About Sareet Taylor, Ed.S., LMHC Yoga Therapy Oviedo, FL Yoga Therapy Background Info Yoga Therapy Services Yoga Therapy Background Info Have you ever participated in psychotherapy before? Did you find it helpful? Over my years in therapy practice, I have often found that people can gain terrific insight into their lives — relationships, family, careers, etc. — through "talk therapy", and they can tell you eloquently all about these insights, but sometimes they still feel "stuck". All that insight didn’t help them to take the next step — take action to make positive changes in their lives. It’s no wonder that this sometimes happens — after all, our brains don’t live in a vacuum separated from our bodies. Holistic approaches, which treat mind, body, and spirit as interconnected, are not as well received among those who are committed to traditional "modern" medicine, but around the rest of the world they are considered to be far more effective. I first got excited about mind-body techniques such as yoga therapy when I realized the profound effect that my personal yoga practice had on my own life — it led to increased energy, decreased stress, increased peace of mind — and it even helped to relieve my sinus problems. Yoga therapy is swiftly emerging in western culture as a way to use the ancient tradition of yoga for therapeutic purposes. It is sometimes put in the category of "energetic bodywork". Most people in the western world think of yoga simply as a series of physical postures which are used for either relaxation or physical exercise (or both). However, the physical practice is only one small piece of what yoga really is. The term yoga means "to yoke", and it refers to a yoking, or union, of mind, body and spirit that develops from regular practice of yoga — which can include physical poses, breathing exercises, concentration and meditation exercises, and following certain ethical guidelines. In relation to psychotherapy, the yoga techniques of deep breathing exercises, relaxation and concentration exercises, and gentle physical poses can be a wonderful component of counseling. Just the breathing exercises alone can help you to achieve increased relaxation, focus, mental clarity, and the ability to be "mindful" — being in the present moment without getting easily distracted or sidetracked. There are several different training programs for yoga therapy. Many incorporate "prescriptions" of specific poses to address specific ailments, such as anxiety, stress, insomnia, or chronic pain. These programs are more geared toward yoga teachers who have had some additional therapy training. The program in which I received my training, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy (www.pryt.com), is more geared toward counselors, and essentially utilizes gentle yoga poses as a backdrop for therapeutic dialogue. The basic idea is that emotional blockages often manifest themselves as physical blockages in the body, and by assisting individuals into gentle poses (along with breath work and relaxation, and a technique called "body scanning"), we can get to the root of these blockages and, ultimately, release them. In this way, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy addresses body and mind simultaneously, and helps individuals to re-connect with their bodies and their inner selves, and reach a new level of personal awareness and wellness. Yoga therapy is helpful for many life issues, but I find it particularly helpful for: people suffering from high levels of stress and anxiety, people having trouble resolving trauma (especially sexual trauma) they’ve experienced, people struggling with food or body image concerns, people struggling with addiction issues (food, alcohol, or other drugs), and anyone who wants to make changes in his or her life and is feeling "stuck". Yoga Therapy Services Yoga therapy can be offered in either 55 or 90 minute individual sessions. I find that longer sessions are more effective in terms of having enough time to really move you properly through breathing, meditation, poses, and processing afterward. If interested, I will also teaching you some gentle poses and breathing exercises you can practice at home. However, keep in mind that if you are using your insurance to pay for services, insurance generally will not reimburse for 90-minute sessions. Yoga therapy can form the basis of your counseling sessions, or can simply be a component of them, depending on your needs, goals, and interests. Yoga therapy techniques can also be used, to some extent, in couples counseling. Rather than physically assist each person one at a time through poses, I will teach both of you breathing and relaxation techniques that you can practice either alone or together. I will also teach you both, if interested, some gentle poses in which you can assist each other, which is a wonderful tool for improving your communication and trust with each other. For information on yoga therapy techniques in group counseling or workplace seminars, please visit the "counseling services" and "workplace seminar" pages. home | about me | counseling & psychotherapy clinical supervision | workshops & events | yoga therapy | eft workplace seminars | faqs | fees and policies | helpful stuff | free e-courses location | contact me Sareet Taylor, Ed.S., LMHC Motivation for Wellness, LLC 2006 Town Plaza Ct. Oviedo, FL, 32765 407-701-5414 Contact Me

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