“Research suggests that unresolved PTSD can facilitate lasting physiological changes and that these modifications can be passed on to the next generation.” -Dr. Arielle Schwartz Does your family come with a secret story that is hard to tell? Indeed, most of us grow up in families which carry with us some history of past traumatic … Continued
At the heart of our yoga practice lies the deepening relationship between mind and body. Most of us are raised to spend most of our life in our heads, but yoga invites us to develop a much wider experience of our being, and opens us to the rich sensory experience of the somatic landscape. Increasingly, … Continued
We now know that muscles don’t work in isolation and instead form part of an intricate fascial web that connects and wraps around the body in lines of meridians that influence movement. Whole body movement practices like Feldenkrais, Yoga, Gyrotonics and Tai Chi already work with these lines. Body Sensing is a simple somatic movement … Continued
The pelvic floor is literally the foundation for our whole body: it sits at the bottom of our torso and forms the floor for all our organs. It serves as the base for our core musculature and plays a crucial role in our overall postural and functional health. Because of this, when the pelvic floor is … Continued
The growing understanding of fascia – the connective tissue of the body – is transforming the way we view the body and what it takes to stay healthy. We know now that fascia plays a key role for not just our structural health and well-being, but for numerous aspects of our health and our ability … Continued
The fascial matrix, a.k.a. the connective tissue of the body is a large part of who we are and how well our body functions. A healthy connective tissue is a fluid, three-dimensional elastic and supple matrix, which gives our body natural flexibility, strength and absorption of strain patterns in our body. When this fluid, three-dimensional matrix gets … Continued
We live in a time, when sadly, many people experience loss and grief. Can yoga offer help during these times of big transitions we are facing in life these days? Indeed, yoga can be a lifesaver during any challenging life transition, but particularly during grief and loss. Grief takes the wind out of our sails like … Continued
Have you ever faced challenges in your life that were so overwhelming that they brought you to the edge of your coping skills? If so, you are a survivor of trauma – and, indeed, you are not alone. Nine out of ten people have experienced periods of such intense stress that it qualifies as a … Continued
We know that yoga can help us stay flexible and relieve musculoskeletal pain. Unfortunately, for those of us who are already tight, starting a standard yoga practice the way it is commonly taught in yoga studios can be a Catch-22: You want to practice yoga to become more flexible, but you can’t practice yoga effectively … Continued
The vagus nerve and contemporary Polyvagal Theory are exciting new topics in modern discourse, which have a wide range of applications for yoga practitioners. Contemporary thought about the vagus nerve and Polyvagal Theory sheds light on numerous traditional yoga concepts and practices. In particular, yoga’s deep inquiry into our mental and emotional life makes all … Continued
“It is my belief that we carry in our cells, in our tissues, in the very throb of our existence an underlying flow that urges, inspires, flares our nostrils and beats our heart. This encompassing atmosphere of love has its own destiny. Perhaps using humans as its messengers, this love has arrived on Earth.” “God … Continued
In the last decade, an increasing amount of research attention has focused on the benefits of interoception, i.e. our ability to perceive what’s going on inside our body. People with strong interoception are able to notice and connect with bodily sensations linked to emotions, signals of hunger and thirst, and even intuitive hunches. Because interoception … Continued