child/family yoga therapy
What is Yoga Therapy?
And how is it different from just yoga?
Here’s how the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) defines Yoga Therapy:
“Although all yoga is potentially therapeutic and healing, yoga therapy is the specific application of yogic tools—postures/exercises, breathwork, meditation techniques, and more—to address an individual’s physical, mental, and emotional needs.”
Essentially, it is a yoga therapist’s job to help their clients build a yoga practice to address their specific needs, using well-researched tools & resources to intentionally support their physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual well-being.
It is also important to recognize and understand what yoga therapy is NOT. It is not a replacement for medicine, and yoga therapists are not MDs. They cannot diagnose or cure an illness or disease. Yoga therapists are here to support and complement the treatment you may already be getting, and many can and do provide referrals for other health care practitioners if requested.
How can yoga therapy help kids, teens, and their families?
We’ve all seen the seemingly exponential uptick in mental health issues in kids and teens. It is not easy to be a human being, and perhaps even harder to be a young human being these days. Kids and teens (and their families) deserve someone in their corner who can meet them where they’re at, hold space for what they’re going through, and provide them with guidance and tools to navigate their lives. A yoga therapist provides this support using yogic practices–movement, breath, meditation–tailored to the individual’s specific needs.
Cami has been working with children and families in childcare and educational settings for over a decade, and has extensive training and teaching experience in yoga for kids of all ages and their families. Cami understands personally the healing power and potential of the yoga practice, and wishes she’d had the therapeutic support of a yoga practice when she was navigating her own struggles during her childhood. Cami also understands the toll childhood mental illness can take on an entire family, and thus the importance of supporting the entire family unit.
Certainly anyone and everyone, as we all likely have something going on that could use our care. Every yoga therapist has a different set of interests, and a different wheelhouse, but has received extensive training in how to therapeutically address many different kinds of disease/illness with yoga. Yoga therapy can help with alleviating chronic pain, physical rehabilitation from injury, addressing symptoms of illness or disease, including some neurological conditions and mental illnesses. Most yoga therapists tend to specialize in one area.
Yoga therapy can support your child if they are struggling with:
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Depression, anxiety
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Self-harm and/or suicidality
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Trauma, PTSD and C-PTSD
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ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder
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OCD, addiction, or harmful habits/patterns of behavior
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Eating disorders and/or body dysmorphic disorder
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Emotional or behavioral dysregulation
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Negative, limiting, and/or self-sabotaging beliefs/behaviors and low self-esteem
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Puberty, menarche/menstruation, and/or pelvic floor dysfunction
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Bullying, social anxiety, or other social issues
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Gender dysphoria, transitioning, and/or accepting sexuality & gender identity
Cami’s approach to yoga therapy for mental health stems from training both in yoga and psychology/neuroscience, with the purpose of combining these approaches to support total well-being. Though deemed “mental” illness, many researchers have made very clear the deep connection between the physical and mental well-being, which is why a somatic approach to mental health is not only beneficial, but necessary. As Cami often says, “you can’t heal from the neck up.” Regardless of diagnoses, Cami’s modality of offering is always trauma-sensitive; to learn more about what trauma-informed yoga is, click here.
What Yoga Therapy for Kids, Teens, & Families entails:
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A free, 45-minute initial consultation with parent(s) and child(ren)
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Weekly one-on-one sessions with Cami on zoom, at your home, or in Evanston, IL studio (subject to availability)
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Option for one session per month to include parent(s) or family
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Weekly summary of sessions with practice recommendations and instructions so the whole family can practice together
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Access to any videos or recordings indicated in practice recommendations
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Access to Cami via email or phone within reasonable hours of the day