There’s lots of new things happening for Grounded for Peace this fall. We have a new intern that has started with us. I will have her introduce herself in the next week or so. She will be providing individual sessions and facilitating a group or 2 during her time. She also will be providing some fresh eyes for our practice and our online presence. Another wonderful benefit to our practice is that she’ll be able to take on clients at a sliding fee scale so if you have someone that struggles to afford therapy we may have some room to take on a few more clients. Please click on our contact page to send us a message if you would like more information.
We also are increasing our yoga therapy services with another group starting in October. Once the details are firmed up, we will be providing more information. If you are interested in individual or group Yoga Therapy, feel free to also reach out via our contact page.
On to chapter three of Yoga Anatomy. The muscles around my right hip are always tight. As I mentioned before my right leg is shorter than my left leg by a hair. I usually do not notice this unless I under use or overuse my body. Lately I have been trying to do more cardio and the increase in repetitive movement has aggravated all the muscles around my hip and knee.
This chapter on the muscular system begins by stating the purpose of muscles is to move the bones in the correct place so they can do their job. I’m thinking of how much more my right leg and hip muscles must have to work to keep my bones on that side in the right place to balance my movement. I don’t walk with a limp and usually do not notice much difference but just the bit more they have to do is noticeable when I change my activity.
in reviewing muscle anatomy the book describes the 3 types of muscles, skeletal, cardiac and smooth. It also discusses how muscles actually consist of 4 different types of tissue: muscle tissue, connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels. When you consider how much goes into making a muscle work you can’t ignore how integrated each body system is. Also the concept that they are different types of muscles leads to that different parts of the body govern the different muscles. The skeletal system is govern by our somatic nervous system and for the most part conscious thought. It’s the one we have awareness of controlling. Cardiac muscles and smooth muscles are governed by the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system (through hormones). We don’t have conscious awareness of control of these areas but if you can learn how to influence you autonomic nervous system then you can influence these muscles.
The book goes on in detail to describe how muscles work in pairs through contraction only. This I decided to not review as much because of the technicality and because for me this part is not as relevant at this time as the other information they focused on. This other information is related to the idea of muscle relationships through pairing, layering, and chains.
One of the suggested exercises is lying in relaxation pose and the instruction is to wiggle your fingers and follow the movement up your arm to your spine and then moving the spine to see what other body parts move as a chain reaction. This to me was actually relaxing and somewhat meditative. I felt like I was observing ripples and waves in my body. I like that analogy. It made me think of how fluid my body can be versus how choppy and “crunchy” it feels sometimes walking when I’m feeling pain.
In talking about muscle chains and following movement the book again referenced “Body Mind Centering” and “the Bartenieff Fundamentals”. In looking up “BMC” I found this definition:
“Body-Mind Centering® (BMC®) is an integrated and embodied approach to movement, the body and consciousness. Developed by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, it is an experiential study based on the embodiment and application of anatomical, physiological, psychophysical and developmental principles, utilizing movement, touch, voice and mind. Its uniqueness lies in the specificity with which each of the body systems can be personally embodied and integrated, the fundamental groundwork of developmental re-patterning, and the utilization of a body-based language to describe movement and body-mind relationships.” –https://www.bodymindcentering.com/about/
In regards to the Bartenieff Fundamentals I found this description from Wikipedia:
“Bartenieff Fundamentals are a set of principles for “corrective body movement”[1] developed by Irmgard Bartenieff, who studied with Rudolf Laban and colleagues in Germany (1925). After coming to the United States in the 1940s and becoming a physical therapist, Bartenieff developed the method in the form of a set of exercises, based on concepts and principles of kinesiological functioning, that can be extended into all types of movement possibilities. Bartenieff in developing this work fused her studies in both Laban movement analysis with Physiotherapeutic principles and the influence of both is a strong component of the Fundamentals.”
I am interested in learning more about each of these and plan to do a bit more research on these. This chapter on the Muscular System ends by saying that if we think all muscles in a body are supposed to work like the corresponding muscles in someone else’s body we are missing the awareness and possibilities of new patterns and new movement that may be possible for the individual. We are all so different and just because a series of exercises work for one person, it doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for another. I do like that when we practice yoga postures as they are described in the sutures we teach ourselves to explore the posture with ease and discovery versus being just performative or for an end result. This approach allows us to grow and learn while we are becoming stronger or more flexible.
Regarding my muscles in my right leg. I have decided to do more exploring in my morning yoga practice which has caused me to rethink what might be good for my body. I realized that as I get older I do feel more brittle and “crunchy” and that if I can create more fluid movement like with good posture when I walk or trying more flow with my yoga postures when I practice I feel better. I also am noticing how proper alignment with my posture makes everything better. It takes practice though which is what I’m trying to be more consistent with.
First book study – “Yoga Anatomy” by Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews
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During the past few years I have acquired so many books that I keep meaning to read and study. I have decided that I wanted to start a simple book study for my blog. That way not only do I have something to hold me accountable to read these items but also I can share what I’m learning to others. The plan is to basically summarize what I learn and give some ideas of how to put the information into practice, whether it be for the individual at home or for me to to incorporate in the clinic.
Being on the mental health side of things, I do not have a lot of training in anatomy. Therefore, I decided to start my study off with a somewhat deep dive into anatomy with this book by Kaminoff and Matthews. The first chapter is titled, “Anatomy as a Story”. This short chapter introduces the points the authors are hoping to bring home in their book. The main concept they seem to be focusing on is that anatomy through the language of biology and yoga are just two different maps to explore the body. Both are curated and both provide one lens to look through to see the same thing. The authors do want to point out when we do study movement we are not just looking at one body system (muscular/skeletal) but looking at all the systems working together.
The first 3 chapters are devoted it appears to the major systems associated with movement: Skeletal, Muscular, and Nervous. One main reason for working in yoga therapy to my practice is that I know and see on a daily basis how these three systems are intertwined. In trauma treatment especially we are trying to get a person out of their thoughts and to break away from those torture loops in their head. Ironically in traditional psychotherapy we do this with talk and processing thoughts and feelings. Not really getting out of the head huh? Movement of the body is the best way to cut through the thought jails. Moving the body will impact the nervous system in a way just pure communicating and processing cannot. It is something we will tell a client to do as “homework” but there’s usually too many distractions in the average person’s home to accomplish too much meaningful homework. Something so valuable needs to be done in a dedicated session.
Over the past pretty much 10 years I’ve been slowly but surely working toward getting my Yoga Therapy Certificate with the International Association of Yoga Therapists. I finally completed that task last month. I had finished up my training with an absolutely wonderful studio out of San Francisco, Purusha Yoga School. I met some amazing people and learned so so much. I am actually sad that it is over more than excited about the certificate. Anyway it has always been a dream of mine to incorporate more yoga into my mental health practice. This has been difficult because my profession is Clinical Social Work and there is a very strong business model for a therapy practice that utilizes insurance and out of pocket. The clients I see need to be able to use their insurance and I don’t want to be so boutique that I can’t cater to the average working person whom is most likely not going to pay my hourly rate weekly. Some can and will because of the benefit, but most of us want to use our insurance if we have it.
So the challenge has been how do I work in yoga therapy since insurance doesn’t cover that. Well through this last training I have received so much insight how this all could work and finally decided to take the jump and transition my practice to something much more holistic. It is very exciting for me.
I think understanding how yoga therapy and traditional psychotherapy are similiar and different is really good to keep as a fore front as I chart this next course. Here’s a brief comparison of the two:
Both Yoga Therapy and Traditional Psychotherapy are the same in the following ways:
Both
Work on rewriting negative thoughts/experiences into something more positive that helps get a person unstuck and to move toward optimal wellness.
Work on understanding where a person is on their journey toward wellness and meet the client where they are at.
Are confidential
Use skills of motivational enhancement therapy and cognitive behavior therapy
Set up SMART (specific measurable, attainable, relative, time sensitive) goals for treatment.
Teach mindfulness and relaxation skills
How Yoga Therapy and Traditional Psychotherapy are different:
Traditional Psychotherapy uses predominantly talk and utilizes one or more of the many models of psychotherapy available to Licensed Counselors.
Yoga therapy uses the framework of the 8 limbs of yoga to build a treatment plan.
Yoga therapy uses Sanskrit terminology to identify and explain concepts while traditional psychotherapy uses western medical terminology.
Yoga therapy uses the chakra system to assess health and to inform treatment planning.
Yoga Therapy follows ayurvedic principles to guide treatment.
Most traditional psychotherapy is covered under insurance; yoga therapy is not.
As you can probably see they do have a good bit that overlaps. So the plan is for the business to focus primarily where the two overlap. The majority of Yoga Therapy can be billable with insurance as long as it follows psychotherapy models. I still plan to offer classes that are geared more on teaching versus therapy and those would be out of pocket.
So it’s a new chapter for Grounded for Peace. We start off the transition this summer with offering more specific yoga therapy individual sessions and some small therapeutic groups that incorporate specific strategies in Meditation, Breath work, and Relaxation. As times goes and when I am able to add more staff, we will begin offering more targeting therapeutic groups for anxiety, addiction, and trauma.
If you are interested in knowing more about upcoming groups, click on “Contact Us” at the top and leave us a message.
In sessions, I hear a lot about chronic pain, particular back pain. Many folks are becoming more and more skeptical to the use of pain killers with all the headlines about the opioid epidemic. They want to look at other options for pain and/or reduce their personal use of opiates and other pain killers. Exercise comes up with mixed thoughts and feelings. On one hand they hear that the increase of exercise can help with circulation, healing, and tension related to pain. On the other hand, the wrong exercise or the wrong amount can cause serious damage and create more problems.
A recent article in the October 2017 edition of Scientific American highlights some research on this topic. The research looked at over 300 individuals with chronic back pain and prescription painkillers. They assigned these individuals to either a program of yoga, physical therapy, or a program of educational materials. What they discovered is that the individuals in the yoga and physical therapy groups were able to significantly reduce their use on pain killers than the control and education only group. The author described the yoga that was prescribed in the group as gentle stretches including cat/cow and child’s pose.
The article spoke to the evidence that what seems to work best is an overall combination of tools, which could be medications and movement. When speaking to one’s primary care physician or pain treating provider, asking about other options for pain relief in addition to medications is recommended. If there are no structural reasons for the pain or damage to any vertebrae many times movement is preferred over medications. Although even with structural problems with someone’s skeleton, increasing flexibility and circulation is beneficial and necessary for healing. Muscle relaxers may help obviously with muscle tightness, but you may get much more with exercise such as overall increase in circulation, relaxation and strengthening of muscles.
Bottom line seems to be that there are benefits to medication but much more for adding the right exercise with or without the medication. Figuring out the right exercise may take a little research and time. Speaking to qualified professionals familiar with one’s unique health history and getting a list of options to choose from is the best place to start. A physical therapist is also a great place to start but if you want to try something at home, one could always begin with asking their healthcare provider to explain first off which exercises they shouldn’t do and why. Then at least an individual is able to stay safe while they sample different exercises to try at home. As with any exercise program, when you find something that works, it’s the consistency that will give you the most benefit. It’s better to start small and keep going than start too big and feel like you can’t keep it up due to time or energy.
Encouraging recovery and balance through the practice of counseling, coaching, and yoga.
