Balance-related reasons clients seek my help:
- Feel stronger
- Gain confidence in movement
- Increase athletic performance
- Improve posture
- Lessen anxiety
- Live more mindfully
- Rebuild balance after brain injury
- Recover from injury
- Reduce risk of falling
Learn more about balance
We know that balance is important, but the benefits of physical and mental balance might be more than you realize.
The human body is home to approximately 600 muscles which work in varying states of stress and relaxation to keep us functional in our daily lives. The muscles are in constant two-way communication with the brain and physical and/or mental stress affect the entire system.
When we practice physical balance, we teach our muscles to better coordinate how they support us. Our muscles can hold less tension and we feel less stressed overall. We are more grounded and connected to the world (and people) around us. There’s an ever-present connection between how our ability to balance physically helps us to level ourselves off when we’ve experienced mental or emotional shake-ups.
And, when we practice mindfulness, we can learn to calm the mind and, in turn, relax the muscles. My job as a somatic yoga therapist is to help find the sources of your physical imbalance(s) and guide you in physical practices to bring your body and mind into greater harmony.
Somatic yoga therapy is an effective, holistic way to regain free and confident movement, expand your breath, and restore your posture.
How this therapy works
Muscle movement and stillness come from the brain via a steady two-way communication stream within the nervous system. Sometimes, repetitive movement patterns of daily life overwork specific muscle groups to the extent that they can no longer access the communication stream. This is called “sensory-motor amnesia,” or SMA.
Somatic yoga therapy helps us locate areas of SMA and reteach the neural pathways on how to access the communication stream. The therapy is a partnership between therapist and client. As the client learns to sense and feel their body from the inside out, the therapist guides the client through very small, slow, mindful movements to lessen or eliminate SMA. Neural muscular reeducation takes place, the communication stream is reestablished, and balance movement improves.
Ready to get started?
If you are currently under a doctor’s care, receiving physical therapy, or visiting a chiropractor, please schedule a free 30-minute phone consultation to discuss when would be the best time for you to begin your somatic yoga therapy.
Otherwise, schedule your first appointment, either in person in my Saint Paul studio or as a virtual visit.
I look forward to working with you!