1 to 1 Yoga Therapy
“I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.”
Through the application of yoga and mindfulness practices, 1 to 1 yoga therapy seeks to address both the symptoms and root causes of physical and mental health conditions.
1 to 1 yoga therapy sessions can be beneficial for:
Addressing and alleviating specific physical, mental and emotional conditions
Supporting injury rehabilitation
Improving postural habits
Developing mindfulness skills for use in everyday life
Engaging body awareness to release the psychological and physiological impact of traumatic or stressful events
Understanding and cultivating the relationship between breath and the nervous system
Improving the ability to feel and express emotions
Developing the capacity to handle painful emotions skilfully
Distinguishing between reactions that represent residue from the past vs those which are pertinent to the present
Gaining knowledge of yoga beyond postures
Developing the confidence to join a group class
Reflecting upon your own humanness with a sense of kindness and compassion
The Process
Even if you are completely new to yoga, yoga therapy has something to offer. No matter your experience or health concern, the aim of yoga therapy is to empower you to discover your own innate capacity to heal.
After a thorough intake discussion, this collaborative journey is tailored to meet your ever-changing needs. Each session is 60 minutes long, typically starting with a consultation before moving on to an integrated movement, breathwork and reflective practice, according to your requirements.
A personalised prescription of practices is offered after each session; the goal is to provide accessible tools you can integrate into daily life, bolstered by a deep understanding of physiological and psychological mechanisms (which offers profound motivation to practise at home!)
Sessions are held online via Zoom at £75/hour. I offer a 10% discount for blocks of 4 sessions paid in advance.
Three key features define the way in which I offer yoga therapy:
1) Supporting Self-Regulation & Mindfulness
An important part of any healing process is developing the capacity to handle painful sensations and emotions skilfully. Sometimes this requires acceptance—the ability to welcome reality without needing to resist or change it, a skill we can cultivate through mindfulness. But let’s face it; there are times when we’re simply not able to reframe the way we see things, or it’s just too painful to sit with our present experience exactly as it is.
This is where it’s important to develop self-regulation skills, through which we can work towards softening our experience via body and breath. The role of self-regulation can be likened to that of a thermostat—ensuring that the temperature of the home remains constant despite the extremes of weather conditions outside. Through self-regulation, we can work towards maintaining balance within our internal landscape, no matter what life throws at us from the outside.
2) Exploring Embodied Expression
In addition to mindfulness & self-regulation, I find that one of the key threads through much of my work is helping clients to find balance between thinking and feeling. Mindful connection to the body in the midst of powerful emotions or sensations can help us to regulate and respond with more equanimity, and the capacity to feel and express emotions effectively is vital for good health. Whether through movement or reflective practice, I find that collaborative exploration of embodied expression is therefore an important piece of the yoga therapy journey.
3) Empowerment
When we can take an honest look at ourselves with compassion and clarity, it becomes easier to identify the ways in which we must take care of ourselves. In the words of Gabor Maté, “insight is more helpful to people than advice,” and I am committed to removing co-dependency within the therapeutic relationship. My hope is that by inspiring in you a confidence in your innate ability to heal, and by helping you to separate the voices of teachers from your own inner wisdom, you will ultimately feel empowered to take your health into your own hands.
Ready to start your yoga therapy journey?
Click below and drop me a line to explore how we might work together.