Yoga Therapy is a form of mind-body therapy that harnesses the healing technologies of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness to improve physical health and mental wellbeing. Yoga therapists support individuals in exploring a personal relationship with mind-body practice that addresses and accommodates their own unique physical and psychological needs and goals.
Yoga therapists prescribe specific practices or practice regimens that treat specific health conditions or that help you to advance towards specific wellness goals and practice aspirations. Stretching and tension-release practices, mindful strength-building, breath-work, rest and relaxation strategies, postural education, meditation techniques, and development of self-compassion and self-supportive lifestyle habits are among the many mind-body interventions that might be explored in yoga therapy.
Unlike in a group class setting, you will be able to enjoy the privacy and depth of working one-on-one with a comprehensively skilled and experienced therapeutic instructor who can support you on your personal journey of healing through yoga as it relates specifically to your own body, heart, and mind. You yourself are the most important guide as we shape the practice to fit you.
Yoga does not require physical fitness or flexibility AT ALL. Despite how it is often portrayed in popular media, yoga has very little to do with physical feats of strength or twisting your body into exotic poses. Yoga is a system of healing, self-care, and personal awakening. If you can breathe, you can do yoga!
The Sanskrit word yoga comes from the root word yujir, meaning “to yoke” or to unite, describing the human journey towards wholeness. Mind-body practice is about integrating body, mind and spirit, integrating grief and joy, integrating strength and struggle, integrating self-power and the power of nature and community. Yoga is a sophisticated and practical technology for generating a greater sense of inner peace, fulfillment, and well-being in our lives.
Evidence-based research ranks yoga and meditation among the most effective preventative and complementary therapies alongside traditional western medicine. A strongly emerging field in wellness and disease prevention, yoga therapy endeavors to support and strengthen the whole person. Mainstream initiatives like Dr. Dean Ornish’s Lifestyle Management Program place yoga and mindfulness front and center as integral tools in shaping healthier lifestyle, reducing stress and inflammation that contribute to chronic illness, and providing relief and accelerated healing for acute or chronic injury or ill-health, whether physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional.
I have been working with clients of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels for over a decade and have identified three primary approaches to individual sessions. Sometimes a client’s needs and goals fit neatly into one category and other times a combination of the three can best address the whole picture.
Yoga Therapy for Mental Health & Healing the Nervous System. As someone with a personal and family history of trauma and mental health challenges, the life-changing neuropsychological benefits of mind-body practice is what inspired me to become a yoga therapist. Gentle yoga, breath-work, qigong, guided rest, and compassion-focused meditation practice have the power to foster “positive neuroplasticity” — the ability of the brain to reorganize and form new synaptic connections that better regulate and calm the nervous system, that change how we relate to stress, that reduce and down-regulate symptoms of chronic illness, and that transform outmoded psychological patterns in favor of self-compassion, ease, joy, resilience, and equanimity. Mind-body practice teaches us how to access and nourish our inner resources and wisdom, how to return to and stay in touch with our center in the midst of adversity, how to digest and move through grief and trauma, and how to strengthen our overall resiliency towards a better quality of life and long-term healing.
Yoga Therapy for Physical Health / Supporting the Body. Yoga is like an owner’s manual for the body. Through practice, we can learn how to relieve pain and tension, aid recovery from injury or illness, manage or relieve chronic health issues, improve circulation of blood, lymph and synovial fluid, care for our joints, improve and maintain flexibility and mobility, strengthen coordination and balance, nurture respiratory and digestive health, sharpen memory and mental focus, reduce blood pressure and inflammation, increase strength and bone density, regulate the nervous system, relieve back and neck pain, and learn to make healthy posture our second nature. And that’s the short list! Individual yoga therapy sessions are an ideal way to identify specific and precise practices that best support your personal needs and wellness goals.
Private Instruction for Deepening Your Relationship with Mind-Body Practice. Individual sessions are an ideal way to study and explore mind-body practice with a highly skilled, experienced, and knowledgeable teacher. You might be totally new to yoga or interested in trying out meditation or tai chi, but you would rather begin your journey in a one-on-one atmosphere. Or, you could be an experienced yogi or meditator who would like to refresh, deepen, and hone your practice. There are few things I love more in this world than working one-on-one to support an individual’s relationship with their personal practice.
Examples of Conditions Addressed by Jenne Sluder Yoga Therapy
Chronic Pain
Injury Recovery
Post-Covid-19 Long-Hauler Syndrome
Memory Loss / Brain Fog / Concentration Issues
Generalized Anxiety
PTSD / Complex PTSD
Shallow Breathing / Improving Respiratory Capacity
Asthma & other reactive airway conditions
PVFM & Vocal Cord Dysfunction
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Back Pain / Neck Pain
Surgery Recovery
Social Anxiety Disorder
Depression
Bipolar Disorder
Major Life Transition
Stress Reduction
Codependency
Substance Abuse / Addiction / Recovery
Disordered Eating / ED
Domestic Abuse Recovery
Harsh Self-Judgment
Building New Habits
Self-Discovery
Grief Work
Anger Management
Arthritis
Osteopenia / Osteoporosis
Difficulty with Balance
Improve Flexibility / Range of Motion
Improve Coordination / Ease of Movement
Piriformis Syndrome
Joint Pain
Parkinson’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
Attention Deficit Disorder & ADHD
Fibromyalgia
Nervous System Health
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Acute Illness Recovery
Chronic Illness Management
RSD & Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Mindful Fitness / Strength-Building / Core Strength
Posture / Structural Alignment
Improve Circulation / Heart Health
Blood Pressure Management
Kyphosis
Sciatica pain
Sacroiliac Joint pain
Spinal Fusion
Scoliosis
Hip / Knee / Shoulder Replacement Recovery
The sanity of the body is the sanity of the mind.
thich nhat hanh
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