Foundations Program Graduate
Advanced Program Student
C-IAYT Candidate
Yoga Therapist, Yoga Teacher
Location: Portland, OR
Website : A Bend in the River
“Since starting the Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy Program, I have deepened my own practice and my love and reverence for yoga. I have also connected with a community of friends that I know will support me for the rest of my life.
I am currently working with people at a nursing home in extreme illness or end stages of life, and so I am not ‘curing’ anyone; I am, however, reaching people on a deeper level through the practices of meditation and surrender. I feel honored to be able to help people in this way.
I came into the program with a big story of childhood loss and physical trauma. I have been given the tools to ease myself and heal. It’s an exponential process, and I feel very lucky to be on the journey with everyone at Breathing Deeply.
Teaching yoga after becoming a Yoga Therapist is a very different animal. Foremost in my mind while teaching is the whole person; physical, spiritual, emotional. I am so much more aware of safety in the poses, and the value of pranayama and spiritual teachings.
When I applied to the Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy Program, I was sort of at a crossroads, and I am so happy that I took the right turn. I saw an ad on Facebook and spoke to a student in the program who highly recommended it. When I checked out a video of Brandt teaching, I knew immediately that I had found the right school.
Brandt’s teaching style allows for all things: practicality, reality, spirituality, and meeting every student where they are. It’s extremely inclusive, non-judgemental, and he is an amazing communicator of complex material. For me, this is what set Breathing Deeply apart from other schools. I almost passed up the opportunity because it meant I’d have to fly across the country to come to retreats. I hate flying. But I would do it all over again.
One rewarding client story is that of a person with whom I am currently working. He had a brain injury, and he is really engaged in the practices. He tells me (and everyone else at the care center) how much I am helping him.
To anyone considering the Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy Program, they should know that it’s a lot of work, and a lot of love, and a lot of fun.”
Most of us western yoga teachers have a similar path that looks something like this: We realize we are suffering (from an illness, anxiety, watching family age poorly, etc.) We find yoga and it helps us We want to share this amazing helpful thing called yoga with others We see our local studio has a […]
Yoga therapy is a relatively new method of healing born out of an ancient tradition. Yoga has been around for over 1,000 years. The idea of using yoga in a therapeutic context has been credited to Tirumalai Krishnamacharya who died in 1981 at the age of 100. We can think of yoga therapy the same […]
Listen in as Brandt discusses how a Yoga Therapist might work with a client who has already been to physical therapy, as well as some of the different approaches between the two therapies.