Yoga and Movement
Integrating Yoga and Expressive Arts into Clinical Practice
Most commonly when we think of yoga we think of the yoga poses and positioning of the human body in the variety of yoga postures to stretch and strengthen our frames. Poses include standing, sitting or lying down. Yoga poses have many physical and physiological benefits from muscle toning to strengthening of joints, tendons and ligaments. Yoga has more recently been linked, to biomedical and psychophysiology research, to support and benefit for the lymphatic and metabolic systems within the body (Khalsa, Telles, Cohen & McCall, 2016). Yoga integrates pranayama, or the practice of mindful breathing, which calms and regulates the body. Pranayama promotes deep relaxation and meditation incorporating mindfulness into the behavior of breath and reflection towards the self. These aspects of yoga aide in regulation of the nervous system response. By decreasing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, yoga can shift the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and reduce toxic stress, thereby positively improving health outcomes (Khalsa, Telles, Cohen & McCall, 2016).
Become a Client
The core of yoga includes self-observation or the ability to become introspective (Gibbons, 2015). Yoga provides consistency in practice for breathing and allows a child, possibly for the first time, to connect to their body in a way which provides feedback to understand their own nervous system. This gives a child the opportunity to build the skills needed for self-regulation, mastery and self-awareness. Many yoga programs include combinations of breath patterns (pranayama), poses or postures with stretching and meditation or mindfulness.
Whether you are an adult, adolescent or child the freedom of movement can be integrated into your work to support a mind-body connection for increasing mindfulness and decreasing stress. Many of our therapists at Firefly orient clients to the process, thus creating a holistic framework of experiencing emotion, sensation and connecting this to thought and narrative storytelling. The goal is to create opportunity to not just talk, but actively work through complex histories or present-day issues.
We offer both individual and group counseling which incorporates movement or yoga. Please inquire with our care coordinators for more information or you may ask your provider directly about this work.
Firefly Institute
Phone: 503-560-5822
Fax: 888-503-2864
Location:
4950 NE Belknap Ct. Ste 205
Hillsboro, OR 97124
