Restorative Yoga

[gaileee]

Hi Yoga Teacher and Marketing Guru!

Read with much interest this last newsletter with respect to the restorative yoga ideas. Lots of questions come to my mind.....

How many and what types of yoga props do you use in a typical restorative yoga session? Do you give a private client props of their own, or do you haul the props around from client to client?

I know that you ask for referrals for getting clients, alas, how would you write that craigslist ad for acquiring a restorative yoga client? I would think that it would have a different spin upon it. I could see that a lot of what you had written in the newsletter ezine could be in the ad.

Well, just my thoughts at the moment, as I come to wrap my brain around this!

Thanks as always.....gaileee, e-ryt

p.s. I see where Judith L. is teaching a restorative/relax yoga workshop in the Dallas area this weekend.

[alice9pgn]

Hello and happy new year everyone.

Harlan, it's interesting that you chose to talk about restorative yoga and the aging population. I'm trying to earn the money right now to take training at Duke Univ. The first part in the spring is teaching yoga to Seniors, and the second part in the fall is yoga for seniors therapist.

Since I love working with the senior population, seeing their progress, better outlook on life quality of life, this training will be very helpful. I was reading about there being over 80 million citizens over 65 years of age by 2050, and I'm talking to new people in that age range every day who have been talking about trying yoga. Their knees and all have been abused by soccer, racquetball, basketball, etc, and they are bored by the treadmill. I think this will work out for us all wonderfully.

I'd still like to hear any wisdom you may offer on making a living in this small town.

Bright blessings, alice

[yogipam]

Hi Gailee,
Just wanted to add my thoughts. I also find this idea of marketing restorative yoga very interesting. I see lots of possibility here. . . But Harlan, I'm curious as to what you mean by "restorative yoga."

I've been trained in restorative yoga by both Judith Lasater and Cheri Clampett, where lots of props are used in passive poses, particularly blankets and bolsters. For the (few) privates I'm currently teaching, I go to their home and always take props to the session with me -- mats, blocks, blankets, straps and eyebags -- even if they have their own, to be prepared for anything.

I find that what they seem to like best is a combination of (gentle) movement with breath techniques, muscle activation & isometric postures to target a particular weakness/pain (ie., back pain), followed by some passive restorative postures and a long shavasana/meditation.

It's a lot to manage (a challenge for me) in a 60- or 90-minute session, but I like to overdeliver!

So, Harlan, can you expand on what you mean by restorative?

Very interesting stuff. . .

[jbel-yoga]

Hi!

I suggest a nice book appropriate for Restorative Yoga. It's Yoga for Wellness by Gary Kraftsow.

Thank's

[Administrator]

Milton Erickson was the founder of medical therapeutic hypnosis.
He is credited single handedly for bringing hypnosis out of the
"Svengali" method to a legitimate medical and therapeutic tool.

Erickson taught hypnosis to doctors, dentists, psychiatrists, psychologists,
and clinical social workers.

And his basic lesson was this...

"Each person is as unique as their fingerprints."

When it comes to peoples' bodies, they are unique.

And the ability to read what people need by reading in between
the lines isn't something you can get from a book.

As yoga teachers, one of the biggest challenges facing you
is the idea you will be replaced by video podcasts, DVDs and
instant yoga teachers in gyms.

But yoga was always taught master-disciple teacher-student.

The master always knew what the student needed - even if
it was the opposite of what the student thought.

Reading Ram Daas and his stories of his encounters with
Maharaji in India reminded me of the Chassidic stories of my
heritage.

The biggest piece of restorative yoga is the ability to really
know what the clients need and the patience to practice
poses on your own to discover what really works.

But keep in mind...

"Each person is as unique as their fingerprints."

I hope that gets your internal thinking process in high gear.

Peace.

Harlan

[gaileee]

Just a little story...

I went to a chiropracter on a whim, from an add she had put into the paper. The thing that got me into the office was, she listed that she also had a yoga therapist in her practice.

I went, got my evaluation, and in part of the evaluation was a muscular strength and balance evaluation. The Chiro went onto say that she was especially schooled in this technique and not many Chiro's did this in their practice. She said that in doing this, she got better information, but for her business, it meant less sessions with the client, because the client got better information in how to help themselves (if they followed through, that is...)

For my evaluation, we went over what "exercises" I was to do. But I was allready doing them with my yoga practice. I needed very little adjustment/hands on therapy.

I have often thought back to this session, and how I could apply this to yoga clients. Harlan hits the note just right, in that the each individual has their own fingerprint (or something to that effect?), and I'd like to know what Sara thinks about when she comes in contact with a new client, and how she knows what is good for them.

This probably comes with experience, and yes, one probably won't "get it" with a book, but that is my starting point....at this point and time.

gaileee....thinking.....

[yogipam]

Yes, thank you, Harlan. When I gave my general description of a private, each one is still different -- the poses and sequence, the pacing and tone. I always start by asking how they are feeling that day, this always gives me the best clues as to what might work for them.

But it is definitely intuitive, so reading the client is very important. My confidence is building, since working with privates is fairly new to me, and so far I have been on the mark. It's very gratifying, since you can give them specifically what they want/need, and they so so appreciative.

[yogipam]

Hi Gaileee,
Just to respond about your chiro -- the person who trained me in muscle activation (out of Dallas) had taken his program to most of the chiros, yoga studios, health clubs and other alternative clinicians in the area, and none of them wanted him to bring his services to their business because they felt it would lose them business. All save one -- Sunstone Yoga, and together, they created a special yoga practice of isometrics, muscles activation and active stretching to strengthen and create body symmetry.

Once a person is educated in how to activate "dormant" or weak muscles and re-balance their body, they often don't need other therapies.

As committed yoga students and teachers, we know how to actively stretch and fully engage our muscles. But I find many yoga students, especially beginners, don't, and even with consistant instruction, they passively stretch or collapse into their flexibility, or overstretch and create injury.

I myself had muscles that were "shut down" due to a bad car accident several years ago, and while practicing all kinds of yoga certainly helped heal my body, there were still certain poses and movements that I could no longer do, until I learned these techniques.

It's been helping my students who have had neck pain, hip pain, back pain knee pain, etc. and they have found more ease in their yoga postures. I consider these techniques an integral part of my yoga teaching.

[gaileee]

Hi Yogipam,

Based on this thread, I had done a search and found the SunStone website yesterday (wow!), and emailed the contact name to find out what correspondence course might help me in evaluating this aspect.

So my Chiro was very forward thinking in her approach to her clients I suspect. She has alot of sport enthusiast who come to her for services, because they are not able to get to the next level of their activity, and they
take her prescription to heart.

Still thinking....gaileee

[yogipam]

Hi Gaileee,
FYI -- The Sunstone program with isometrics & muscle activation is called "Pain Free Yoga" (you probably found it). I took the Level 2 training -- unfortunately, not yet available by correspondence. That training is a 10-day intensive; you get a deeper practice training as well. Well worth it! But in the correspondence course you will learn the "Wood" practice which is basically the class based on the Pain Free Yoga concepts.

A lot of their teachers and trainees are fairly new to yoga, but the training is excellent and the owners, Nicole and Brandon are the REAL DEAL, very generous and highly knowedgeable and experienced. I highly recommend!

Just today, though, I ran across another program that sounds similar, and it's right there in Houston. Through Yogafinder, I found Amy Garratt Yoga, and she has a teacher training program that seems to encompass the same principles, although her training was with someone else. Very interesting! If you find out more about that, please let me know!