YOGA

Therapeutic Yoga reaches a population of people that have difficulty moving easily due to illness, injury, orthopedic concerns, pregnancy and the elderly. 

Not everyone can do the dynamic flowing sequences or poses taught in active forms of yoga.  Therapeutic Yoga blends restorative,  instructional and gentle yoga, breathwork, and guided meditation techniques combined in such a way that it is an excellent choice for those who need individualized postural options for building strength and flexibility for bringing the body into balance and reducing stress.  Therapeutic yoga postures incorporate the use of props like chairs, bolsters, blankets, blocks and straps for relaxation as well as the gradual progression of postures for the preservation of optimal form.  Without the attention to form, yoga based exercise can reinforce habitual misalignment as we tend to stretch from our more flexible areas and rely on our better developed muscle groups for strength.  Therapeutic yoga encourages awakening and realigning the whole body.  As the body moves into better alignment, less muscular work is required and relaxation occurs naturally.

Building Bones Yoga and Osteoporosis This lecture and yoga class series is specifically designed for people with low bone mineral density for education and safe practice of yoga based exercise to prevent compression fractures and improve bone minderal density.

This class will teach you how to use yoga poses to strengthen posture and improve balance appropriate for people with osteoporosis.  Safe yoga practice can prevent the formation of compression fractures of the spine and hip fractures brought on by the result of weakened bones placed under unnecessary stress with non optimal yoga poses.  Class lecture and discussion includes a visual powerpoint for the education of osteoporosis physiology, structural anatomy, and progression.  The course also teaches movements to avoid in both your daily life and while exercising that can place you at risk of osteoporosis related fractures.  Ultimately each student will leave the course empowered with the knowledge needed to improve and maintain healthy bones through yoga based exercise.

Yoga Articles

PILATES

Therapeutic Pilates emphasizes exercises that target core strength and stabilization required for rehabilitation of the body.

Pilates based exercise helps to achieve control of your body from the “powerhouse” that refers to the group of muscles in the center of the body.  When these exercises are applied to an injured body, they act to support and stabilize the body as well as prevent compensatory patterns of movement that may cause additional pain and dysfunction to an area of injury.  The use of the body’s core muscles during daily activities promotes optimal postural strength and mechanics that prevent injury.