Beyond the Physical: Yoga as Therapy at Reset Wellness

YOGA AS THERAPY

Yoga Therapy is an exploration of "embodied mindfulness" to help you get connected to your body, and improve your stress coping mechanisms.

YOGA FOR ANXIETY, STRESS & TRAUMA RECOVERY

This practice was developed to offer a process of self-discovery.  Yoga Therapy addresses both psychological and physical issues, such as stress, anxiety, trauma and pain in your body and mind.

The process itself is defined by you and the kind of support you need, whether it is emotional, physical or spiritual. It teaches strategies for managing stress reactions, building on coping skills, learning about your body and how you are in it.

Yoga for Anxiety, Stress and Trauma compliments traditional psychotherapies and physical therapies by supporting the mind-body connection.

Our yoga therapist Shari Arial PTSD & Trauma Informed yoga therapist.  Shari facilitates a safe space for noticing yourself and how you are in your body, so it is a natural process for you to make your own connections about thought and body stress.

WORKSHOPS

Every month you can unfold and connect to your body and mind in our specialized Yoga for Anxiety, stress and Trauma, and Mind-Body Meditation workshops. Visit our Classes page for updated workshop dates, more info and online registration.

Workshops consist of small group sizes (max 5), and a chance to notice your thoughts and body during a gentle yoga practice. Insights shared are open-ended and non-directive.

PRIVATE SESSIONS

Yoga for Anxiety, Stress & Trauma private sessions are a 60 minute
empowering practice providing a private space to acknowledge psychological and physical energies that may be stored in the body.

Psychological methodologies are used in combination with gentle movement, breath-work and mindfulness techniques. The therapeutic goal is to promote a sense of safety within the body and support the nervous system coming back into balance.

BENEFITS

• Reduce stress and tension within the body

• Regulate the nervous system

• Learn how anxiety, stress and trauma may be affecting your body

• Learn take home coping skills

• Compliments traditional psychotherapies and physical therapies by supporting the mind-connection

WHAT A SESSION LOOKS LIKE

You are facilitated through an experience of yourself in the present moment. And whatever happens in the present moment - physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually finds richness in relationship to the bigger picture of how you are being in the world in daily life - work, play, family and relationships. Using age old yogic and modern therapeutic approaches to deepen awareness, acceptance and presence.

PRICES

• $40 / Workshop

• $110 / 60 minute private session

Private sessions are available to a single person or two people.

Prices exclude GST

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

”Where has this been my whole life. Thank you.”

”I can’t believe how quickly things changed when using these tools.”

”Shari is amazing at holding space and I feel totally at ease with her.”

”I love that I have this time to just “be” with myself and work through things.”

”I didn’t know yoga could be like this.

MEET OUR YOGA THERAPIST

Shari Arial

PTSD & Trauma Informed Yoga Therapist

Mind Body Meditation for Anxiety, Stress & Trauma Workshop

"Meditation—even in small doses—can profoundly influence your experience of the world by remodeling the physical structure of your brain. Science is proving meditation restructures your brain and trains it to concentrate, feel greater compassion, cope with stress, and more." - Kelly McGonigal, Health Psychologist*
 

Improve Your Attention / Reduce Your Stress / Feel More Compassionate

For those suffering from stress, anxiety and trauma, this tool—meditation—is an approachable, accessible and fundamental way of transforming and rebuilding the brain from it's past influences—training your brain to be active in centres that power decision making, preparing it for the demands to come. In the sciencetific community it was once widely accepted the brain reaches its peak of development in adulthood and doesnt' change until it starts to decrease as we age. Today, the scientific community now knows that everything we experience actually changes the brain.

"Why are there differences between the brains of meditators and nonmeditators? It's a simple matter of training. Neuroscientists now know that the brain you have today is, in part, a reflection of the demands you have placed on it. People learning to juggle, for example, develop more connections in areas of the brain that anticipate moving objects. Medical students undergoing periods of intense learning show similar changes in the hippocampus, an area of the brain important for memory. And mathematicians have more gray matter in regions important for arithmetic and spatial reasoning."*
 

Mind Body Meditation is a simple, straightforward workshop that helps you get connected to your body, teaching you HOW to meditate and how to continue with your own practice. What is taught is knowledge you can carry with you for the rest of your days. Use meditation any time and any where to remold and transform your brain and the experience you have in your body and life—at the whim of your practice! The more you practice the more you train your brain to grow, repair and restore function for optimal living—changing your brain's perception of your experiences in a healthy, constructive manner.

"More practice leads to greater changes, both in the brain and in a meditator's mental states. So while a minimal investment in meditation can pay off for your well-being and mental clarity, committing to the practice is the best way to experience the full benefits."*
 

Shari Arial, our trauma informed Yoga Therapist, from the incredible and popular workshop series Yoga for Anxiety, Stress and Trauma, guides you through practical steps and methods to prepare you for meditation, how to practice it, and remain committed to a consistent practice. Feeling good in your mind and body is just the start, transforming your life for the long term with ongoing practice is the result.

-----Join us in this incredibly practical, gentle, and trans-formative workshop: UPCOMING MARCH DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED -----



Bring with you:
a yoga mat
water bottle
any bolsters or blankets you would like to use during the workshop
*We have pillows, bolsters, and blankets for anyone who would like to use them. Tea and water will be available for your enjoyment.

What can I expect during the workshop?
A: Students can expect centering meditation, gentle postures and movement focusing on noticing the body, breath work to build on coping skills and a short savasana.

How is this class different than a regular meditation class?
A: This class is trauma informed, meaning that the main goal is to facilitate a safe place to practice. It is a no touch class and specific wording is used as to allow the student to be in their own experience, rather than the use of imagery or 'yoga' language. Specific gentle postures are also used to facilitate release of tension from the body and calm the nervous system.

Is there talking involved?
A: No, in this setting there is no talking other than the instructor, Shari Arial, leading the class.

What will I learn?
A: Hopefully more awareness about yourself, breath and body movement to help you build your coping skills.

Do I have to have meditation experience?
A: The series is completely beginner friendly.

I have an injury / disability. Can I attend?
A: Yes, the practice is completely modifiable to your needs and how you need to practice for your body. In fact, if there was a posture you connected with, you could stay there the whole class! Please contact us ahead of time to inform us of any special needs or questions.

What are my transport/parking options getting to the event?
A: Visit our website to view our hand parking map.

Where can I contact the organizer with any questions?
A: Feel free to contact us directly via email: contact@resetwellness.ca or phone: 780.756.5265 Ask for Shari Arial and she will be happy to answer any of your questions.

PLEASE NOTE: We have a 48 hour Cancellation Policy for ALL WORKSHOPS at Reset Wellness. Please visit our website for more details before purchasing your tickets.

Upcoming Posture & Movement Training Workshop: Alexander Technique

Re-learning to move easily & efficiently, the way we were designed to, by identifying and changing learned overcompensation habits. Unlock your body...

The Alexander Technique

...is an intelligent way to solve body problems.  Many people are mystified by their own back pain, excess tension or lack of coordination.  They often see problems in their joints or muscles as structural, unchangeable.  As an Alexander teacher, I hear clients say things like, "I've always walked like a duck," or "My posture is just like my father's."  But, as they learn the Technique, they are surprised that they really can make lasting changes in the way they walk, their degree of muscular tension or the shape of their posture.  They learn how dynamic and changeable the body really is.  They find that, by learning the Technique, they can improve their overall movement and achieve optimal health for both body and mind.
 

We all have unconscious movement habits. 

Without realizing it, we put undue pressure on ourselves.  We use more force than we need to lift a coffee pot or a weight bar.  We slouch as we sit, unaware that our way of doing things gives our bodies a certain look.  We blame body problems on activities -- carpal tunnel syndrome on computer work, tennis elbow on tennis.  But often it is how we do something that creates the problem, not the activity itself.

An Alexander Technique teacher helps you see what in your movement style contributes to your recurring difficulties -- whether it's a bad back, neck and shoulder pain, restricted breathing, perpetual exhaustion or limitations in performing a task or sport.  Analyzing your whole movement pattern -- not just your symptom -- the teacher alerts you to habits of compression in your characteristic way of sitting, standing and walking.  He or she then guides you -- with words and a gentle, encouraging touch -- to move in a freer, more integrated way. 

The Technique's basic idea is that when the neck muscles do not overwork, the head balances lightly at the top of spine.  The relationship between the head and the spine is of utmost importance.  How we manage that relationship has ramifications throughout the rest of the body.  As the boss -- good or bad -- sets the tone for an organization, the head / spine relationship -- compressed or free -- determines the quality of the body's overall coordination.  Our neuromuscular system is designed to work in concert with gravity.  Delicate poise of the head sparks the body's anti-gravity response: a natural oppositional force in the torso that easily guides us upward and invites the spine to lengthen, rather than compress, as we move.  Instead of slouching or holding ourselves in a rigid posture, we can learn to mobilize this support system and use it wherever we go -- in the car, at the computer, in the gym.

Young children have this natural poise. If you watch a toddler in action, you will see an erect spine, free joints and a large head balancing easily on a little neck.  A healthy child walks and plays with regal posture.  Barring birth defects, we all began that way.  But over the years, we often lose that spontaneity and ease.
 

Using the Alexander Technique

...you can learn to strip away harmful habits, heighten your self-awareness, and use your thought process to restore your original poise.  In a way, you are learning something that, deep down, your body already knows.  With the Alexander Technique, you come to understand much more about how your body works, and how to make it work for you.  You can tap more of your internal resources, and begin on a path to enhancing your comfort and pleasure in all your activities. (Originally written by Joan Arnold and appeared on alexandertechnique.com)

The Alexander Technique is a way to feel better, and move in a more relaxed and comfortable way... the way nature intended.

An Alexander Technique teacher helps you to identify and lose the harmful habits you have built up over a lifetime of stress and learn to move more freely.

The Alexander Technique is for you if you are ready to feel more comfortable in your own body.

The Alexander Technique can also help you if:

• You suffer from repetitive strain injury or carpal tunnel syndrome.

• You have a backache or stiff neck and shoulders.

• You become uncomfortable when sitting at your computer for long periods of time.

• You are a singer, musician, actor, dancer or athlete and feel you are not performing at your full potential.
   

Upcoming Alexander Technique Workshop

December 27, 10am - 12pm workshop*
12:30pm - 6:30pm 60 minute private lessons**

PAY BY DONATION* **
** bring with you what you want to work on, like an instrument or a movement, or discuss a posture problem or goal you'd like addressed.

Learn to move with momentum, with the natural fascial lines in your body and how to identify and unravel compensations and tensions in your musculoskeletal system that contribute / lead to chronic pain.

Performing artist, actor, singer and theatre director, Holly Cinnamon, returns to Edmonton from her theatre studies in Boston for a limited time. Sharing strategies she has applied in her personal life and career to train and fine tune her body like a musical instrument and tool.

Holly’s journey as a yogini began 8 years ago when she started attending classes at Shanti Yoga in Edmonton while studying her undergraduate degree in theatre. As a trauma survivor, Holly discovered yoga’s power to heal and free tensions and traumas from the body, allowing her to regain an ownership of her body and a sense of wholeness that she felt she had lost. From digging deeply to rediscover her own body, Holly became deeply interested in experiential anatomy - asking how we experience our structure thorough internal sensation rather than external analysis. 

An incredibly sensitive person since birth, Holly has discovered strength in sensitivity through her work as a yoga teacher. She enjoys giving her students the gift of rediscovering themselves in the present moment, freeing themselves from judgment, and finding joy in the gift of living in a body on this earth and moving with gratitude. Holly has trained in Yin Yoga with Joe Barnett, a primary teaching assistant of Paul Grilley and completed her 200-hour teacher training through YogaWorks with Catherine Munro.

Boost Your Relationship and Your Mood

You already know that certain habits, such as expressing gratitude, learning to compromise, and cuddling, are key for maintaining a happy and healthy relationship. But there's one more surprising habit you might want to add to the list: According to new research presented at the British Psychological Society's Annual Conference this week, giving and receiving massages might be just what you and your partner need to boost your moods and strengthen your relationship.

In the May 2017 study, Northumbria University researchers asked 38 participants (19 couples) to complete a three-week massage course. After massage sessions, the participants filled out questionnaires about their physical and mental well-being, stress, coping, and relationship satisfaction.

Ultimately, the researchers found that the couples' overall sense of well-being, perception of stress, and coping abilities had all improved over the three-week course, with the participants reporting increased feelings of physical and mental well-being immediately following each session, regardless of whether they gave or received the massage.

The best part? Three-quarters of the participants continued exchanging massages regularly after the course was over, and even another three weeks after the class had ended, none of the participants' feelings of well-being had decreased significantly.

Of course, this study was small and relied on self-reported data, so more research is needed to prove the direct effects of mutual massage on relationships. But if there's a chance your relationship might benefit from a little extra physical contact and care... what's the harm in giving it a try?

"These findings show that massage can be a simple and effective way for couples to improve their physical and mental well-being whilst showing affection for one another," said researcher Sayuri Naruse in a press release. "Massage is a cost-effective and pleasant intervention that isn't just for a therapeutic setting, but can be easily incorporated into a healthy couple's daily routine."

This article originally appeared on drozthegoodlife.com and was written by Heather Finn.