I Learned How To Create A Mind Body Connection

I thought I knew what a mind body connection was. What I actually knew was only the tip of the iceberg. This is the story of how I became a yoga therapist. I’ve learned so much more about myself in the process and I’m forever grateful for this new knowledge. I’m getting a bit ahead of myself though. Here’s how it all started.

Have you ever been stuck in your life?

Nothing is wrong exactly, but you’re not thriving either.  You’re kind of stuck in a rut without a clear plan of where you’re going or how you’re getting there.  

I’ve been there.  

That’s kind of what led me to yoga therapy.  For a long time, I knew that I wanted to be more than just a yoga teacher, but I just didn’t know what path I was going to take or where I would end up at the end of the path. I was feeling stuck & not sure what to do about it.

You see, I was the mom who stayed home to raise her kids. Then, as they go older, I began to teach yoga classes. It was fun & I was able to teach around their school & extracurricular activities. I could still be there for my kids (this was very important to me) & I could work part-time as well.

At one point I was even teaching 15+ classes a week. That was a lot! I knew that I couldn’t keep doing that. My body was tired & couldn’t do that forever.

However, I felt stuck.

I knew that I didn’t want to give up teaching yoga classes. I loved connecting to all of my students & helping them to make small changes in their lives that had big impact. This was important work to me but I knew that I couldn’t keep going at the current pace.

One day I heard about yoga therapy.  

At first, I didn’t really know what it was or what it involved.  What I did know was that I was intrigued by the idea of using yoga as a form of therapy.  So, I began to do some reading. I checked into different yoga therapy programs. I became familiar with some of the ways that I could use yoga therapy & I learned what I would have to do in order to be a yoga therapist.

After a lot of research on yoga therapy, I knew that it was the direction that I wanted to go and I jumped in with both feet. I was excited to be able to use my yoga teaching skills and help others to create a deeper mind body connection.

There are many types of yoga therapy.  

In my research, I found that schools of yoga therapy varied  greatly.  It’s kind of like all of the different styles of yoga that exist today. Many of the schools were more physical in nature and prescriptive in design.  Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy (PRYT) was very different.  

With Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy you use your own body to become aware of what is happening at this very moment. It’s a mind body connection that is much deeper than what I had experienced already through my many years of yoga.

 When you bring your awareness to the present moment, you begin to make connections between what is happening in your body to what is happening in your life.  By doing this, you’re able to connect into your own inner wisdom. Each person has this inner wisdom to help guide them through life. So, PRYT uses your own body awareness to empower you to make better choices in your life based on your own inner wisdom.  I think that’s a pretty cool process.

My deepening mind body connection.

I began my yoga therapy training in November of 2015.  It took me just under 5 years and over 900 hours of study to graduate from their program.  It wasn’t an easy journey, but it was a worthwhile one.  I definitely don’t regret starting on this path.

This training brought a lot of shifts and changes into my life.  It involved a lot of soul searching and doing things that were outside of my comfort zone.  With each new skill that I learned it became more obvious that yoga therapy is an ongoing process.  It’s not something that you do once & move on. Instead, it’s something that builds and builds and helps guide you through current & future life. When I make the connection between what is going on in my life and what is going on in my body, then I gain so much more understanding of a situation.  

Part of my training involved me doing my own therapy work and receiving my own sessions.   This led me to deepen my mind body connection & better understand how life changing this work can be.  This is where much of my soul searching came into play.  As I made more connections between my life and body, I was able to identify changes that I needed to make in my life.  I was then empowered to make those changes on my own schedule or timeline using my own inner wisdom for guidance.

I’m on a different path now!

Now, I work with you to help you move past current challenges by using your own mind body connection.  I help you to face trauma from the past and discover a way forward.  I help you to understand your anxiety and create a way to deal with it. I help you to find your way through major life transitions with as much as ease as possible. All of this is done using your own awareness of your body.

Basically, I create a safe space for people to confront what has been holding them back and to figure out what would work better for them.  I find that each session is different but the results are always amazing!

So, now I’ve found my path.  I’m so excited to be able to say that! I know longer teach 15+ yoga classes a week but I do still help people on a daily basis.

I’m still not sure where this path will lead me, but what I am sure of, is that I’m no longer in that rut.  I’m loving what I do and looking forward to moving forward on this path.

Do you need help getting out of a rut?

There is nothing wrong with getting a little help to get out of that rut. I did and I’m forever grateful for that assistance. I’d love to help you make the shifts that will get you moving forward again. If you’d like to learn more about yoga therapy and see if it would be a good fit for you, then let’s chat.