root of coaching’s foundation, coaches today believe that everyone has the resources for understanding themselves, for changing their attitudes, beliefs and self-directing their behaviour.

The idea is that every human has an ‘actualizing tendency’ — a tendency to promote growth, direction and productivity.

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I always wanted to be a Mum. When I knew for definite that it would not be possible, all my carefully made plans, my dreams, my hope for my future, all crashed and burned and I felt as if I was left with nothing. Alone in the ruins of my life, I had to find ways to start again, ways to survive. And that’s what I want to write about today. How to survive and thrive when what you have experienced feels un-survivable. The grief, the sadness, the pointlessness of it all, the horror of realising you can never be a parent. The hopelessness of it all. Watching others having what you have longed for, and the pain of feeling that no-one understands what you are going through. I was there. I thought my life was over. I felt as if there was a wall separating me from everyone I loved.

And that loneliness that I felt, leads me to my first point about healing from childlessness.

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 Marisa Tighe’s Story

Hema Sounds

Did you know that it has been proven by a growing body of scientific research, that different sound healing frequencies can treat many ailments, ranging from anxiety and depression, all the way through to chronic pain and beyond?  

In this blog, you will find out how sound frequencies can heal and you will hear a true life story from one of our therapists about how sound has transformed her life and the lives of many of her clients. 

What is Sound Healing?

Sound Healing is an effective way of improving our physical, emotional, mental  and spiritual well-being by being immersed in different combinations of continuous sound frequencies and intervals using very particular instruments and voices. 

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I don’t like suffering! For the last year I’ve been dealing with fatigue, long Covid style. It hasn’t been fun, though I hope I am now on the mend. Sooner or later, everyone has difficulties: health challenges, tricky relationships, or other woes. Not to mention concerns about the current crises in economics, climate, nature - and war in Europe.  Suffering is hard to bear, whether one’s own or witnessing that of others. What can we do? A familiar reaction is to try to shut off. There many ways of distracting ourselves. But rather than averting our gaze, can we teach ourselves to look with greater clarity and care?

Compassion means ‘to suffer with’. It is a willingness to engage with the whole of our lives, and not only the nice parts. Choosing to turn towards difficult experience can bring a sense of freedom and relief.

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For most of us it’s possible to appreciate the concept of interconnectedness on a rational level, the idea that we are interdependent, but perhaps it’s more difficult for us to experience this on a much deeper level, to have a sense of what this is within our very bones and within our soul. In today’s modern western culture, perhaps it’s more difficult for us to be truly confident in this level of knowing, to rest in this place of understanding which is deeper than the rational mind.

At points in our history we have lived closer to the land, providing us with a sense of immediacy in terms of our relationship with, and connection to nature. We lived in villages and small communities where we experienced a clear structure, a deep sense of natural hierarchy and the correct order of things, were our sense of place and home was deeply felt, an unquestionable sense of belonging.

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NEUROFEEDBACK

Introducing Dynamical Neurofeedback by Neuroptimal - Regulate your nervous system and improve your cognition, mindfulness and health through brain training.

Neurofeedback is a breakthrough technology that can address many issues, including sleep problems, anxiety, depression, PTSD, brain fog, poor memory, emotional resilience, mood swings, creativity, low energy, learning difficulties, brain injury, performance, mental clarity and stress management.

Many of us who are dealing with chronic mental or physical conditions, mood difficulties, poor concentration, sleep challenges and the effects of stress and trauma can reach a point of frustration when we still find ourselves unable to resolve long-term symptoms.

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As a year 10 work experience student, I had the opportunity to explore a variety of workplaces. While I could have chosen anything that caught my eye, my interests lie in people and how they interact with one another. So, I contacted a therapy company in the middle of town whose website captivated me, and I secured a week-long placement to explore my interests in this topic.

As the week went on, I settled in and felt a sense of safety projected by others I talked to. The atmosphere was calm, collected, and comforting, and everyone from the clients to the therapists was warm and welcoming. Rather than listing what I found great about the place, I will focus on what I learned and how it will help me in the future.

I talked to a variety of therapists with different areas of expertise. For example, I spoke with a psycho-spiritual counsellor who shared his idea of love-centered counselling, and I sat in on a yoga lesson, which was transformative in the way I viewed movement.

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History of mental health

As a work experience student hoping to explore mental well-being and counselling, I see that mental health can come across in different shapes and sizes and has a long and intricate history. For many people coping with or hoping to talk about mental health, they can struggle to find an environment where they feel safe and able to share past experiences about mental health openly. Many can find refuge in one-on- one session but others feel comforted in a group environment where they can relate to others.

Sitting in on a group well-being session -led by Dafna Bartle- and being able to observe the connections the group of 60+ women had formed over some time, made me realize that these women had formed a friendship that made them feel warm and secure and able to share deeper and meaningful things about themselves to others that might feel the same way or have similar opinions

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