What does it mean to heal? What is therapy? How do I feel better?

Well, that depends on you... what you're holding on to, why you feel the way you do and how you react to it.

Pain most often involves the inability to accept our present circumstances - who we are, what we are doing, how we feel.... and when we ask why we begin the deep internal questioning that will dig up the roots of our pain and discontentment.

Yoga releases the physical and emotional energy that is pent up within the body. This energy can be anything - thoughts, traumatic events, guilt, lost love - and the body and mind let go once they are given the right message.
Through guidance, a yoga instructor can teach a student how to heal by inducing a state of total relaxation and surrender.

Healing does not happen over time. It does not occur only when we are 'ready for it'. In fact, it most often happens when we are not prepared. We convince ourselves that we will be ready some day, so we don't put any energy into confronting the way we feel in the present. There will always be a good reason to put it off for now. But there will never be a better time than now. So we hold on, hoping for the 'right' circumstances. And they never come, or when they do, we don't know how to make ourselves feel better.

The key to letting go is realizing that it does not require effort to do so
- in fact, it is the exact opposite. It comes with acknowledging what is causing the patterns of physical tension and letting go of the effort you are already putting into the creation of that tension. Pain most often involves the resistance of, or the inability to accept, our present circumstances - who we are, what we are doing, how we feel.... When we ask why, we begin the deep internal questioning that will dig up the roots of our pain and discontentment.

The body and mind can quite easily settle into a profound state of calm; a mindful, attentive and deeply relaxed state of being. It is in this state that there is no resistance to healing, nor to the process of opening up the body even more than it already is. Energy tends to flow freely and the ease of letting go makes therapy that much more effective.
Imagine if we could be this way everyday - thoroughly relaxed from our head to our toes, moving effortlessly, using only the muscles we need to accomplish each task, to be attentive, focused and happy.

Our ever-busy minds and their random thoughts manifest as physical tension and, over time, can create havoc in our bodies. They shorten and stiffen muscles, resulting in restricted movement, tightness and pain. This can lead to problems in the effective functioning of important body systems such as the immune system, the nervous system and the circulation of blood and lymph. If this state is prolonged, it can lead to chronic pain and eventually to disease. The longer this pattern continues, the more difficult it is to truly relax, to breathe deeply and to let go.

The most effective way to reverse this process is through movement, massage, stretching and relaxation. Movement and massage stimulate the flow of life-giving blood and lymph, aid in joint lubrication and release muscular tension and pain. Stretching improves flexibility, realigns the entire skeletal structure, furthers the release of tension and deepens the sense of letting go. Relaxation allows the mind and body to accept what is happening, to let go and to encourage healing.

With more people working longer hours, sitting or standing in the same position and moving through the same repetitive motions, the demand for therapeutic work is increasing. Disorders such as arthritis, low back pain, frozen shoulder and carpel tunnel syndrome are on the rise and the medical industry is offering only temporary relief. Long-term solutions are possible only with an holistic approach. The symptoms of a syndrome such as frozen shoulder can often subside within days or even hours, simply by releasing chronic tension and teaching a better way of holding and moving the body.