YOGA AND MINDFULNESS Services  |
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Integrative Life Services Offers the following Yoga and Mindfulness Services:
Public Classes and Workshops
Mindful Eating Mindful Movement Workshops
Our modern world, presents us with challenges that usually move us away from connection with our body rather than toward awareness and connection. Indeed, many modern health practices (such as conventional dieting) can lead to deeper mind-body disconnection. As a result we often ignore the inner wisdom of our bodies and minds- and the core resource they offer us for joyful and balanced living. Mindfulness practices can allow us to transform these challenges into gateways for living richer fuller, more nourishing lives.
Click here to learn more about Mindful Eating Mindful Movement workshops.
Individual Mind-Body Health Consultation and Coaching
Have you sought the advice of health and healing professionals only to find yourself overwhelmed when you attempting to adopt recommendations ? Do you have only short term success changing habits that aren't supporting your best self ? Have you had trouble changing specific habits you know are not supporting you? We often expect change to be an event rather than a process. Sustainable change often requires awareness, learning and effort over time. Individual coaching can provide you with the support, guidance, and motivation to mobilize your inner wisdom and overcome barriers you've experienced in the past.
Mind -Body Health coaching is a type of life coaching designed to help you build life practices that will serve higher levels of well being and life balance as you envision them. Click here to learn more about coaching and the coaching services we provide.
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Description of Mind Body Life Skills
Life Skills and Wellness Services taught in "Mind-Body Life Skills" (MBLS) are represented by practices such as Yoga, Tai Chi, Meditation and Qi Gong ('chi kung'). These practices can also be referred to as "Mindfulness Practices" and are rooted in traditions that evolved during ancient times. Mindfulness practices have become increasingly popular in modern times due to their inherent wisdom and utility in addressing modern problems --from every day stress to mental health and behavioral problems.
MBLS have been found to be particularly helpful in addressing common problems in at risk youth such as impulse control , aggression, emotional reactivity or dysregulation, anxiety and sleep problems.
The last decade has yielded a proliferation of brain and clinical research looking at the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions as an enhancement to already effective cognitively based interventions.
With this view, yoga and mindfulness skills training actively support and reinforce other therapeutic interventions and best practices found in behaviorally oriented treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectic behavior therapy (DBT).
Yoga, mindfulness and other MBLS can provide youth with:
- Stress and self management skills development
- Healthy pro-social skills development
- Improved sleep
- Reduced aggression
- Improved impulse control and emotional regulation
- Improved response to other therapeutic interventions such as
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Services Offered for Youth
- Group Mindf Body Life Skills (MBLS) 8 Week Introduction Series
The 8 week MBLS curriculum serves as an introduction to mindfulness and mind-body health concepts and mindfulness based therapy for youth. A portion of each class is didactic and discussion oriented while the majority of the class is experiential involving:
- guided relaxation and focused breathing exercises
- physical practices (such as yoga postures or tai chi movements)
- deep relaxation
Youth are given self guided activities as homework. Activities are targeted at improving self regulation and the practice of new mindfulness skills. Assignments are experiential in nature and designed to be completed between classes.
It is ideal to follow this introductory curriculum by then offering ongoing Yoga/Mindfulness (MBLS) classes.
- Ongoing Mind Body Life Skills Classes
Yoga and Mindfulness skills are best taught twice weekly for optimal learning and skill retention , though once weekly classes can be offered. When delivered over longer periods of time, as an adjunct to other treatment components, it is more likely that measurable behavioral changes will take place in youth.
Integration with other treatment components such as Anger Management Skills, Cognitive Behavioral Skills, and Dialectic Behavior Therapy skills can be customized based on program interest.
- Pro-social Transition Passes
For youth staying at a residential center, attendance at community Mind-Body classes will be coordinated with parole officers/caseworkers and residential programs to provide youth with linkages to "real world" places to continue their pro-social development .
This service is also available to youth already living in a community setting.
Caregivers, mentors and guardians are actively engaged and encouraged to be involved in these activities. This service can also be provided to youth who are living in the community.
A series of passes or transition sessions may be appropriate to help youth and families adopt activities in a sustainable way. Providers will help families and youth find and coordinate activities. Attend activities (i.e. a yoga class) and help create avenues for families to continue on their own.
- Individual Yoga Therapy and Mindfulness Skills Training
For youth who grow more quickly with individual attention, mindfulness skills and self regulation skills can be taught in individualized 1:1 sessions. These skills can augment and enhance other interventions that youth are receiving (i.e. CBT, DBT, anger management) . Mindfulness and Yoga based therapy can also be a primary intervention for some youth. Yoga therapists will closely coordinate goal setting and interventions with other therapists, teams and treatment plans.
Mindfulness and Yoga Based Therapy can be particularly helpful for Youth who have:
- Anxiety Problems
- Emotional Regulation problems related to Trauma
- Substace Abuse Problems
- Attention Problems such as ADHD
- Not responded well to talk therapy alone
- Special Mind Body Skills Workshops
Sample Topics:
- Create the conditions to calm down: Making a personal eye pillow for focused breathing and relaxation. Learn about aromas that can soothe your mood.
- Slip Quiety into sleep at night: Create your own ritual to slow down and invite yourself to sleep at night.
- Teenagers and Young Adults
Yoga and other mind body life skills can be valuable resources for all teenagers. We offer classes to meet the needs of youth in less specialized settings such as the community, public or private schools.
Download a .pdf Brochure
What Youth are Saying
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