Topics such as therapeutic yoga for all abilities, mental health, polypharmacy, prescription and natural pain modulation are just a few of the topics Terry and Jay have reported on over the years to the paralysis community. They have dedicated their professional lives to coaching and teaching others the importance of preventive and integrative healthcare strategies in order to avoid chronic conditions and seek a balance between pharmacy-based chemical medications and natural approaches. Seeing yoga as an ancient technology to improve one’s own health, Terry and Jay embrace more natural methods of healing, one being the power of finding harmony within ourselves. No strangers to the world of Eastern-based traditions, Terry and Jay have traveled extensively around the world, including destinations such as Thailand, Vietnam, South America, Europe and India, in their own exploration of learning how to heal from within. This passion of their own self-discovery fuels their fire to pass along to those who need this type of healing the most.
“There’s a big shift right now where there’s a lot of knowledge about integrative health; there’s a real thirst for that information,” says Terry about the recent and current trend of healthcare practitioners’ interest in this area of healing. Jay adds that “yoga is an antidote to many of the stresses that all of us are experiencing in our time right now, including our nation’s health professionals. With this resilience series, the NPRC of the Reeve Foundation invites you to ‘share the care’ to support health professionals serving persons with paralysis during these challenging times.”
In an exciting provision via the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation National Paralysis Resource Center (NPRC), Terry and Jay are hosting a free three-part continuing education series held on Saturdays throughout March and April, with CEUs available to some healthcare professionals that directly serve people with paralysis. The first series will focus on the physical body and physical resilience. The second series delves into the emotional body and the access of that system through the breath. And lastly, the third series will focus on the mind, our thoughts, our cognitive and mental resilience. Each day will commence with a one-hour meditative yoga class, which Terry and Jay like to call “seated therapeutic yoga,” with the remainder of the time focused on interacting, coaching and learning about therapeutic practices.
Within the practice as well as the coaching instructional portion, each participant of the series will learn a set of short, yet effective yoga “capsules.” Each capsule is approximately 1 to 5 minutes involving various techniques to help attain a state of mindfulness. Connecting and harmonizing the body, breath and mind ultimately allow the practitioner not only to be healthier within their own selves, but also more apt and capable of helping their patients in a more natural way.
“It is more than physical practice. It really is about getting into the harmony of who you are. Sometimes an injury or an illness can take us away from that. Yoga can help us be relaxed; but alert. Yoga is very scientific and very systematic,” says Terry about the importance of yoga in one’s life.
This series provided by the NPRC is free for healthcare professionals that directly serve people with paralysis. “We will be supporting the physicians, nurses, PT’s, OT’s, recreation therapists, social workers and all professions who are working with people living with paralysis. We will be helping them build resilience and restore vitality, and teaching them additional tools to enhance their own unique experience,” says Jay Gupta. “
This series is full, but to be added to the waitlist for future sessions, please email RxRelax@live.com or call 603-674-3770 for more information or with any questions.
