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Beyond the physical dimension, death can be perceived as a transition from one state to another, from one moment to another. We experience this kind of death every day! Indeed, each moment brings with it its unique mix of thoughts, emotions, physical sensations or sensory stimuli, but it never lasts long. And isn’t that life’s quintessential characteristic, to be in perpetual motion? We could therefore say that life is made up of moments that die as quickly as they were born…
I wanted to draw your attention to three retreats I am teaching in, before the end of this year, all in Provence, all at the Maison de Sens, a beautiful provençal farm house near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The first one, Jeûne & Quête de Sens is coming up September 12-16. Then, it will be Coaching & Naturopathie October 12-16, with a focus on stress, sleep and immunity. Lastly, December 10-13 is a short and sweet Yoga & Jeune Detox.
Hi!
The main reason you have not heard from me for the past few months is because I'm pursuing a bachelor in psychology, and I'm enrolled in a 4-year somatic psychotherapy training. Yes, two major undertakings. And I'm still coaching, massaging, reiki-ing, yoga-ing. It's a lot, but it's keeping me on my toes. Most of all it feels right. The therapy training truly is the most organic next step in my journey as a holistic health practitioner. It had been calling me for a while, I just wasn't listening. I'll be writing more about this approach to psychotherapy in the near future.
To stay abreast of current happenings and offerings, be sure to connect with me on FB and IG.
My Shake Your Soul class is back! For three Wednesdays only, so far: July 10, 17, 24. And on the Upper West Side! Find all details and register online here.
I hope to see you soon in class xo
Sylvie
Have you been wanting to change something about you, your mindset or lifestyle, for what seems like forever? Deep inside you know that in order to take your health and happiness to the next level you need to cut back on late-night TV, your coffee, weed or wine consumption. Perhaps you're craving mind-expanding experiences in the form of trekking, learning Spanish or how to tango, all while making new friends? You tell yourself you'll get to it soon, usually “tomorrow”. Tomorrow you'll start feeding yourself the nourishment you crave. But tomorrow never comes.
Happy New Year! Happy New You...? We know how those new year resolutions go, don't we? So I'll be quick and to the point. If you're going to make any progress this year as far as your health is concerned (physical, emotional or spiritual) it will happen within supportive partnerships. If what you need support with is better self-care so you can sleep better, stress less and enjoy your life more, I may have what you need: a Naturally Stress-Free 6-week series. Class starts on Friday 1/11.
I hope yesterday's Harvest Moon has you reaping the fruits of past work, internal or external. Full moons can heighten some emotions or illumine previously buried ones, a good thing if you ask me. Still, double up on self-care. Maybe my new class can help with that...
Back in June I gave a workshop on healing anxiety at the Flatiron Athleta studio. It was very well received. Athleta's mission (empowering women and girls) and mine (holistic emotional healing) perfectly align, and so we are continuing to partner-up.
In this one-hour class (starting on 9/29 @1:45pm), we will focus on regulating and replenishing our nervous system. If you’re stressed, anxious, can’t sleep or just want a healthy time-out from your busy life this class is for you.
Anxiety arises as a result of too much movement in the mind, i.e. unbridled thinking. This is really what I have observed in myself, my friends and my clients: anxiety can always be traced back to a thought (or a hundred of them!), a fearful thought, often related to the future, and most of all a thought that we believe and react to. So, how do you keep the mind from thinking those thoughts? You don’t. Trying to control one’s thoughts is the last thing you want to do, for it will instead feed the very thoughts you are trying to get rid of. Instead you go the roundabout way.
As a coach, my job is to look at what it is you do or don’t do, in the present, that’s causing you to feel anxious. In fact I have observed again and again that every choice we make daily, from the time we choose to go to bed to the thoughts we think or the type of media we feed our minds, either helps us to cultivate a reactive or nonreactive nervous system, stress or ease. So, what daily choices can you make to support a non-reactive nervous system? To answer this question I’ll put on my ayurvedic practitioner’s hat.
Anxiolytics may help some people, some of the time, but they are not a panacea.
Nearly 50 million anxiolytics prescriptions are written yearly, a booming market I think we can say, but americans seem increasingly anxious. Or increasingly addicted to anxiolytics? Possibly both. While short-term use of these medications is considered “safe and effective”, long-term use is controversial because of the potential for dependence and other adverse effects (6). The long term use of benzodiazepines (a class of drugs primarily used for treating anxiety, such as Xanax, Klonopin, Valium...) has been shown to worsen sleep, increase anxiety...
"Relax, recharge, and rekindle your joy for life.”
Integrative Wellness - Yoga | Ayurveda | Meditation | Massage therapy
