At the heart of my work is an abiding love for both Yoga and therapy. Each on their own effectively facilitate psychological growth and change. When used together however, they offer a powerful container for healing to unfold.
Increasingly, research is showing these two modalities offer effective pathways for individuals recovering from trauma and addiction. When it comes to healing, these two practices have one pivotal element in common: Each bring a person face to face with the truth of their suffering. Each bring a person face to face with what has been avoided, or buried, for a long long time. Being in the presence of this knowledge again in a new way is central to the cultivation of psychological health.
M. Scott Peck, in the ‘The Road Less Travelled’ writes “We must always hold truth, as we can best determine it, to be more important, more vital to our self-interest than our comfort. . . . Mental health is an ongoing process of dedication to reality at all costs.”
And in ‘Yoga and the Quest for the True Self’, Master Yoga teacher and psychotherapist, Stephen Cope writes “The human being is transformed through the practice of the awareness of reality.” In other words, being present to what is present in the moment.
While challenging to do, being present to what is present in the moment is key to psychological growth and change. In fact, dare I say, it cannot occur without it.
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Reminder: There’s still time to complete the survey. It asks “How would your life be transformed if the obstacle standing in between you and a deep inner peace was removed? What would your life look like then? Would you paint a picture of this and tell me about it?” Simply send me an e-mail to gloria@studiopeace.ca with your thoughts.
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Since it is being present to what is present in the moment that is key to psychological growth and change, it is the avoidance of the reality of the moment that perpetuates suffering. This is evidenced in the trauma survivor who avoids present moment pain by adapting to it through the use of food, or alcohol, or drugs, or all three for that matter, while the underlying mental and emotional distress remain intact. Then there’s the addict who uses a substance like alcohol, or a process like shopping, to avoid present moment experience, while the pain they’re trying to run from goes nowhere and remains intact.
Here are a couple of questions for you to ponder: How willing are you to be present to what is present in the moment?
Are you cultivating psychological health in your life, or are you perpetuating its opposite?
