Therapeutic Tip of the Month: February

Try side-lying pose to settle your nervous system after a stressful day.

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Side Lying Joanne Varni by Poppy DeGarmo _ joanne bto

Side-lying pose is one of the best postures available for soothing the nervous system. With the knees bent and the top leg supported with a blanket or bolster, this allows the psoas muscles to take a break. The psoas muscles are our “fight or flight” muscles, so, when engaged, the nervous system can become more aroused. Supporting the head allows the cervical spine to be in a neutral position, which also helps the nervous system settle down. This is a beautiful way to end a yoga practice or settle down after a stressful day.

Picture of Joanne Varni

Joanne Varni

Joanne's philosophy as a yoga teacher is to help people who seek personal empowerment feel connected to their bodies, quiet their mind, stimulate a healthy nervous system, and release tension in the body caused by stress, anxiety, or trauma. Her teaching technique uses a combination of breath work, meditation, gentle asanas, somatic yoga, and neurogenic tremoring. Additionally, Joanne specializes in helping those with trauma (including PTSD) and has attended and completed her Level II certification in TRE (Trauma/tension release exercises) with Dr. David Bercelli. She is also certified as TSY teacher (Trauma Sensitive Yoga) under the renowned guidance of trauma researcher and pioneer Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (The Trauma Center at JRI). Joanne teaches classes, workshops, teacher trainings, as well as running retreats locally and internationally. She also teaches Yoga for Trauma Recovery at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and San Jose, California and has voluntarily taught yoga to women incarcerated at the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas and the Center for Survivors of Torture in San Jose. Joanne is an ERYT500 and earned her 200 hour and 500 hour YA certification through Jennifer Prugh’s YA certified “JOY of Yoga” teacher training. She completed her Therapeutic Yoga teacher training with Cheri Clampett and Arturo Peal and her Yin Yoga Teacher training under Paul and Suzy Grilley. A twenty-year resident of Los Gatos, she enjoys spending time with her husband John, and children, Anthony, Steven, and Nicole.

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