Episode 21 Feel your Bliss with Restorative Reiki Yoga with Mandy Bernard and Amy Sawyer

The Holistic Counseling Podcast

How can yoga practice aid therapy? Can you combine restorative yoga and reiki? What benefits can you experience when you practice restorative yoga?

MEET AMY SAWYER AND MANDY BERNARD

Amy Sawyer has been practicing yoga on and off for most of her adult life. She fully embraced yoga after a personally challenging year in 2015 and enrolled in yoga teacher training with the intention of invoking self-care and deepening her own practice. After experiencing the profound personal and spiritual growth that a regular practice had in her life, she felt called to teach and share yoga with others. Amy considers herself a lifetime student and is a strong believer in “we teach what we need to learn.” She leads a soulful, heart-opening practice that inspires students to bring awareness to their lives on and off the mat and to honor the teacher within.

Mandy Bernard has worked with yogis of all ages. She has trained in trauma-based yoga with David Emerson, Ayurveda with Hilary Gilvaltis of Kirpalu, and Thai Massage with Deon DeWitt. Her classes combine a blend of movement, mindfulness, reflection, and alignment often with the theme of self-love woven throughout. She co-leads international and national women’s yoga and wellness retreats and is the owner of Salty Dog Yoga & Surf. When she isn’t teaching yoga you will most likely find her wearing overalls hanging in nature, doing an art project, or hanging with her family.

Find out more on Salty Dog website. Connect on Instagram and Facebook.

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IN THIS PODCAST:

• Benefits of yoga and therapy
• Combining restorative yoga and reiki
• Advice to holistic counselors

BENEFITS OF YOGA AND THERAPY

In Western society many people come to practice yoga for the physical benefits, there are multitudes of emotional and mental benefits as well.

I think just being on our mat and being present with our breath and with our body and observing where we are allows us to come into a deeper place of peace and acceptance no matter what we’re going through in life. (Amy Sawyer)

Yoga can benefit you whether you are using it to overcome trauma, move through a difficult transition in life, or simply to strengthen your body. Its benefits can adapt to what you need it to do for you at that moment.

It is also through the practice of yoga that you can learn to come back to the present moment, which is also a pillar in therapy: noticing where you are now and being present in the moment instead of living in your memories or in a reality that is not real.

COMBINING RESTORATIVE YOGA AND THERAPY

Restorative yoga and reiki are complementary practices. Restorative yoga gives your body the chance to relax and come down from the constant high that most people in Western society are encouraged to chase.

The idea of “no pain no gain” and “hustling” constantly leads to many people going about their lives without presence or awareness because they are too busy doing as many things as they can.

Combining reiki and restorative yoga is a practice where you can ground your body and mind into the present moment.

Reiki, even though it’s a specific type of training, we all know that if we bump our toe on something our immediate thought is to grab our toe and rub it, that is sending energy to where you feel pain, and reiki is the same concept. We’re intentionally sending energy to help calm down, relax and heal. (Amy Sawyer)

ADVICE TO HOLISTIC COUNSELORS

It is a journey: you might start one day and fall out of your routine, but it is more about getting back up and continuing to practice even when you may miss a day.

It is about being kind and compassionate to yourself and remembering that there is no end destination. One minute can be enough to reset and connect.

Come back to the present moment. Do not live in the past or too far into the future: being in the present reminds you that you have the power, you are alive, and that you are enough

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Resources Mentioned And Useful Links:

• The Inward Facing Journey with Joe Gilbert
• Practice of the Practice Podcast Network