Meditation and Mental Health: Benefits, Adverse Effects, and How to Mitigate Them

It is generally accepted that mindfulness and other types of meditation can be beneficial toward improving one’s mental wellbeing, but more information could be helpful in determining best practices for people who are living with mental health (MH) conditions, especially as it relates to adverse ... Read More

Resources

Should you ever feel you might need additional support, it is my hope that this list may be of use for you. Crisis Hotline: 24 hours: 740-593-3344 or 1-888-475-8484. Interpersonal (Domestic) & Sexual Violence Services: Eyes Up Appalachia - resources for human trafficking survivors in our region.... Read More

15 Benefits of Yoga Practice

Improved strength and flexibility are not the only benefits to maintaining a yoga practice. Here are 15 benefits of yoga that apply to children, teens, and adults: Body awareness and connection to body - Embodiment is the experience of being in our body. There are so many things in our culture t... Read More

My Approach to Trauma-Informed Care

My Interest in Working with Survivors My passion for sharing the gift of yoga has become my life’s work and purpose. My lived experience has provided me with an innate understanding of how growing one’s practice yields fruits of wellbeing. I believe that the physical practice and philosophy of yo... Read More

A Yogic Perspective of Mental Health and Anxiety

A Yogic Perspective of Mental Health and Anxiety Exerpts from a paper written exploring the efficacy of using yoga as a treatment for anxiety disorders. It is well established that yoga supports one’s emotional, spiritual, and physical wellbeing. Yoga is a 5,000 year old practice ... Read More

How Mindfulness-Based Practices can Help us Know our Truth

Meaning is created through five dimensions of neural processing: associations, beliefs, cognitions, developmental phases, and emotions. Integration, truth, and coherence overlap in that integration is a way of organizing experiences so that they are coherent, and what is coherent is true. Being a... Read More

Using Breathwork with Trauma Survivors

Using Breathwork with Trauma Survivorsby Erin Finck The breath can be a powerful tool to induce relaxation and reduce stress. As such, the breath may be a useful modality to support trauma survivors who are living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD symptoms are rooted in disruptive ... Read More

Yoga Therapy as a Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Benefits and Challenges

Yoga Therapy as a Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Benefits and ChallengesBy Erin Finck and Susana Jones Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a condition characterized by psychological and somatic symptoms that are pervasive, problematic, and disruptive to one’s quality of life. GAD i... Read More

Our Yoga Practice: Cultivating Steadiness and Ease

I used to think I wasn’t “doing yoga” right if I didn’t wake up with the sun and practice asana for an hour, followed by another hour of meditation, engaged in ayurvedic cleansing practices before my shower, and then topped it all off with a super-food smoothie, complete with plant-based protein.... Read More

My Yoga (Life's) Journey

I wanted to share this story with anyone who might be interested in knowing more about me and why I do what I do. I've been interested in yoga ever since I was a child and can't explain why. I didn't know anyone who had done it before. I hardly knew what it was. I started taking yoga classes whe... Read More