Are you feeling a little less than fantastic these days? Got a case of the blues?

Have you been talking to a therapist but still feel stressed out and anxious?

You might consider adding a light yoga or mindfulness practice to your health routine.

Yoga can be done by anyone of any age or skill level.

Taking a little time out for yourself to pause, breathe, and reflect upon the moment; while checking in with your body can be a fulfilling way to help relax! Yoga is a process of gently moving the body into multiple positions.

Just 30 minutes of yoga three days a week for one month can help one to become calmer, more grounded and optimistic while improving flexibility, balance, posture and energy.

The exercises can also benefit the support of a more supple spine while strengthening the bones and muscles!

As a bonus: yoga practice especially, ones facilitated by a yoga teacher trained in Trauma Sensitive Yoga techniques in conjunction with continuing to meet with one’s mental health therapist or licensed clinical social worker can help reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma and even post-traumatic stress disorder, (PTSD).

Adding a weekly Trauma Sensitive Yoga practice to one’s schedule is a great

way to help eliminate the toxic effects of trauma experienced during childhood.

YES……Yoga can help one get in touch with all kinds of emotions!

Trauma Sensitive Yoga has been demonstrated to be a safe and viable intervention for treating various traumatized populations such as combat veterans, victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence, as well as abused and neglected children.

Traumatic experiences are often stored as implicit memory in the body, hidden away from the verbal processing portion of the brain, thereby limiting a person’s ability to sufficiently express their traumatic experiences without some form of physical intervention to unlock it. Trauma Sensitive Yoga is different from other kinds of yoga as its focus is on empowering the traumatized person, allowing her to practice making choices, experience the present moment, and let her body learn that it is no longer in danger. To learn more about Trauma Sensitive Yoga’s ability to ameliorate PTSD and complex trauma and how it might be a great addition to your own self-care routine. Check out the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at the Justice Resource Institute’s website found at TraumaSensitiveYoga.com.

Brooke Deratany Goldfarb, JD, RYT- 200, is a graduate of Harvard Law School

and the University of Virginia and has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1996. A Florida Supreme Court certified family and circuit civil mediator, qualified arbitrator, Brooke is a member of A Friendly Divorce Network of Family Mediators. A Trauma-Sensitive Yoga facilitator, Master of Social Work student, Inter-faith minister, and Shaman-in-training, Brooke is dedicated to reducing the suffering of all people.