Why Online Services: A Series

Since I launched my new website, I’ve had many inquiries about my services. Thank you for your interest! My therapy practice in Illinois is currently full, so many potential clients have been wondering about online services. Here are some reasons online services can be superior to seeing a practitioner in person, and why I started using online coaches and healers over three years ago:

1. Accessibility: Having the option of talking to your provider of choice, regardless of geographical location is a big plus. While clients who come to my office have limited days and times they are able to see me, accessing me online can be much easier! Need to schedule while you’re travelling? Great news! Online services can happen no matter what time zone we’re in, given we are both awake!

2. Collaboration: Since online services are not covered by insurance, I would serve as your coach. Many of my modalities can be used via phone or video conference, but having an online coach can be more flexible in terms of the expectations around the roles of the coach and the client. Coaching allows for an expanded collaborative relationship--I have met my coaches at retreats, shared bedrooms with them, and cried together. I would consider some of my coaches friends.

3. Creating A Sacred Space: When I schedule a coaching call with new clients, I encourage you to choose a time and space where you are able to completely focus. This would preferably be in your home in a space that is just yours, or is able to be private during our session. Often, I will start the session out with a prayer or ritual to welcome in healing. Once we have collectively given ourselves a space to do important work, your sacred space could then be used for your own work outside our sessions.

4. Diversity: Once I was able to receive energy healing, astrology readings, and practical tools through an online space, I realized I would have never been able to access the diversity of coaches and healers within my own community. Making the time to physically go to appointments can be exhausting and time consuming, let alone finding someone who best fits your needs. Having the option to work with providers online has been an integral part of my healing process.

If you are interested in learning more about online coaching and how to work with me, let’s schedule a FREE 20-minute call! Next week, I’ll share a bit more about how online sessions look with me, and how to best optimize your online sessions.

Why I Cry During Yoga (Every Time)

“Are you a yogi?” my instructor asked upon introduction. I laughed inside myself, as it’s a type of question that I’ve been asked before. I have never considered myself a yogi, but rather answered with, “It’s [yoga] always been around.” However reluctant I have been to call myself a yogi, I have joined a studio in town and have reflected on my reluctance to embrace the practice of yoga fully.

Ever since I was introduced to yoga, I liked it immediately. The action of synchronizing my breath to the flow of movements meant for my physical and psychological well-being appealed to me. However, I have a tendency within myself to resist many things that are embraced by the larger populous (think things like: Harry Potter, all professional sports, and cruises). Since yoga has seemingly increased in popularity in the US, I actively resisted embracing a regular practice or joining a studio. I practice sporadically at home, encourage my clients suffering from trauma to embrace yoga as a part of their recovery, and have plenty of friends who both teach and practice yoga.

As I meditated on the history of yoga, I realized part of my resistance to westernized yoga. The meaning of the word yoga means “union.” This makes sense to me given the following explanation by Patanjali:  “yoga is the neutralization of ego-directed feelings, because once these become stilled, the yogi realizes that he is, and that he has always been, one with the Infinite – that his awareness of this reality was limited only by his infatuation with limitation.”

As I participate in this ancient practice, my intuition was guiding me to this wonderful concept of union. During my practice, I become aware of the limitations in my mind, my body, and in my emotions. I also simultaneously realized that I am part of All That Is. During my first candlelight practice, I found tears streaming down my face. How my body and soul longed for a union I couldn’t put into words, yet has always been at my disposal.

Another word that comes to mind often during my practice is prayer. I see my practice as a form of prayer: for myself, for my body, for my day, for my clients, for my life. As I learn to open myself, physically and psychologically, to the union that creates wholeness, I can be free. I listen to the nagging signals in my body that are praying for union. I now embrace the practice of yoga, and I embrace all the tears I cry during savasana.

If you are a reluctant yogi like I am, give it a try. You might just cry during every class, and enjoy every minute of it.

Snowstorms & Embodiment

Have you ever been travelling during a snowstorm? The phenomena is something that can test your mental and physical limits. This weekend I was the copilot with a dear friend while we traveled to Michigan, where we encountered snowstorms on the way there and back. As I reflect on how we supported each other through the journey, I was brought to my body.

How do we know when stress has occurred? Very often, we can identify this through our body signals: tight chest, shallow breathing, or a churning of the gut. I’ve been finishing an online training entitled: Toward an Embodied Self. This training is incorporating somatic techniques for therapists who specialize in processing all forms of trauma. In the training, we are instructed to pay very close attention to our clients non-verbal cues, most of which are found in body language.

When we are under acute or chronic stress, our bodies are the best way of alerting us if we pay attention. In my work with clients, many have cut themselves off from their body cues due to their trauma history. The task of reacquainting them with their body can be a slow and gradual process. What is the best way to start this process? By creating safety within the body.

How do we begin the process of creating safety in the body? When my friend was driving through the snowstorm, how did I support her? We begin to talk about and explore resources that can create a positive shift in the body. Examples could be: talking about a pleasant place my friend visited that was warm and sunny (visual), imagining stroking my dogs soft fur (tactile), listening to fun music (auditory), or biting into a crisp apple (olfactory and taste). I also read her funny buzzfeed articles (laughing heals).

When we allow ourselves to pay attention to how our bodies feel when we engage in pleasant resources, there is a shift. Where once there was tension, it has melted away. Where there was once unease, we find our breathing gets easier. We notice the contrast of our stressed bodies with our resourced bodies.

Even though Abby and I were stuck in a car for longer than we wanted, in circumstances that were less than ideal, we made it through. We both consciously and unconsciously resourced our bodies. In the processing of trauma, we are looking for the body to integrate the experience so we no longer carry the remnants of it in our fascia, muscles, and cells. We become more resilient to stress in the future. We become more embodied as a whole person.

If you are interested in knowing more about the process of embodiment, bringing safety back to the body, and more, my coaching services address all these needs. I’m more than happy to talk on the phone about how I can help. Please send me a message and we can chat!