I spent my childhood often in a hospital bed. I’ve had illnesses children don’t often get. Some of my illnesses even prohibited me from watching TV or listening to Radio. So I spent a lot of my time exploring my inner world. There was no iPad or Switch Nintendo or Youtube to entertain me so my imagination, self-talk and books were often my only source of entertainment.
Although I had experienced severe claustrophobia and anxiety in my childhood, it was not until I went to Canada that I saw my counselor for the first time. Some were excellent, one of them misdiagnosed me as Bipolar but one that truly helped me was not even someone who got a paper certification as a counselor, but a yoga teacher.
If you look at yogic history, or great Tao teachings, you’ll soon notice it is a conversation. Often, in yogic texts, revelations are not recorded as something students found on their own in Triangle pose but during a conversation with a guru.
Having a conversation about life, struggles, questions and wonders should be a dedicated time for all human beings. There are so many different kinds of counselors and therapists. So how is Yogic Counseling different from regular conversations or even regular counseling?
- Yogic Counseling acknowledges karmic threads but focus on what we can do now. It’s not about digging your childhood and repeating stories from the past. Sometimes, yes, these childhood stories naturally come up but some of modern counseling seems to solely focus on the past. Yogic Counseling is about changing your perspectives on the present and future, which, of course, is not separate from the past but not necessarily the primary focus.
- Yogic Counseling is based on Self, and the Whole. Counseling with me is based on Vedic teachings in yoga so that means we acknowledge self as an individual as well as our connection and parts we play in the Whole.
- Yogic Counseling is rooted in ancient practice for thousands of years. It’s not a new age modern life coaching technique. Its practices have been recorded and documented for thousands of years by great rishis and yogis of the Himalayas. These guiding roles had many names such as acharya, guru, pandit and in each community, these figures gave guidance to people in all aspects of life.
- Yogic Counseling considers all aspects of being a human being. Yogic Counseling offers guidance based on 5 pillars of healthy, happy life. Career/soul purpose, stability in material world such as prosperity, and tangible goals, relationships/creative expressions, self-realization, and physical health. Based on our discussions, a yogic counselor may discuss various yogic practices such as movements, breathing or meditation as well as herbs and other things.
With private yoga lessons, I am more and more limiting sessions to in-person. However, with Yogic Counseling, I am still accepting clients online as well as in-person. I start out with initial conversation before we start our confirmed sessions to determine if this is what you are seeking.
Yogic Counseling is for everyone who seeks to elevate their lives with yogic principles.