Therapy Services
90-Minute Initial Therapeutic Consultation (Telehealth & In-Person)
This is the first session for clients beginning therapy with me. A key component of the yoga therapy process is the in-depth assessments that take place before and during the session. Upon scheduling an appointment, I will send you a couple intake forms to your e-mail to help capture the essential components of your needs, presenting condition(s), past medical history, pain, and emotions that you are coming to the session with.
During this 90-minute initial session, we start the session by having a conversation to begin our therapeutic relationship and here you can bring up any questions/topics you’d like me to be aware of during our work together (ie. any emotions that have been troubling you, experiences you are processing/working through, sleep habits, energy levels, stress, specific areas of pain/tension and so on). We will also take the time to create goals together, both short-term and long-term goals, that help you stay focused and keep our sessions focused on your specific needs. I usually do NOT engage in hands-on adjustments in my process, but if you need support feeling more calm in person, I can offer hands-on adjustments for postures to help improve awareness of your body in space (ie. proprioception). Informed consent is required before any hands-on adjustment in my practice as I do not believe them to be the most helpful at times but can be supportive when done skillfully.
Next, this session will include a breath assessment which can be done seated or lying down. After that, I will guide you through a muskuloskeletal assessment. This may include the use of yoga postures and muscle tests to help me see how your physical structure is holding itself and to bring awareness to areas that exhibit tightness, short muscles, and/or inhibition/weakness. Throughout the entirety of these assessments we remain in contact with each other and you have the ability to describe and build your capacity to name/label internal sensations through movement.
The second half of the session, once assessments are complete, we will take a moment to check-in and regroup to seeing how you are feeling. At any time throughout the session, you can pause, or feel free to have space to experience whatever is coming up for you. We will create a plan of care that includes any yoga therapeutic tools that you would like to use and explore to help you meet your goals and needs. A plan of care is a routine which will be crafted and customized using all of the information gained from the intake process and assessments, this way you can feel safe and comfortable using these practices at home until our next meeting. My goal is to help you feel confident to integrate this therapeutic practice into your day-to-day life.
These tools may include but are not limited to: specific yoga postures and mindful movement, joint-freeing, a variety of meditations, guided imagery, hand gestures (mudras), chanting/singing, somatic movements for releasing/processing trauma, breathing practices, visualization, application of values to encourage top-down nervous system regulation (ie. the Yamas & Niyamas), custom yoga nidra (ie. yogic sleep), cognitive reappraisals/affirmations, writing practices, lifestyle practices/changes, wisdom teachings from yoga philosophy (ie. foundational knowledge around the gunas/qualities of our sensations), awareness of the stages of change, psychological inquiry, deep focus, inner resourcing, and gratitude practices. I also utilize principles I have learned from yin yoga therapy (ie. Internal Family Systems applied in Yin & Traditional Chinese Medicine Meridians) and somatic movement practices initially taught by James Knight, founder of Gentle Somatic Yoga. These practices help decrease sensory motor amnesia, which is the “partial or total loss of our ability (or memory in) our ability to sense and move our muscles” and bring sensation back to areas of your body that your brain may have disconnection from due to trauma, chronic pain, or other repetitive/harmful habits. Through constant practice, these somatic movements can improve range of motion through the joints by repatterining the way the muscles contract and relax.
Where this work differs from other types of therapy is that we do not need to bring up sensitive parts of your past if you do not want to go there. We work with the tools of yoga and evidence-informed mind-body regulation techniques to help you meet the present and where you are so you can start to increase your somatic (body) and nervous system capacity.
At the end of the session, we might revisit your goals and allow some space for integration and deep rest. We can have a short conversation of any lingering thoughts or feedback from the process, and even what you would like to focus on next. After the session ends, you will receive the full plan of care in an e-mail about 24 hours after the session. We can set up your next appointment at the end of the session always.
For In-Person Sessions: If you live locally, I am willing to drive to you to offer home care. These sessions can be held in-person and utilize everything mentioned above. These sessions must be arranged privately.
For Telehealth/Virtual Sessions: For these sessions, the only aspect of the assessment we cannot do are the muscle tests which are usually done in the musculoskeletal assessments. Everything else informed above can be done. Telehealth will require the use of a webcam/laptop so I can see you and the entirety of your physical structure. This may require some more communication and collaboration through Telehealth but can be just as effective as in-person!
2. 60-Minute Follow-Up Therapeutic Sessions (Telehealth & In-Person)
After our first meeting, these are the type of sessions you can chose to continue your yoga therapeutic interventions. Follow-up sessions are usually 60-minutes and do not require new intake assessments; however, there may be a form sent to you by e-mail before your session to note any changes in pain/emotions before these sessions. No longer intakes are necessary. There will be another breath assessment in the beginning of this session as well as some conversation to discuss adherence to previous plan of care and any changes to medication/condition(s)/needs/stage of change.
Depending on your presentation in this session, we might do additional muscle tests (if in-person) and movement to observe changes in physical structure/improvement of ROM or strength/recovery. This session will give us the opportunity to revisit the plan of care previously created and add on or take out anything that is not relevant to you at this time. We can also revisit your goals and again, modify or add additional goals depending on your evolution through your lived experience and this work. The second half of the session will focus on your yoga therapy plan of care where we can utilize the tools of yoga and the practices mentioned above to improve nervous system regulation capacity and deep rest, relaxation, or anything you need to feel resourced and safe.
Follow-up sessions are co-created and consistent practice out of session is encouraged to help you meet your goals faster. I want to add a reminder that from week to week, you may experience rapid changes or you may experience slow changes. Wherever you are on this continuum, remember that the power and impact of this work happens with you, every time you practice, holds the opportunity to change, to integrate, and to improve. Commitment (tapas), self-study (svadhyaya), and allowance to be with what’s present (ishvara pranidhana) will be your greatest allies throughout this work. We will revisit these values continuously.
For In-Person Sessions: (Like Above) If you live locally, I am willing to drive to you to offer home care. These sessions can be held in-person and utilize everything mentioned above. These sessions must be arranged privately.
For Telehealth/Virtual Sessions: (Like Above) For these sessions, the only aspect of the assessment we cannot do are the muscle tests which are usually done in the musculoskeletal assessments. Everything else informed above can be done. Telehealth will require the use of a webcam/laptop so I can see you and the entirety of your physical structure. This may require some more communication and collaboration through Telehealth but can be just as effective as in-person!
3. Virtual Yoga Class (Telehealth)
In addition to yoga therapy services, I do offer 1-on-1 60-minute yoga classes that can help you be exposed to different aspects of yoga out of a therapeutic context. These yoga classes can ranged from being more strength-based and flowing vinyasa yoga classes, yin yoga classes, yin/yang yoga classes, mindful meditation and movement style classes incorporating qigong, slow flows to integrate challenge and balance activation and ease, and hatha yoga. These classes may offer yoga therapeutic and mindful techniques but are NOT yoga therapy sessions. These classes do not provide the initial assessment process that one would get in an initial yoga therapy session, but you will be able to drop in, make space for yourself, and invite a sense of loving-kindness and compassion for yourself wherever you are in life.
4. Yoga Therapy Workshops
I plan to provide yoga therapy workshops for different conditions seasonally. About 2-3x per year at this time. I do not have any workshops available at this time, but when I do, I will have them listed here to register. These workshops are highly beneficial for individuals who are experiencing specific health conditions and would benefit from connection in a group of other individuals moving through similar symptoms/conditions. These groups help promote increased moral, meaning & purpose, and increase perceived states of connection. I plan to host the next yoga therapy workshop for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) sometime in the fall of 2023. If you would be interested in attending the next 4-Part Yoga Therapy Worshop centered around women’s health and building a cyclical relationship with your cycle, do reach out and let me know you are interested. I will be sending out dates sometime after summer. These workshops will range on prices.
5. Introduction Call
I am offering a free 15-20 minute introduction call you can choose in the event you are still unsure if this therapy is right for you. We can talk about what to expect and help you feel a little more comfortable in exploring yoga therapy. These services are open to book here.