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Yoga for Mental Wellbeing
at CMHC Towson
Yoga has been shown to have numerous benefits for both the mind and body. On the mental health side, it can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, while promoting feelings of calm and relaxation. Practicing yoga can also help improve overall mood, increase self-awareness, and reduce symptoms of trauma-related disorders. Studies have shown that regular yoga practice can increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in the brain, which is associated with improved mood and cognitive function. Overall, incorporating yoga into your routine can have a positive impact on your mental health and wellbeing.
CMHC's Yoga Instructors
Elizabeth McCarthy
LCPC, RYT
A Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and Registered Yoga Teacher, Elizabeth earned her Masters of Science from Johns Hopkins University in 2005, and her 200 hour Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher Certification in 2018. Elizabeth is a life-long learner and passionate about helping others, continuing her education by earning certificates in Advanced Trauma Treatment, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Mindfulness Based Cogntitive Therapy, and Yin Yoga. She has completed trainings in Poly-Vagal Nerve Theory, Internal Family Systems, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Mindful Self-Compassion, and Buddhist Psychology, which she interweaves into therapy. Her approach is customized, holistic, transpersonal, and nature-informed to empower clients with symptoms of mood disorders, anxiety, and trauma to find their innate strength, heal, and grow to their fullest potential. I’m so excited to offer this in-person, trauma-informed, mindful, and gentle yoga class to help us reconnect with ourselves and each other: mind, body, and spirit. This Yoga Series is based on the teachings of Dharma Mittra’s Hatha Raja Yoga, Kristin Neff’s Mindul Self Compassion, and Stephen Porges and Deb Dana’s PolyVagal Nerve Theory. It is designed to allow you to safely regulate your nervous system’s responses to stress using breathwork, forms or asanas, and meditation. Each class will offer a little closer look into each of the above concepts, providing psychoeducation into the most recent Neurobiology that is proving the effectiveness of thousands of years of yogic tradtion. I hope you will join me for a hour of renewal, healing, and relaxation!
Stephanie K Snyder
RYT500, Certified Sound Healer
Stephanie K Snyder wants you to THRIVE. She helps you walk the path VIVACIOUS LIVING with years of experience in yoga, mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, and nature-informed guidance. Stephanie empowers her students to connect with their inner healer. Her students access the presence portal to more Conscious states through the instrument of the body and the visceral experience of the heart and spirit, allowing the intellectual aspect of the mind to soften into the deeper “felt sense” of awareness. Stephanie brings the student back home. -Home to their heart. -Reconnected with Nature-the radically simple, and beautiful concept of who they fundamentally are. Stephanie is also a Nature Therapy Guide with Natureworx taking people into the woods to help them reconnect with themselves through mindfulness. Using the most basic principle of Nature can provide a lens for one to view themselves in a non-judgmental, supportive, organic state that reminds one they are connected to something bigger rather than separate (and otherwise disconnected) from themselves, Nature, one another. When we remember our belonging in Nature, we belong everywhere. One’s experience of living is a natural process just as the seed grows and comes to fruit, and then enfolds back to the earth again. Stephanie teaches from a healing arts-informed background. She has attended as many trainings/holds as many certificates as there are species of trees: yoga, trauma-informed mindfulness, mindfulness, meditation, pranayama (breathwork), ayurveda (yoga of nutrition and healing), life coaching, sound healing, psycho-somatic therapeutics, psychedelic assisted therapy, intro to modern shamanism, English teaching…she also gardens, bakes at a bakery, and forages on the side! Stephanie has studied under top teachers at Psychedelics Today; with Oprah’s life coach-Martha Beck; under authentic yoga influencers such as Sharon Salzberg, Todd Norian, and Christina Sell; however, her greatest teachers are her two boys, Tristan and Brooks. Every day they humble her with their openness to the world; their kindness towards others; and their respect and reverence towards the world around them. Stephanie’s students build self-love, resiliency, tolerance and strength through her work. Stephanie helps her students build an empire of compassion within so that that love and healing can expand outward, healing relationships, families, communities…the collective human consciousness! Stephanie’s masterful and unique approach to practical applications of these reverent and modern healing modalities will shift you into a more integrated, embodied, thriving way of Being.
Upcoming
Yoga Classes Details
Wednesday Yoga Class
Fall into Winter
Yoga Series
6 -week Series: Yoga for Grounding, Movement, Breathwork, and Meditation
For some, Autumn feels like a relief from the heat and outward energy of summer. For others, Fall is a transitional time where one can feel uprooted or anxious, often in anticipation of the misaligned high-energy time of the holiday season.
For this mini-series, ERYT-500hr teacher Stephanie will focus on a different type of meditation each week to keep you feeling calm, centered, and connected. Each week yoga class will be broken down into a short flow of mindful movement/stretching, breathwork, and at least twenty-five minutes of meditation for grounding.
Stephanie will weave in expert instruction with heartfelt stories and yoga wisdom. This class will become a sanctuary and community for you each week to recharge. This series will help you transform and live into a fuller expression of who you are.
Start Your Wellness Journey Today
- Sign up for Our Weekly Yoga Classes!
Wed, Nov 22CMHC Group RoomNov 22, 2023, 6:00 PM – Dec 27, 2023, 7:15 PMCMHC Group Room, 1012 Dulaney Valley Rd, Towson, MD 21204, USAHarvesting Inner Peace: Grounding Yoga to Navigate Autumn’s Shifts
Why Yoga?
Beyond its physical benefits, many people practice yoga as a way of being more mindful. Careful concentration on one’s body and breath can provide welcome relief from feeling “stuck” in one’s thoughts. While yoga for mindfulness is not intended to solve personal problems , it helps individuals bring calm to how they internally experience personal problems.
According to Johns Hopkins, Yoga offers physical and mental health benefits for people of all ages.
Add Yoga to your wellness regime and experience to potentially gain:
● Better Stress Management
● Improvement in Strength, Balance, and Flexibility
● Relief from Lower Back Pain
● Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases
● Quality Sleep
● Natural Boost in Energy Levels
Numerous studies show the value of Yoga in our everyday lives. Anyone from children to adults can harness the power of Yoga and live a better life.
Live In The Moment
Multitasking drives our world. We wake up, shower and get dressed, drive to work, and plan our day. We leave work, come home, eat dinner, and go to sleep. Amid all these activities, we are constantly moving; yet we are unaware of the present moment. Our unawareness makes us lose a part of ourselves. Therefore, practicing Yoga for Mindfulness is a welcome and refreshing gift of self-care.
Humans worry a lot!. We can stress about the past, present, and future! Continuous worrying takes away peace of mind and affects daily activities. In severe cases, it can even cause depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, or heart issues.
This is why living in the moment is necessary for a happy life.
So how does Mindfulness help? Mindfulness is awareness and non-judgmental acceptance of the present. It’s the power to acknowledge reality as is, without immediately labeling it as good or bad. It doesn’t require you to meditate the whole day; instead, regular practice can increase your capacity to be more aware of your senses and surrounding environments.
Practice Yoga For Mindfulness
Mindfulness plus Yoga offers a holistic approach to help you regain balance, become self-aware and develop a positive mindset. Every posture we teach is with the intention to provide you with an inner insight about yourself.
Become Mindful, And Live Happier!
Yoga FAQs:
What is the best yoga for mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the Western term for the spiritual aspects of yoga.
Mindfulness yoga is based on the Hatha Raja Yoga tradition and incorporates slow, gentle movements of the body, which build awareness through the breath of the present moment to cultivate a felt sense of mindfulness characteristics, which include: non-judgment, non-striving, patience, self-compassion, beginner's mind, acceptance, and letting go. Forms are usually held for a few rounds of breath to build awareness.
Does yoga help with mindfulness?
Absolutely! With every breath and every form, it gives us a chance to pause and come back to the present moment, enhancing awareness, gratitude, and curiosity.
Can you do yoga instead of meditation?
Definitely, yoga is meditation in movement. In Hatha Raja Yoga we do yoga first to calm the monkey mind in preparation for meditation, so it's always an option.
Which yoga is best for anxiety?
As steady, gentle, and conscious in which forms are held for a few rounds of breath, with options for movement within the form is helpful to teach the body to relax, and allow the mind to recognize ways to calm through breath, especially through abdominal breathing, and longer exhales.
Is Mindful Yoga safe for all ages and body types?
Yes, Mindful yoga allows you to do what is best for your body. It teaches you how to listen to what your body needs, and attend to it through safe, effective, healing forms.
