What is Yoga Therapy?
What to expect at an Integrated Movement Therapy (IMT)-based Yoga Therapy Session:
1
What are you looking for?
We will talk about your hopes (what you would like life to feel like), and what makes life hard (your struggles and what is painful) .
2
Personalized suggestions.
I will suggest some activities from my therapeutic “toolbox” to help you work toward the best version of you. This will often include yoga-based movement, breathing exercises, forms of meditation, exploration of idealogical concepts and more. My IMT toolbox is vast, “outside-the-box” and unlimited.
3
Pick the right therapies.
You tell me what works for you, and what you believe might help. Rather than “prescribing” therapy activities, I am partnering with you. I want you to be empowered.
Yoga therapy is defined as “the process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and wellbeing through the application of the philosophy and practice of yoga”. -IAYT
I want you to understand that you are already amazing and that nothing about you needs to change in order to be a whole person, but we do want life to be easier for you.
What is Integrated Movement Therapy?
Integrated Movement Therapy (IMT), is a method based in Therapeutic Yoga and Neuroscience that helps people make behavioral shifts to move toward optimal well-being. IMT sessions facilitate exploration of the whole mind/body/spirit system. Integrated Movement Therapists partner with students and assist them as they meet personal goals that help them to feel capable, competent and empowered to make positive changes; and to strengthen their resiliency.
How is Integrated Movement Therapy distinct from Yoga Therapy?
IMT uses a broad tool set including but not limited to communication/language, movement, artistic expression, self-esteem building, calming, breathing, mindfulness skill-building and empowerment techniques to address a variety of concerns presented by clients.
As both a Certified Yoga Therapist and a Certified Integrated Movement Therapist, I am able to integrate many tools to assist clients in meeting their therapy goals.
*We ask most clients to begin with a plan to see the Integrated Movement Therapy Practitioner for at least four consecutive, weekly or biweekly sessions.
What’s the difference between attending a “Therapeutic Yoga” class and going to YogaTherapy?
Practicing yoga can feel therapeutic, just like taking a bubble bath or a nap is therapeutic. These are healthy, relaxing activities that are great for our well-being.
Doing something therapeutic for yourself is different than going to a therapist. A therapist is an educated and discerning other person who can help facilitate a client’s process of uncovering issues and realizing goals. A therapist can suggest and direct specific actions and exercises to help the client move toward desired healing.
As a yoga therapist, I look for creative, outside-the-box ideas to support my clients in dealing with health and life situations. My primary goal is to help clients become more RESILIENT.
I take the time to truly listen to my clients and then I support them with my education and skill-set to become ore emotionally satisfied and secure, and to increase their physical comfort and their capability for better functioning and thriving in life.
Some of the many reasons to see an Integrated Movement Therapist:
“I want to feel restored and nurtured and receive a special offering— for example, Yoga Nidra (deeply relaxing form of guided meditation sometimes called, "Yogic Sleep").”
“I would like some help creating a custom practice of movement, breath, and meditation to incorporate into my life.”
“I want coaching on how to use Yoga movement to complement another healing modality or active pursuit (e.g., sports, physical therapy exercises, etc.).”
“I would like to engage in mindfulness activities to improve the quality of my day to day life.”
“I have a health issue that I think Yoga might help with (e.g., pain, anxiety, depression, etc.).”
“I want to learn how to be less reactive and stressed, and learn ways to take care of myself when life feels stormy.”
IMT was developed by Molly Lannon Kenny of the Samarya School of Yoga. Read more about Molly and this effective healing modality here on her website.
FAQs
What if I have never done yoga?
No experience necessary! Everything that we do will be based off of your needs and ability levels and will be completely accessible. If you want to be challenged, we can make that happen, but ease and accomodation is the way of this therapy.
Is yoga therapy spiritual or religious?
While yoga is sourced from east Asia and is it’s roots are steeped in the spiritual traditions of the places from which it originated, IMT and Yoga Therapy need not be delivered in such a way. If you are looking for a secular (non-spiritual) experience, that is what you will get. I like to quote one of my first clients, who calls it “Yoga without the OM”. These are modern therapies that draw from ancient practices which have been scientifically studied and shown to have astounding results for healing physical and mental health concerns. Of course, if you are intested in the spiritual traditions of yoga, I am also happy to cross into that territiory. The client leads the way and I follow that lead as a therapist to inform how and why we do yoga therapy.
What if I cannot get up and down from the floor?
We can do IMT from any position, including from a chair. I can teach you how to use simple props from around your house to assist and support your movements and positions; and we will scaffold our movements, meaning that we will find your perfect starting point, balancing challenge with ease and accessibility, and move forward gently and gradually from there.