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Anxiety relief, Relaxation, Self-care

Improving Anxiety Via Somatics

Emily

“Somatics” refers to any physical practice that uses motion to improve physical and mental health. How does that work? Well – have you ever found that stress or anxiety can make your muscles feel tight? Does your throat close up when you are upset? Do you want to curl into a ball and hide under the covers when you are procrastinating? Those are all signs of your mental state influencing your physical state.

But it’s also possible to change your physical state to improve your mental state! Watch the video below to learn how moving your body can decrease feelings of stress and anxiety.

If you’re interested in some specific ways you can replace the Anxiety Cycle with the Somatic cycle, join my self-paced Somatics for Anxiety course, available online now!

More info and registration
Adrenal fatigue, COVID-19, Self-care, Yoga

How to Stretch When You Don’t Want to Get Out of Bed

Emily

Weather got you down? Dreading your day at work? Recovering from COVID or another part of the 2022 “tripledemic”? Depressed? Just enjoying your warm, cozy bed too much to haul your hindquarters out into the cold Michigan winter? (Not that I’d have any experience with that…ahem…)

Here’s a five-minute stretch to ease you into some movement. By the time you’re done, you may well find that extracting yourself from the covers has lost some of its horror. And if not…well, you’ll have moved your body a bit and gotten the blood and oxygen moving.

I’m demonstrating this on my massage table, but I promise you, you can start this routine in bed under the covers!

I sequenced these movements to move you in gentle stages from “hiding under a blanket” through “de-creakifying your body” to “emerging to start your day.” Only takes 5 minutes!
Anxiety relief, Relaxation, Self-care, Yoga

Somatics for Anxiety course is live!

Emily

I’m so excited to announce that my first online course is ready!

Torso-expanding side bend

Somatics for Anxiety isn’t just for people with anxiety. It’s for anyone who is curious to learn about the way moving your body can enhance your mood. We’re heading into a fun – but often high-stress – time of year. Our heads are full of changes to our normal routines, and our hearts are full of emotions: not just excitement and joy, but often angst and even grief.

When all that feels overwhelming, it can be helpful to tune into what the body is doing. And in fact, moving your body in certain ways can have a direct impact on your thoughts and emotions. Not sure where to start? This course is designed as a guided exploration! In each of the four lessons, I’ll introduce you to a different approach to using your body to enhance your mood, including:

  • Breath and movement (you can do it in bed!)
  • Gentle gliding yoga (including a variation in a chair)
  • Flowing chi exercises (simple standing motions)
  • Immersive distraction activities (many options for using your body to reset your mental state)

I’ll walk you through the exercises, talk a bit about the theory behind each one, and invite you to observe the degree to which each approach helps you. By the end of the course, you should have a much clearer idea of the types of activities that help your state of mind. You can revisit the course for an entire year, too, so you can continue to follow along with the videos whenever you need them.

Details and sign-up
Uncategorized

Coming Soon – Wellness Classes!

Emily

As 2022 and the pandemic wear on, I’m realizing that a lot of folks are needing help rebuilding their health. Whether it’s recovering from Covid, dealing with burnout, or just trying to adjust to a world with constant ongoing crises, folks feel unwell and aren’t finding help from their usual resources.

So, I’m spending this fall putting together some courses to share some techniques for returning to health and thriving in the midst of (*waves hands*) All This Stuff. Currently in development:

  • Somatics for Anxiety – an exploration of four different ways to use body movement and breath to combat anxiousness
  • Self-Care for Restoration – a detailed protocol for dealing with the fatigue common after Covid, during chronic stress, and after job burnout
Emily doing a seated sidebend
Courses include theory and gentle movement practices

See my Courses page for more details, and sign up for my newsletter to be alerted when new courses are available!

Course Details
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