Because there has been such a keen interest in my trauma-informed yoga (TIY) classes, both individual and group, I am opening another small TIY group. The group is almost full, if you would like to reserve a place, please contact me directly.
The group will only facilitate a maximum of four people. Location is 3 Belsay Road, Kenilworth.
If the group is full by the time you contact me, I will waitlist you for the next group which should be opening soon.
Please note that because of the sensitive nature of this work, anyone joining a TIY group must have 1-3 individual assessment sessions with me first. Individual sessions can continue until the person is ready to join the group.
There are no strength, flexibility or fitness requirements. The classes are at your own pace. The TIY groups can be seen as a body-based version of group talk therapy. While we do not spend much – or any – time talking, we are learning to be with one another, to synchronise with our own bodies and the bodies of others, and to eventually feel more supported and calm in the presence of others. All this while exploring important aspects of ourselves in and through our bodies.
Cost:
Individual session: R790, hour long.
Group session: R350, hour long. (Group sessions can be discounted if paid upfront for the month. The cost for a month is R1000, one class per week, if paid upfront. However, I encourage each person to try a few classes until they feel ready to commit to the monthly payment.)
Having acquired my yoga teachers training more out of an interest in developing a deeper personal yoga practice, I find myself absolutely loving teaching small classes and private students. I am always amazed at how individuals with little to no yoga experience can develop strength and flexibility so quickly with regular practice.
One of my favourite parts of teaching is encouraging people to show themselves love and compassion, listening to their bodies and doing what feels right for them. This is all about embodied self-care and self-compassion, as well as learning to regulate or calm our systems through movement and intentionality.
Another favourite part of teaching, almost paradoxically, is encouraging others toward their ‘edge’, a place of discomfort that they are able to push through and past. In yoga we really strengthen the mind-body connection. In conjunction with integrative therapy, yoga creates a fuller, more holistic way of developing, emerging and being in the world.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7:30 – 9 am, yoga including meditation and optional cold water therapy. Tuesday and Thursday from 5-6pm, yoga.
Classes are small, so booking is essential. Class rate depends on how many yogis are in the class. Morning classes usually between R200-R300, afternoon classes are currently 1-3 persons, and cost is between R300-R350; enquire for individual/private class rate. Please contact me to book a mat.
Integrative Therapy in Cape Town with Melissa Ellse
We are all unique 🌟
An integrative therapeutic approach draws thoughtfully from various theories, methods and techniques based on the individual’s strengths, needs and concerns.
There is no one-size-fits-all. It simply does not exist. Every single encounter we have with one another is both meaningful and unique. This is because we are human and beautifully complex.
I’ve learned this first hand in my own therapeutic processes, which is why I strive to be integrative, intuitive and informed in my approach. And my approach will probably not work for everyone, because we are all unique 🌟 and that is truly wonderful.
What happens when Pain visits a little too often, a little too long? Like an obnoxious guest who overstays her welcome, talking and talking without listening, eating and eating without offering. Well perhaps this is uncomfortable, but just bearable. After all, it is not all that uncommon. And then perhaps, what if Pain decides to visit a great deal too often and a great deal too long? What if the visitor decides not to leave? What if the talking and the eating just don’t stop – on and on and on. What are we to do then? What happens when we are held hostage?
Do we have any control over pain’s inevitable and suffocating visitations? According to the Stoic Epictetus,
Some things are in our control, while others are not. We control our opinion, choice, desire, aversion, and, in a word, everything of our own doing. We don’t control our body, property, reputation, position, and, in a word, everything not of our own doing. Even more, the things in our control are by nature free, unhindered and unobstructed, while those not in our control are weak, slavish, can be hindered, and are not our own.
Epictetus, Enchiridion, 1.1-2
The pain of loss, grief, depression, neurochemistry, external events such as motor car accidents and more – these are not in our control. This may be disheartening or even crushing when fully realised. Why am I forced to sit by while Pain visits the full reign of hell upon me? Why am I not allowed to eject Pain, to revoke visitation rights? How can I escape? Why am I not even permitted to escape my own home with what little I have left? This is a brutal invasion!
As the Stoic relates, the sense of control sought in our bitter fight against Pain is won in our thinking, our choices and our exposure to that which will help us reframe our attitude toward our relationship with pain. Ultimately, our gains are made in our own relationship with and to pain. To those experiencing true, unadulterated suffering, this idea may be received as trite or it may even be impossible to imagine. However, even where chronic mental, emotional or physical pain are involved, the ‘Enemy’ that is Pain can change into something new, something more approachable, something we can negotiate with and engage with in a more balanced relationship. Pain does not have to remain the Enemy, it can become the Teacher, the Healer, even the Beatific Vision. Never losing it’s identity as Pain, and never lessening or coming under our control, Pain’s visits – even those long, excruciating and seemingly never-ceasing visits, can be experienced differently, without fear and without loss of control. The transformation and growth, even healing, that Pain can bring – if we let it – is illustrated in the lines below.
What is pain but a reminder that we are
grinding into the ground
flung into the fight
grating against the wound
slicing into the light
walking the two worlds
lost in daylight, found in night
taking the clean medicine
gaining vision, losing sight.
There are practical steps to forging this new relationship with pain. These really depend on the individual, but in general it is not an overnight process. Meditative practices, including mindfulness techniques and yoga help many. Exercise and diet/nutrition – as insufficient as that seems in the face of enormous pain – can play a large role in re-negotiating your relationship with Pain. Broadly, relationships, spirituality, talking, creating, music, nature and stillness are all ways to explore this different way of relating to Pain.
I wish you well on your journey. For more information on renegotiating your relationship with Pain, contact me by clicking here.
Melissa McWalter 