Looking for some tips you can use on your own to feel better? Kaitlyn Vittozzi is currently the Life in Balance columnist for Rochester Woman Online and blogs for Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy.
2024 Has been stressful for many. If you need a change of scenery to recharge, renew and tune into yourself, here are my favorite drivable wellness getaways from the Rochester, NY area. If you love yoga, travel and food – these are for you. Read the full article here: Drivable Health and Wellness Getaways
What I love about yoga therapy – whether for an individual or a couple – is that it helps us tune in instead of out. So for this month I created a Mindful Date Guide to let you do just that. These are primarily for romantic partners, but many of these could definitely be attended solo to connect deeper to yourself or to enhance a relationship with a friend or a family member. So put the wine and the Netflix down, and check these out this summer. (Note: these are primarily around the Rochester and Finger Lakes region, but I would bet if you’re reading these from out of area you can find similar experiences near you – or travel to come visit us!) Read the full article here: Mindful Date Guide Finger Lakes 2024
Are you afraid to try yoga? Or maybe you’ve tried it and it just feels off. Maybe you belong to a gym or studio and the class descriptions are confusing. In this article I break down a few of the most popular styles of yoga in North America including yin, vinsaya, hatha, trauma sensitive yoga, goat yoga and more so you can try to find a class that’s a great fit for you. Read the full article here: What Yoga Class is for Me?
No matter when your culture’s New Year is on the calendar, it is a time for reflection and hope in the start of something new. So often this turns into something demanding, rigorous, and short lived. What if we applied a more balanced approach for sustained resolutions? Explore impactful resolutions through yoga’s eight limbs ANY time of the year. Read the full article here: Applying Yoga’s Ethics for Balanced Resolutions
If you want to listen to a podcast instead of read, here is your chance. I joined Linda Mazur, Jack Mazur and Ellen Bennett to discuss mental health, recovery and reconnecting to your body with mindfulness and meditation on Once Shattered: Picking up the Pieces. We discuss stress, energy, trauma informed yoga and more. Listen to the full podcast here: Once Shattered: Picking up the Pieces
What is Therapeutic Group Yoga? I get asked all the time how therapeutic yoga varies from a “regular” yoga class, and who “should” attend therapeutic yoga classes. Read the blog I wrote with non-profit KMB for Answers Here: What is Therapeutic Yoga?
Exploring another important limb of yoga: pranayama or breath. Pranayama translates to breath control. So why is breath important? Not only does it keep us alive but it is central to our relaxation and stress response. I encourage you to do your own research or schedule a session with a yoga therapist or breathwork practitioner to take a deep dive – but if you incorporate even just one of the techniques I am outlying below on a daily basis I would bet you would see some improvement in your stress levels. Read the full article here: Life in Balance: Pranayama
Many think of yoga as just exercise, but this ancient practice actually offers us eight limbs and one of them is Dharana, concentration. Dharana lets you create a deeper connection to yourself and those around you by linking your mind and body in the same place at the same time. From a modern neuroscience perspective, we know the brain can’t actually multi-task, it just task switches which can leave us sluggish and burnt out. It’s like scrolling through your phone and trying to talk to your spouse, how effective is the communication and connection? What if you didn’t have to say, “repeat that?” on a regular basis? How much richer would the conversation be? Read the full article here: The Power of Presence: Making Every Day Vibrant
Can’t fall asleep? Or do you find yourself just blacking out on your pillow at night due to exhaustion? Try some yoga therapy exercises for better sleep. Much of what I am going to share in this article comes from the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda and Yoga. That being said, I have also tried to account for the very busy corporate lifestyles that many of you are living in the northeast, which likely looks different than ancient India, but we can absolutely use it today, combined with neuroscience, to make a shift toward healthier habits. Read the full article here: Life in Balance: Yoga Therapy for Better Sleep
Have you heard about how beneficial meditation is for your brain and wellbeing, but you aren’t sure where to start?
Here are some practical ways to begin, and honestly my favorite methods. Read the full article here: Life in Balance: Beginning a Meditation Practice.
While I’m fortunate to always receive thoughtful presents and look forward to seeing everyone open what I have purchased for them – the truth is we give and receive from one another, 365 days a year. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. The Japanese Practice of Naikan helps us
explore that. Read the full article here: What Do You Want To Give and Receive this Holiday Season?
Everytime I turn on the news there seems to be something about mental health, and the challenges youth have encountered coming out of the pandemic. While I love working with kids for yoga and wellness I wanted to sit down with a true expert working with youth in the community so I interviewed Shari Hogan of Soushine Healing Arts Wellness Center in Brockport, a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Reiki Master. Read the full article here: Getting Kids Back in Balance
I don’t watch TV often but after seeing a few hours of TV the other night I was advertised at least three different constipation cures. It led me to believe that a lot women are dealing with constipation and unaware that they don’t need to. Here are a few yogic tools to try on for your digestion. You don’t even need to put on yoga clothes. Read the full article here: Getting Belly Back in Balance: Yoga Therapy to Ease Constipation
Looking for a new way to build a connection with your four-legged friend? Do you both want a fun way to exercise? Read my tutorial on how to paddlboard with your dog. Through practice and patience, my dog has learned to love SUP. Honestly, most of these tips might work with your child, too – don’t call the ethics board. Read the full article here: GET BACK HERE! How To Paddleboard With Your Dog
SUP Yoga 101. Standup paddleboard (SUP) yoga season in Canandaigua! We get a lot of questions from people hesitant to try it, so I wanted to give you the inside scoop on what to expect. Hopefully you’ll visit us on the peaceful, crystal clear waters of Canandaigua Lake this summer but if you are traveling and want to try SUP Yoga somewhere else, I hope this helps. Read the full article here: SUP Yoga 101
As a Yoga Therapist, I help couples experience themselves and their partner using movement, touch, mindfulness and listening activities so they can see themselves from a more centered place. A couple’s session is designed uniquely for each couple but here are a few exercises you can try on at home. There are many holistic methods inside of the scope of yoga therapy, but for this article, I’m going to use the seven chakras. Read the full article here: Yoga Therapy Exercises to Bring You Closer Together
In mostly no order, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite self-care tips. Many come from Yogic, Ayurvedic or Buddhist traditions. Some come from psychology and neuroscience. Many more come from trying to juggle an overscheduled life. Try on a few, see which ones work for you and stick to them. While I know many of us are overscheduled, you may need to schedule these for a few minutes per day at first before they become a habit. Of course check with your doctor before making any exercise or dietary changes. Read the full list here: Some of My Favorite Self-Care Tips
Is there such a thing as a not busy mom? I’m yet to meet one! Whether you stay at home, work, breastfeed, pack lunches, live 50 miles from your adult children – most moms are always on call. Yoga Therapy is all about practicing presence to bring more energy and ease to your life. I designed the following exercises so they can be done on their own or strung together into a longer yoga practice. Read the full article here: Yoga Therapy Exercises for Busy Moms
A day of self-care is great, but how do you keep it consistent? A full day at the spa doesn’t do much good if you wait until you’re completely depeleted and need to recharge from an empty cup again. The most successful self-care routines are daily or weekly habits. Learn how to create and maintain a meaningful self-care routine. Read the full article here: Crafting a self-care routine
Do you find yourself doing mental gymnastics trying to make sure nobody is disappointed in you? In this busy world, that’s a lot of energy you are expending on everyone else. The holidays can add additional external pressure on your body and your life so here is a People Pleaser’s Guide to the Holidays to help fill up your own cup first – rooted in yoga therapy techniques, of course. Read the full article here: The People Pleaser’s Guide to the Holidays
Yoga retreats, along with vacations, had become a regular part of my life over the last decade. While totally content at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t until I was on retreat in Monegan, Maine with my teacher Sarah Webb (@tobejustsew) that I realized the richness and rest my life had been missing. No financial budget for travel right now? I share a few tips on how to setup a retreat like space at home. Read the full article here: From Restlessness to Retreat
I know firsthand that when you have an ever-mounting to-do list, taking time to go to therapy or take a yoga class can seem unrealistic. Here’s the good news – if you can set aside even 10 minutes out of your day, there are yoga therapy techniques that can help you clear your head, increase your productivity, make you more connected to your family and friends, and even make your food taste better! Read the full article here: 10-Minute Yoga Therapy Exercises for the Busy Professional
At the hardest points in my life, finding a body of water has almost always provided some clarity, or at least a little bit of relief. Here are my three go-to practices for when you’re feeling unsure of your next steps. These include learning experiences from teaching yoga, paddleboard yoga on Canandaigua Lake and using yoga therapy tools to connect to sensations and emotions. Read the full article here: Healing With Water
The yoga therapy process with Phoenix Rising aims to help all people be able to live their truth. Chances are, regardless of your sex or gender, you have experienced a time in your life when you felt pressured to make yourself look or act differently than what you were really experiencing inside. Read the full article here: Using Yoga Therapy to Find the Fullest Expression of Your Truth