Mind Body Health
Are depression, anxiety and addiction impacting your physical health?
- Do you ever have difficulty taking a deep breath?
- Perhaps you feel tightness in your chest or knots in your stomach.
- Do you struggle to get motivated to exercise and engage in physical activity?
- Do you wish that you could deal with your issues without talking about them?
We want you to be whole
We often think of our physical health and our mental health as two separate matters. However, research on the strong correlation points to the advantages of addressing them hand in hand. Unfortunately, it is rare to find health providers who can offer guidance in addressing both. Part of Heartswell’s mission is to give you support in addressing both mind and body. Because we want to help you learn to be whole, and fully alive.
The body says what words cannot.
— Martha Graham
Foster a mind body connection
We invite you to join our community and expand your ability to feel, move and be. How would you like to foster a better connection with your body in order feel your feelings more clearly, recognize them sooner, and address them with more accuracy and strength? We can help
Practicing yoga for depression and anxiety can help unwind the brain
If we go back to it’s roots, yoga was established as a way to prepare one to meditate and have a stronger more clear connection to the divine. As we begin to re-experience ourselves, there is an expanded capacity to warmly and completely trust and accept our essential core self.
Yoga in the U.S. has become an exercise trend, but it’s power goes far beyond strengthening and stretching muscles and joints. While your yoga instructor is likely well aware of the mental health benefits of yoga, it’s rare to find a class where the impact is made explicit and brought into focus. Research has shown that after 20 weeks of practice, trauma survivors displayed an increase the activation of the parts of the brain that enable self-regulation. (source*)
Individuals who practice yoga for depression and anxiety begin to feel safer in their bodies. They learn to feel emotions in their body, recognize them, and address them with greater accuracy. Over time we can translate memories that previously overwhelmed our systems us into clearer messages we can work with. As our emotional memories become more tolerable we begin to see that we have choices. We are now longer a prisoner to our past and we begin to choose the path our life will take.
At Heartswell we save you the hassle of putting together your whole body package in several places around town and offer you integrated services from a holistic and collaborative treatment team. Our yoga services can help you access deeper healing.
A health and wellness coach can help you restore a connection with your body
Another way in which we can foster a safe relationship with our body is to be thoughtful about our diet and exercise. We’ve long since known of the endorphins that are generated through aerobic physical exercise and how that impacts our mood. Additionally, eating well, in accordance to the unique needs of our body, also helps us to have more energy and strength from day to day. It even has an impact on our nervous system and the way that our brain functions.**
Working with a Health and Wellness Coach can help you look inward at the needs of your body, take into account your lifestyle and desires, and help you identify a personal health plan. Our Health and Wellness Coaches are an integrated part of the Heartswell team and can work in collaboration with your therapist.
I am considering engaging in services for my body, but I still have some concerns.
I REALLY THINK I SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO THIS ON MY OWN WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF A COACH.
Yes, that would be great. But the truth is that we thrive in connection. We are wired this way and when have someone that can listen to our struggles and give us support in finding solutions, we can get where we want to be faster with lasting results.
CAN I GET THE SAME BENEFIT FROM ATTENDING THE YOGA CLASS AT MY FAVORITE STUDIO?
Any yoga is better than no yoga. Chances are if you enjoy the class and keep going back it’s meeting some important needs in your mind and body. But not all yoga teachers understand how to help you slow down and tune into the body’s regulation system. Many move too fast, give you directives instead of exploratory options, and talk to you like you are in a body pump class. Our yoga instructors are part of our integrated team and work in connection with our therapists. Additionally, they are trained to be sensitive to the traumas and emotional sensitivities that might arise.
Sources
*The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. – p. 276
** The Influences of Diet and Exercise on Mental Health Through Hormesis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3225189/
