Do you believe that the mind and body are connected? Most people do these days. It makes sense that whatever happens to you physically affects you mentally/emotionally and vice versa.
As Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapists, we are mind-body practitioners. By blending supported yoga poses/stretches with non-directed dialogue, the connection between what’s happening in your body is explored in relationship to your thoughts and emotions.
To borrow a phrase from a Vancouver based yogi, Eoin Finn, “Our issues are in our tissues.” And let’s face it, we all have issues… it’s just a matter of how much and when. And when life deals you a case-lot size of them, it might be time to check in with what valuable information your body has to offer you.
Here’s a list of 10 really good reasons it’s time to see a Yoga Therapist:
1. When you’re faced with a big decision or difficult life choice and need clarification on what the next step can be.
2. When you’re feeling overwhelmed and the pace of 21st century life feels out of balance. Like many people seeking out their first yoga class, you feel a need to slow down, reflect, and regroup.
3. If you have run into a roadblock with your healing, either physical or emotional and you want to assess the source of your obstacle or want to investigate other options for healing.
4. Because you put everyone else first. Ever sit down at the end of a day and realize that between work and family you’ve done absolutely nothing for yourself? You’ve been taking care others for so long you’re left wondering, “Who am I and what do I want?”
5. Your body needs it. You have tight muscles and stiff joints and you feel you could use some deep relaxation and, really, when couldn’t you use some gentle stretches and traction done to your body?
6. You’re confidence is low and you’re up against feelings of self-doubt and you are doubting your aspirations.
7. Life took a turn you didn’t expect and now you’re left sorting and processing – What now? What are my options? Where do I go from here?
8. You’re in a creative slump. You feel your source of inspiration–your creative well–is all dried up and are looking for ways to access it again.
9. Your past is catching up with you. Whatever you have pushed away and avoided dealing with, whether it be some aspect of your physical health that you’ve ignored or an emotional issue from your past, it’s resurfacing again and it’s time to check in about it.
10. For the joy of Discovery. You are interested in delving into your spiritual and mindful self and seeing what might be revealed.
Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy (PRYT) is based on the premise that we store experiences in our body – stress, memories, thoughts, and emotion. Using the body as a starting point, PRYT sessions explore the connection between your mind and body, which leads to an awareness that can give you insight into your life.
You have all the information you need for personal transformation and healing within yourself. PRYT gives you the opportunity to access this embodied wisdom and learn from it.
To further ponder the why’s and how’s of PRYT integrated body-mind approach, consider this quote by Carl Rogers, an American psychologist known for his client-centered approach to therapy, in his book, “On Becoming a Person.”
“Experience is, for me, the highest authority. The touchstone of validity is my own experience. No other person’s ideas, and none of my own ideas, are as authoritative as my experience. It is to experience that I must return again and again, to discover a closer approximation to truth as it is in the process of becoming in me.”
