What is Critical Alignment® Yoga Therapy?
The focus of Critical Alignment Yoga Therapy (CAT), as developed by Gert van Leeuwen, author and founder of Critical Alignment Yoga Institute (formerly Bharata Yoga Institute) in Amsterdam, is to assess and treat dysfunction in the musculoskeletal system by releasing and mobilizing the thoracic spine. Aside from the many benefits of improved postural alignment, this system of yoga therapy is ideally suited to effectively treat repetitive strain injuries.
CAT makes a distinct difference between the use of movement muscles at the surface of our body and postural muscles which are situated close to the spine, joints and at our core.
By utilizing specialized yoga tools and breathing techniques, you will learn to stabilize and balance your structure through these postural muscles where you do not build up and add further tension to the already stressed, strained and painful structure.
This unique yoga therapy is for everyone and anyone wishing greater access to freer spinal movement, however has also proven itself ideal for those suffering from chronic pain caused by injury, stress or repetitive strain. Whether your pain is in your back & neck, shoulders, elbows & wrists, pelvis, hips & legs etc., the consistent practice of this therapy will benefit you with greater freedom and ease in all aspects of movement and develop strength and coordination in your postural muscles to maintain this critical spinal alignment.
SherYoga offers private therapy sessions and small registered therapeutic classes to ensure you receive the personal attention required for your individual needs.
These classes are designed to help you find relief from your chronic pain, to regain freedom of functionality in everyday living and to assist in restoring you to a state of wellness where you are empowered with the tools to stay pain free and make this your new reality.
Students are encouraged to discuss any health concerns, conditions and/or injuries with their doctor and instructor before attending class.
A private assessment will be conducted for all new students prior to joining a therapy class.
"New ideas inspire new possibilities,
New possibilities allow for new realities"
What is Yoga Therapy?
Yoga Therapy, as defined by the International Association of Yoga Therapists, "is the process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and well-being through the application of the philosophy and practice of Yoga.
A New You!
One of the trillions of things your body does with no input from you is to replace old cells with healthy new ones.
It's happening right now: New stomach lining cells, every 5 days, New skin cells, every 28 days,
New liver cells, every 42 days, etc.
Your body creates 1,000,000,000 new cells every hour.
This renewal process replaces the old you with a whole new you, allowing you to heal. It's also why continued spinal aligning and balancing care is so helpful, but more than that it's essential.
Your body relies on your current pattern and structure as a guide for the placement of new cells. Regular alignment care helps establish new, healthier patterns and structures.
This has created an entirely new way we see health. It's called "Wellness".
What is Somatics Movement?
Somatics Movement is sensory-motor training that works for all kinds of stress, injury, and movement problems and is a gentle, sensible, and safe approach to recover from chronic pain and promote ease of movement throughout your life.
Somatics goes to the root of muscle pain: your brain and the way in which it senses and controls muscles. Somatics re-trains your brain - the command center of your muscles - to release and relax your muscles for improved muscle function and long term pain relief.
Somatics can eliminate SENSORY MOTOR AMNESIA, the condition of tight, “frozen” muscles that occurs when we learn to hold ourselves tightly in reaction to pain, injury, surgery, stress or habitual patterns.
Somatics can help to release full body patterns of muscle tightness so that muscle function improves and pain goes away. These patterns present themselves as back pain, neck/shoulder pain, TMJ, sciatica, scoliosis, leg length discrepancy and other common muscle pain conditions.
Somatics is ACTIVE: because your brain controls your muscles, and muscles only learn through movement, you are the only one who can change what your muscles are doing. Passive methods only confer short term benefits.
Somatics exercises were developed not only to provide a means of releasing contracted muscles and provide pain relief, but also with the intention of preventing these conditions from occurring through use of gentle movement exercises which help create and maintain lifelong freedom of movement of the entire body.
*Keep scrolling for information on Somatics*
