As a yoga therapist in training, I help people connect to their bodies during challenging experiences - chronic illnesses, surgeries or injuries, emotional pain, stress burnout, and the end of life continuum. We need our bodies to fully process emotions such as grief, fear, and anger, but most of us were taught to view our "rational" minds / emotional reactions / physical bodies as separate entities. Yoga therapy approaches each person as a whole being through the layers of the physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, social selves. I love yoga therapy because movement is only a very small part of the work we do, and the practices are accessible to people of all body sizes, abilities, flexibilities, and mobilities. Through yogic tools like movement, meditation, visualization, and guided rest, I facilitate the experience of easing physical tension or pain, acceptance of emotions, and new opportunities to develop self compassion and understanding.
I've been a witness to "good deaths" and sadly part of very difficult, painful dying processes. I believe that in the dying process, there is a special opportunity to connect with each other, just as we are in the present moment, when priorities might shift and refocus. There is also significant pain and grief to struggle with after death for the bereaved, especially when we didn't get those chances to connect. My hope as a yoga therapist working in the end of life continuum is to support both the dying, their caregivers, and the bereaved through their physical and emotional journeys with validation, acceptance, and kindness.
I live in the Northside with my husband and a circus of pets. I enjoy mutual aid building, garment sewing, reading, and exploring new places. I have been teaching accessible yoga in Pittsburgh since 2018, left the corporate world (with some serious stress burnout!) for self employment in 2021, and began my yoga therapist education in 2023. I'm a returned Peace Corps volunteer and a current hospice volunteer. I am powered by joy and intersectional feminism.
emily@allbodieswelcomeyoga.com
IG: allbodieswelcomeyoga