Topic was "How Yoga and Massage Therapy can help people with Mood Disorders."
We wanna thank Robin Franklin, Giant Community Coordinator, and Elyse Bonner with all their help.
Our biggest problem about our superb Giant programs is the poor attendance, even though we send out notices to all the right people. One such poorly attended program was on substance abuse.
So when I left for the program, I said, Well, if there's only five people, I'll be grateful.
Bridget began the program by telling us a little bit about her life.
"I always felt different inside," she said.
Over the years, Bridget has had a lot of visions, "divinely inspired visions" which have deeply inspired her to move forward in her life. These are manifestations of The Law of Love...from Creation.
"Each person," she notes, "must learn to inspire themselves." It's not gonna come from outside. You must do it yourself.
She began to study healing techniques with various teachers who became her mentors. She became a massage therapist. While working on a client, she, herself, may experience removal of various blockages in her mind or body.
She talks about various chakras, or points in the body where one can collect or send energy.
In yoga and in massage therapy, many psychological problems come to the fore and can be successfully dealt with, says Bridget.
In several group "OMs" - where we exhaled on the phrase OM - many people have inward shifts. "It did something to me," said Bridget, helping her again to move forward in her journey to love herself and connect with others.
She studied "energy work" including the Japanese Reiki, another form of transferring universal energy.
Through energy work and meditation your mind ascends and descends, upward and downward from the sun, and you reach that cobalt blue space of your essence, a place of peace.
We did the Mountain pose, above.
And another asana (pose) designed to release various burdens we are carrying, using the energy of our thighs.
Lastly, we did a backbend. These asanas stimulate our serotonin or feel-good transmitters, often blunted during depression. Read this report from the Yoga Journal.
Ah, how the tired ole bodies creaked and cracked and awakened!
I asked Bridget to describe her yoga studio.
"It's red - for compassion and energy," she said, "and yellow for energy."
Like the Tibetan flag, I said,
A woman in the audience said she was a Tibetan Buddhist.
Yanni Studio was the first yoga studio in Glenside.
"I like to watch people transform their lives," said Bridget, She says her Center has become its own little family.
"It's not just asanas, but it's about connecting to people."
Oh my gosh..What a saga about the father of her child committing suicide the night before the child was born. I can't imagine what it might feel like to never feel safe as a child, either, and feel fortunate that I can't, though I have worked with many kids and adults too, who feel or felt that way.
ReplyDeleteI am always a little jealous when I read of the great programs you have. Were I in your area, I bet I would be going to them all.
just lost my comment, iris...like you! was just at the giant cuz i have two more pgms in mind, but they don't have an avlbl room until dec. 29, which may be too in the middle of the holiday season, we'll see what our potential guest speaker says about it.
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