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Category: Yoga Therapy
Yoga therapy uses movement and breath work to deepen your body connection. Here you can discover what it is to process mentally and emotionally in this embodied state.
Yoga Therapy For Couples
Couples yoga therapy is for two people in a relationship who want to use a body based approach to strengthen and enrich their relationship. A body based approach allows you both to connect mind and body and to see your relationship and your self within that relationship from a different and new perspective. This new lens gives you fresh insights into your relationship which you can use going forward.
A relationship is the connection between two people. The health and strength of that connection determines the state of the relationship.
Couples yoga therapy is a way to help you strengthen and enrich your relationship.
Here are 10 reasons you should try couples yoga therapy
1. Strengthen your relationship
When you have a couples yoga therapy session you work on breath work, mindful movement, and embodied awareness. This practice lets you to see yourself, your partner, and your relationship from a fresh perspective. What stands out during a session can help you gain new insights into your bond and can ultimately allow you to work towards strengthening your relationship.
2. Improve your communication
Healthy relationships are built on good communication. To communicate well you must also listen. Listening is about understanding what your partner is trying to communicate to you. In couples yoga therapy you work together and practice communicating with each other.
3. Spend some time with each other
Spending time with together means you have shared experiences. This will strengthen the bonds of your relationship. Life gets busy. It’s easy to put your relationship on the back burner. Carving out “us” time sets the intention to spend quality time with your partner.
4. Create together
Creating something together can be a powerful experience. Making yoga poses together can make you laugh and sometimes make you cry but the experience is something you get to share. The yoga poses in couples yoga therapy are created by you both as you come together to form one pose. You co-create a shape by communicating with your partner and together you find the shape that works for you both.
5. Connect deeply with your bodies
When you connect with your body in a yoga pose, you notice thoughts, feelings, and emotions. During a couples yoga therapy session, you will be coached to become embodied in your poses. Embodiment is when you are in a state of focused awareness, feeling fully present and grounded in your body. Here you connect deeply with your body and can deepen your connection with your partner.
6. Rediscover intimacy
When you create poses together you see each other in a new light. You might be reminded of your partner’s positive qualities. Their strength, their humor, or their ability to be vulnerable. Being together, breathing together, supporting and being supported creates a special sort of intimacy.
7. Learn how to set boundaries
Setting boundaries gives you the space you need, to flourish. In a relationship setting boundaries allows each partner to carve out the space they need for their mental and emotional well-being. By setting boundaries you know when to walk away from a toxic situation. In a yoga therapy session you practice setting boundaries. You experience the felt sense of boundaries. When stopping before a stretch is beyond your limits. Reigning back if you feel you have gone a little far in a posture. Or experiencing the feeling of space and freedom in some poses. Having a felt sense in your body can help reinforce a behavior.
8. Just be
Being able to just be with what is. Being accepting of yourself for who you are. Accepting your partner for who they are. Accepting the situation you are in right now. Seeing things for what they truly are, and letting go of judgment and ego. From this new stance you can make healthy changes and move forward in a meaningful way. Accepting limitations of flexibility, strength and balance is all part of the yoga practice. What you practice on the mat you can take away with you and use in your life.
9. Release trauma
In a yoga therapy session, you may notice thoughts, feelings, and emotions while you are in a posture. This is because our bodies, minds, and nervous systems have been present throughout our whole lived experience, so it is not surprising that some events from our past may still be residing in our body. The more embodied you are, the deeper you have dropped in, the more likely it is that emotions will surface. Couples yoga therapy is a safe space for you and your partner to explore what comes up for each of you during a session.
10. Learn to love yourselves
The yoga mat is a great place to remind yourself that your body and mind are strong. Here you may experience gratitude for your body, and appreciation for the breath that keeps you steady and grounded.
Why not book a session?
Yoga for Peri-menopause
I’m sure none of thought that after the puberty rollercoaster we would ever be on that ride again. Welcome to peri-menopause ladies in our 30s, 40s 50s and 60 plus!! Here’s how Yoga therapy can be helpful with peri-menopause symptoms.
- A Yoga practice can overcome low self-esteem and self-image in women with peri-menopause [1]. Having a positive self-image during peri-menopause is really important, because it can be a time when we can feel at our lowest
- Yoga therapy can help hot flush symptoms and reduce night sweats. It also can improve your brain function. So things like memory, attention and concentration, and recall [2]
- Yoga helps with sleep [3]
What is Peri-menopause?
Peri-menopause or its sometimes called menopause transition usually begins 8 to 10 years before your menopause. Your ovaries gradually begin to make less estrogen.
Estrogens are a group of hormones that play an important role in the normal sexual and reproductive development in women. They are also sex hormones. The woman’s ovaries make most estrogen hormones, although the adrenal glands and fat cells also make small amounts of the hormones.
In addition to regulating the menstrual cycle, estrogen affects the reproductive tract, the urinary tract, the heart and blood vessels, bones, breasts, skin, hair, mucous membranes, pelvic muscles, and the brain. Secondary sexual characteristics, such as pubic and armpit hair, also start to grow when estrogen levels rise. Many organ systems, including the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems, and the brain are affected by estrogen.
Perimenopause usually starts in your 40s but can start in even in your 30s or earlier.
Peri-menopause lasts up until menopause. Menopause is when your ovaries stop releasing eggs. In the last 1 to 2 years of peri-menopause, the drop in estrogen speeds up,
So what is menopause?
Menopause is when your periods stop. It marks the end of your reproductive years. The symptoms you experience in peri-menopause continue after your periods stop.
What happens after menopause?
If your periods have stopped for a year or more you are described as being post-menopausal.
In post-menopause, your menopause symptoms may ease or stop altogether, but some women continue to have symptoms for longer.
Because your body is producing less estrogen there can be an increased risk of some health conditions like;
- cardiovascular (heart) disease
- osteoporosis (weak bones)
- urinary tract infections (UTIs)
So it’s really important to make sure you have a good, healthy diet and lifestyle, you exercise and keep going to your regular screenings.
What are peri-menopause symptoms?
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Brain fog/ memory problems
- Mood swings
- Depression/Anxiety
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Vaginal dryness
- Discomfort during sex
- Lower sex drive
this list is only some of the main reported symptoms.
How can yoga help peri-menopause?
Here are some of the best simple poses to try to help with those peri symptoms.
1. Forward bends are good for anxiety, irritability and insomnia
Forward bends can help reduce anxiety, irritability, and tension. Folding forward and shutting out all your external stimuli will soothe your mind and reduce stress. When your nervous system signals that all is well, your adrenal glands and sympathetic nervous system can stop working so hard.
Standing forward bend
Have a generous bend in your knees and fold from your hips. Let your head your upper body hang loose like a rag doll.
Seated forward bend
Bend your knees if you need to, fold from your hips, try with a pillow on your lap to support your upper body as it folds forward. Let your head hang, maybe build up the pillows to rest your forehead.
2. Backbends help with fatigue, supported backbends help with hot flashes
Gentle-supported backbends encourage your chest and the heart to open and increase your energy. It also improves respiration and circulation and helps lift spirits. Any tension in your body can make hot flashes worse. Use bolsters, blankets, or blocks to support your entire body. Reclined poses with proper support should cool and ease hot flashes.
Reclined bound angle pose
This is one of the best therapeutic yoga poses for peri-menopause. It can be tremendously beneficial with hot flashes and fatigue.
Press the soles of your feet press together. Let your legs open like a butterfly. Put pillows on the outside of your knees to support your legs as they open. Recline and use as many pillows you need to support your back and head. Your head can be level with your back there is no need for a big arch in your back in this back bend. Make it feel good. Hang here for 20 breaths or so.
Supported Bridge pose
Bridge pose can be amazing for your pelvic floor muscles. Whilst in the pose you can place a block between your knees and squeeze to activate inner thigh muscles. Also do your Kegels whilst your hips are raised. Link below for how to guide.
Kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. These muscles support the uterus, bladder, small intestine and rectum. Kegel exercises also are known as pelvic floor muscle training.
3. Inversions help with depression & brain fog
Everything you do with your body can affect your thoughts and attitude. Sometimes something as subtle as a shift in posture can lighten a dark mood. Inversions can help improve a depressed mood. In effect, they are turning everything upside down. Of course being upside down also increases blood to the brain.
Legs up a wall
Start by sitting sideways to the wall with your hip pressed against the wall. Lie back and swing the legs up. Use a pillow under your head if needed. This should feel comfortable.
Triangle pose
Triangle pose is great for preventing osteoporosis, because it is weight-bearing. stimulates your abdominal organs and calms your nervous system. It also helps reduce anxiety & can help with digestive issues.
Try self affirmations
These allow you to challenge any negative thoughts. If you do it every day, can start to retrain the way you think. You can remove the negative self-talk and increase your self-esteem. Pick something that resonates with you.
The morning is a time to create an intention for the day.
- I am strong, capable & kind.
- I have the power to change my story.
- I am healthy, happy, and radiant.
- I choose to respond to this challenge with grace and positivity.
- I will not worry about tomorrow. I will enjoy today.
At night is a more reflective time. Perhaps a time for gratitude
- I am grateful for my supportive family & friends.
- I am grateful for the growth I experienced today.
Try mudras
Mudra means seal mark or gesture in Sanskrit.
Mudras are practiced to intensify the effects of your yoga or meditation practice and enhance the flow of energy. The Yoni Mudra is dedicated to the female Hindu goddess Shakti. Yoni means womb. The practice of Yoni Mudra brings strength and power.
You place your thumbs together and pointed upwards, index fingers together pointed downwards, press the other fingers together. Sit comfortably and follow your breath.
Try yoga therapy
A yoga therapy session blends mind-body psychology and yoga to meet you where you are right now physically and mentally.
Our bodies can hold trauma and carry stresses and worries. By using movement and breath work to deepen your body connection, you can discover how processing mentally and emotionally in this new way can be transformative
book a session here
References
[1]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18019884
Yoga Therapy and The Chakras
The chakras are believed to be energy centers in your body that can affect your physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Yoga therapy is a way to connect deeply with yourself, your body and your chakra energy.
“Chakra” in Sanskrit means wheel or cycle
My yoga therapy practice is body based. That means you use your body to connect deeply with your self. The sensations you notice in your body while you are deeply settled in a yoga pose are used to draw you deeper into yourself and to connect deeply with your self. In this embodied state you start to notice feelings, emotions, thoughts or memories. This gives you a whole new insight into yourself and your life. An insight into what might be holding you back from achieving your goals, what is truly making you sad, why you feel so stuck or dissatisfied. If we use our body rather than relying on our mind (our story), we have a new way figure out what is going on.
How do the chakras relate to yoga therapy?
As a Phoenix Rising (PRYT) yoga therapist, I like to incorporate the themes of
- embodiment,
- awareness,
- acceptance,
- choice,
- discernment,
- truth,
- truth in action, and
- flow
into my sessions. These work particularly well in group sessions as a series to build upon.
As you can see below the PRYT yoga therapy themes tie in pretty well to the chakras.
Root Chakra
I am safe
Root chakra is the first step on the journey of personal development and relates to embodiment and befriending your body.
Sacral Chakra
I am creative
Sacral chakra is the dwelling place of your self and relates to self-awareness.
Solar Plexus Chakra
I am strong
Solar plexus chakra is the center of your personal power. This chakra govern identity, as well as personal freedom, choice, and authenticity. Self-love, self-acceptance, and acknowledgment of your worth are related to this chakra.
Heart Chakra
I am loved
The heart chakra is associated with unconditional love, compassion, and joy. It is the source of profound truths that cannot be expressed in words.
Throat Chakra
I am truthful
The throat chakra is concerned with your ability to speak your truth and is therefore truth in action.
Third Eye Chakra
I am insightful
The third eye is the chakra of your intuition. Discernment comes from a balance of intellectual reasoning combined with your intuition and gut instincts. Discernment is your ability to perceive what is true.
Crown Chakra
I am divine
On an emotional level, the crown chakra generates devotion, inspirational and prophetic thought, mystical connections, and transcendental ideas. Opening of the crown chakra brings bliss and therefore relates to flow.
Yoga therapy, the chakras and self care
Although in my sessions I don’t prescribe yoga poses for blocked or imbalanced chakras I do like to draw on yogic philosophy and teachings. Here is a fun list of 7 self-care ideas related to your chakras for you try. Start at the root and do one each weekend.
Book a yoga therapy session
What is Couples Yoga Therapy?
What exactly is couples yoga therapy?
Well unlike regular couples therapy sessions. Couples yoga therapy is when two people in a relationship want to use a body-based approach to enriching or improving that relationship. Unlike talk therapy which relies on conversation to gain perspective, a somatic approach connects the mind and body. Allowing you to see your relationship from a new perspective, and gain new insights.
Another way to communicate
Communicating is all about sharing information and feelings. In a session I direct embodied experience, you connect deeply with your body and with each other. You share any thoughts, feelings, and emotions that may come up. I will hold space for you both. And offer you the necessary tools to help you share your experience
What is a relationship?
A relationship is the coming together of two people, to form an “us”. For a relationship to be strong it needs to be nurtured.
You can feed your relationship with
- Understanding
- Love
- Communication
A relationship will struggle if
- You deprive it of love and understanding.
- You communicate poorly
- You are critical of each other
- You show contempt
- You are defensive
- There is distance between you
Why should you try couples yoga therapy?
- You are together but you feel disconnected
- There’s no sparkle
- You don’t feel compatible
- You’ve both tuned out
- The relationship feels stuck
- You are putting issues on the back burner till your family/career/ needs are met
- You give excuses to avoid intimacy
- You want to enrich your already great relationship
What are the benefits?
We know from research that body-based work can decrease stress, reduce the symptoms of depression, and alleviate anxiety. The pairs yoga poses can enhance intimacy, improve your relationship and help cultivate compassion.
With a couples yoga therapy session you can
- Reconnect with your partner
- Rediscover intimacy
- Find new ways to communicate
- Carve out “us” time
An embodied approach gives you a new way to examine the same problems and issues. It lets you shift your perspective and ultimately leads to powerful and healthy change.
Book a session
What is Yoga Therapy?
Yoga therapy is a yoga modality that is more therapeutic in its intention than say a yoga class. Like a yoga class which has different styles. For example Hatha, Vinyasa and Ashtanga for example. Yoga therapy has different styles. So it’s worth doing your research to check if your practitioner will be good fit to help you meet your needs and achieve your goals.
Our governing body says
Yoga therapy is the process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and well-being through the application of the teachings and practices of Yoga.
International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT)
I believe a yoga therapy session should be a safe space to explore your physical, mental, and emotional limits. It’s an opportunity to connect with your body, gain insights into yourself, and achieve a deeper understanding of that self.
My teacher describes the style of yoga therapy I practice as
Combining breathwork, gentle poses, meditation, and guided self-inquiry, designed to help practitioners safely embrace their physical limits in order to gain mental and emotional insights into themselves. It does not replace psychotherapy (talk therapy), but rather provides a somatic pathway to a deeper understanding of the self.
Michael Lee, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy
What does a session with Pure Yoga Therapy session look like?
Because I trained with Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy (PRYT),I like to stay true to their somatic approach. Each session starts with a warm-up to connect your body and your breath. And to prepare your bodyfor the simple yoga poses that follow. I like to use props, so you can feel support you in the poses. As this allows you to ”drop-in”, or become embodied more easily. Most poses are lying on your mat, rather than the standing poses you might do in a class. This is because these restful poses also make it easier for you to “drop-in”. The session ends with a short meditation, and an opportunity to reflect on any insights you might have gained during the practice.
Throughout your session, you explore “the edge,” which is the feeling of sensation when you are in a pose. This sensory awareness allows you to focus and connect more deeply with your body. In this embodied state you become more aware of your body, your feelings, and your emotions.
The 6 Phases in a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy (PRYT) Session
1. Warm-Up
The warm-up is all about connecting your body and your breath. It’s like a little dance that gets you ready for the poses that come next.
2. Edge Coaching
When you experience sensation, such as during a yoga pose, being present in that moment can help you focus and connect with your body. The feeling of sensation is called “the edge”. Here you can feel the sensation in your body. But you are not being overwhelmed with discomfort and can remain present.
3. Dropping In
“Dropping in” is a state where you feel a deep connection with your body. Your thoughts slow down and you become very aware of the sensations and the emotions arising in you. In this embodied state, you can observe these sensations and emotions. Without the need to explain or attach any meaning to them. You are guided to embrace whatever you notice in your body. This state is achieved using simple supported poses, usually lying on a mat. Poses like supine twist, supported forward fold and child’s pose.
4. Meditation
Reaching a meditative state is easier after body-breath work. The mind is quietened and can be centered. So, during your meditation, you can tune in to your body and your breath.
5. Listen to your body
When you can connect deeply to your body you notice thoughts, feelings, and maybe even images arising. This can provide new insight.
6. Insight to action
At the end of the session, you will explore some ways in which you can effectively integrate these valuable insights into your life. Talking about what holds you back from achieving your goals and discuss actionable steps you can take to move forward.
What Can Yoga Therapy Do for You?
- Allows you to reconnect with yourself
By combining modern psychology and mindfulness techniques, yoga therapy can help you connect deeply your body in a new and profound way.
- Helps you to navigate change
Yoga therapy, can help you gain clarity. You can discover what might be holding you back from living your best life. You can learn how to navigate change and stop feeling like you are stuck.
- Let’s you live a life more fulfilled
By investing in yourself and practicing self-care, you can befriend your body and discover what it might look like to be your best self. When you know and understand yourself, you can find the path that allows you to flourish and thrive.
- Works with you to let transformation happen
Stress and trauma can hold you back. Using the embodied approach you can better understand how to achieve your goals and ultimately transform to be your best self.
