More Clarity
Who are we? What do we do? What distinguishes us? What are our intentions? Let’s start with what we do. In terms of our GLOBAL and PERSONAL vision, we help people and professionals live significant and meaningful lives. We do this by accessing wisdom primarily from their bodies. As a result, they take effective and empowered action that makes a difference in their lives and in the lives of others. Let’s dig a little deeper into this. As far as our programs go, the above definition not only helps us... Read The Rest →
Gifts of Phoenix Rising: Unconditional Positive Regard
I give Phoenix Rising sessions, offer class series and lead 8-week groups. I also teach weekly Hatha yoga classes in the ParaYoga tradition and offer private instruction. I used to think these were separate domains, but the longer I steep in the waters of Phoenix Rising, the more the boundaries blur. I’m going to use these blog posts as a chance to explore aspects of Phoenix Rising that fertilize all I do as a yoga teacher. “Unconditional positive regard” is a key principle of Phoenix Rising work. The term was... Read The Rest →
Phoenix Rising Faculty Profile – Soleil Hepner
This week we feature Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner and faculty member Soleil Hepner from San Diego, CA. Soleil, what was your first experience of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy? May of 2002 – I was at Mt Madonna in Santa Cruz, CA when I sat to eat lunch with someone taking Level 2 at the time. As she talked about the training, I knew right away that this was ‘it’ And when did you graduate? I graduated as a Practitioner in Dec. 2002 and as a Phoenix Rising Group Facilitator... Read The Rest →
The Power of Presence: Can Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Help Reduce Anxiety?
Anxiety disorders are ubiquitous across the globe. A recent study found the current global prevalence for anxiety disorders to be 7.3% of the world’s population – that means 1 in 14 at any given time, and 1 in 9 during any given year will experience an anxiety disorder (Baxter 2013). Anxiety, which is distinct from fear, was clinically defined in a 2009 study as a “future-oriented mood state associated with preparation for possible, upcoming negative events” and presents as symptoms of worry, avoidance, and muscle tension. (Craske et al 2009;... Read The Rest →
A Phoenix Rising Perspective
Recently I painted a mural on the wall leading up the stairway, in my house. I am not a painter by any means. So I did what any modern woman would do, and I goggled “perspective”. While not a trained painter, I have enough artistic training to know, in order to have depth in your piece, perspective must be employed. I began to review what I had found concerning perspective and vanishing points. For those of you who are unfamiliar with vanishing points, it is the point in... Read The Rest →
The Sacred Space of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy (PRYT)
The other day I was listening to an interview with writer, Wally Lamb. He is a bestselling novelist and writes stories about the human condition. He has a knack for really living in the heads of his characters. I have always wondered about this, how does he do it? As well as writing bestselling books, he works with the women of York Correctional Institution, in Connecticut. He teaches a writing workshop with the incarcerated women there. He encourages them to write about what they know, and share. Many of... Read The Rest →
The Body’s Wisdom: Learning to Listen with Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy
As a practitioner of yoga vedanta for over a decade I have always been taught that I am not my body, and although I still believe this to be true, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy has helped me discover that my body is wise beyond measure and is my greatest tool for self-discovery. Phoenix Rising is based in the belief that present moment experience is grounded in the felt-sense of the moment, and that the body is a resource for harnessing mindfulness, presence, and awareness – all skills required in the... Read The Rest →
Mindfulness and Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy—Part 1
My introduction to mindfulness meditation and to Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy happened within months of one another. Although I had been practicing yoga for almost a decade, I had only flirted with the idea of meditation. It seemed mysterious and conjured up images of monks in robes and years of practice and devotion. In short, daunting, something that required much investment without any guarantees of reaping the often-touted rewards such as calmness, clarity, and peace and let’s not forget enlightenment. My initial experiences with mindfulness meditation stand... Read The Rest →
Yoga Therapy Training – Changes to Level 3
There are some exciting changes on the horizon of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Practitioner Training. Currently our Yoga Therapy training includes a combination of Levels, 1, 2 and 3 with 2 adjunct courses; Anatomy & Physiology and Yoga Philosophy. This format of training has proved to be very rich and full. It has offered a great amount of personal development to students and has afforded graduates an opportunity to create a professional practice. Due to changes in the field of yoga therapy, this program will be growing and changing in... Read The Rest →
Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and Meditation
The experience of training in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy begins Sitting in a Circle. This is where you delve into the experience of being with yourself while being with others – it’s how you first step into the journey of learning how to be be fully present. The process requires developing and deepening a practice of yoga and meditation. How does this translate into the skills needed to become a yoga therapist? Yoga and meditation form the foundational ground on which the building of skills and techniques is done.... Read The Rest →