About Yoga Therapy
​You may be thinking "Yoga? I'm not flexible or athletic. I can't do those poses because (insert reason).
This is because, for the most part, a small, athletic variety of yoga has been popularized in studios and gyms. And frankly, it's just not that accessible to the majority of the population.
Nor, is it therapeutic for most conditions! The fast pace and sequencing of poses can create stress in the joints, in the more vulnerable portions of the spine - and the individual who is taking the class may inevitably feel like they just aren't "good at yoga".
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To anyone with such notions about what yoga is, I will quote my teacher, Gary Kraftsow:
"Yoga therapy isn't about getting to know postures. It's about getting to know yourself."
So, YES, we can use movement to help you tap into and communicate with the infinite wisdom of the body. We can use breathing techniques tailored exactly to your needs. We can also use talk therapy. There are countless, creative approaches to help you feel stronger, sleep better, have less pain, feel more centered, less anxious, less inflamed, less angry, less traumatized, less breathless, and uncertain...
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​More whole. More compassion. More YOU.​
Yoga Therapy Tools
Yoga Therapy employs a vast selection of tools, techniques, and practices to help you get to the root of your human condition.​​ Sam's many years of experience in mind-body therapies offers vast room for personalization and creativity!
Movement
Yoga therapy movement might not look like anything you would do in a yoga class... It's more like having a conversation.
The body holds tremendous wisdom and we can learn to hear its special language through gentle, inquisitive movement and breathing practices.
Informed by physical therapy, somatics, polyvagal theory, trauma science, and yogic spiritual technologies, there are MANY evidence-based body paths to choose from.
Pranayama
The pranayama techniques you will learn at Davidson Yoga Therapy are more than simple hacks for calming the mind during stressful moments. These hacks are great, but it's like taking an aspirin for a bacterial infection. "Box breathing", the aspirin, may take the edge off your suffering, but wouldn't you rather take an antibiotic to get to the root of the issue?
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At DYT you will experience a change in the patterns of breathing you have developed over years of living in a pressure cooker of stress.
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Conversation
Yoga therapy includes conversation! My role as your therapist is to be a facilitating witness, observing patterns, connecting dots, and asking questions.
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This top-down (brain-to-body) therapy is an essential element to completing the therapeutic circuit with the bottom-up (body-to-brain) approaches of movement and breath.
I leverage my 30+ years of Yoga Therapist training with years of study in the fields of Health Coaching, Compassionate Inquiry, and for children - the Neurosequential Model.
Faith
Last - but not least - you may find great meaning on the paths of mindfulness, faith, and philosophy. My breadth of experience includes interfaith studies, extensive mindfulness training, Jungian psychology, and Pain Reprocessing Therapy.
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What's important here is you. What is meaningful to you? What is familiar to you? What makes sense in your life right now? Every element of yoga therapy is chosen to be the exact right fit for you and your goals.