Empowering Mind and Body; Occupational Therapy and Yoga Therapy

Empowering Mind and Body’s Yoga Therapists have been collaborating about our successful transition to supporting our clients through a HIPPA/PIPEDA compliant and secure platform for virtual Yoga Therapy. All of our Therapists are certified with the International Association of Yoga Therapists and have successfully been seeing existing and new referrals for the past few weeks. We have been sending our clients video and auditory recordings of their personal practice to support... daily practice. We are being creative around service delivery (sometimes shorter and more frequent session to adapt to our clients’ needs) and client feedback has been positive. We are planning to share more of what we offer to the general public in coming weeks, stay tuned. We have been sending loving kindness to the community at large and wishing all of you to be happy, healthy, safe and peaceful. Everyone has unique circumstances at this time and my team is happy to support you or someone you know to practice Gentle mindful movement, breathing and meditation. Whether it is your first time or you have experience; we customize each session based on the unique needs of the client. Please DM me if you want to know more. See more

I am very excited to be apart of the Brain Injury Association of York Region’s initiative to bring more programs to their members. Please see the link attached for Yoga Therapy with Arshad Pathare on select Thursday evenings and with me, Kristina Borho, on select Friday afternoons. Please reach out with any questions.

It’s here! I am very excited to expand my knowledge, inform my practice with my clients and to share Yoga Therapy with the Brain Injury community at large. This is also very special as one of my clients will be by side tomorrow. She is passionate about sharing how Yoga Therapy is helping her in her healing journey after a traumatic brain injury. Com hear what she has to say! (If you are attending; poster 712; March 14th, 3-4pm)

I am very excited to be apart of the Brain Injury Association of York Regions initiative to bring more programs to their members. Please see the link attached for Yoga Therapy with Arshad Pathare on select Thursday evenings and with me, Kristina Borho, on select Friday afternoons. Please reach out with any questions.

EMB enjoyed a nice evening at the PIA holiday party last Thursday among friends and colleagues. It is such an honour to work among such knowledgeable and caring people. Pic 1: 5 Therapists from Empowering Mind and Body; from left to right; Shehla, Sangita, Kristina, Nicole and Simone. Pic 2: Sade Akande-Jones: Occupational Therapist and Tonya Flaming: Case Manager ... Pic 3: Gila Karp: Physiotherapist

What an honour to represent Yoga Therapy Toronto and accept their Certificate of Accreditation from the International Association of Yoga Therapy (IAYT) on their behalf. The ceremony was held at IAYTs Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research this evening in New Port Beach, California. IAYT is ensuring educational standards for Yoga Therapists, supports research, has a code of ethics and has a mission to establish Yoga as a recognized and respected therapy. Yoga Therapy Toront...o, in addition to their dedication to train their students, mentor past students, provide therapy, teach yoga classes and complete their recently published book; Classical Yoga Asana; did a lot of work to get this accreditation for their school and their graduates to be recognized. I am grateful for their dedication to passing down the teachings of T. Krishnamacharya and T.K.V. Desikachar so that I can in turn use the teachings of Yoga to empower my clients to work towards healing and wellbeing. This weekend I dove deeper in my understanding of Yoga Therapys role in cancer (diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and end of life), Pain, Vagus Nerve, Insomnia, emotion regulation, cardiovascular health, movement disorders and more. I am looking forward to sharing what I learned through my teachings with clients and future posts. In this picture is John Kepner, Executive Director of IAYT.

Its here! I am very excited to expand my knowledge, inform my practice with my clients and to share Yoga Therapy with the Brain Injury community at large. This is also very special as one of my clients will be by side tomorrow. She is passionate about sharing how Yoga Therapy is helping her in her healing journey after a traumatic brain injury. Com hear what she has to say! (If you are attending; poster 712; March 14th, 3-4pm)

I am excited to share that I have been accepted to have a poster presentation on Yoga Therapy for Brain Injury at the 13th World Congress on Brain Injury held in Toronto in March. If any of you are going, please stop by my poster to say hello! Im looking forward to learning more about how to support my clients at this conference.

Happy New Year from Empowering Mind and Body. I am grateful to announce that in our second year of business we have expanded. We now have 2 Occupational Therapists who provide therapeutic Yoga and 4 certified Yoga Therapists. We work 1:1 with clients in their home to support their recovery after a brain Injury, spinal cord injury and complex trauma. We have experience working with a wide variety and combination of physical, cognitive, communication, emotional and behavioural ...symptoms and diagnosis. Our therapy is custom designed to meet the client where they are at in their journey. The pictures here only depict the physical part of the practice. Each client is guided through gentle movements, breathing techniques, meditation, intention setting, visualization and other yogic tools to support them to reach their individual goals. We are looking forward to sharing some exciting opportunities and resources for our friends, clients and referral sources in 2019... stay tuned Wishing all of you love, happiness and good health, from my heart to yours. Namaste , Kristina . . . #yogatherapy #yoga #occupationaltherapy #OTyogi #holisticoccupationaltherapy #braininjury #traumaticbraininjury #mindfulmovement #mindfulness #meditation #mentalhealth

Congratulations Cara Kircher and the LEAP team! I know how valuable your work is to clients with chronic pain and neurological impairments. I look forward to being able to use and share this resource with my clients. Thank you for your dedicated work in this field.

Had a great time coming together with all of the heros supporting The Brain Injury Society of Toronto in their 5k run, walk and roll. Shout out to Neurocore for coming dressed as the central nervous system; brilliant! #BIST #fundraisingforbraininjury #braininjuryawareness

It was an honour to speak about Yoga Therapy for Brain Injury at the Back to School Conference; Innovation In Brain Injury: Leading a World of Change. I spoke alongside some excellent professionals sharing their knowledge and expertise on research, techniques and services to better support individuals with brain injury in their healing journey. Dr. Dringenbergs talk, Boosting Neuroplasticity To Enhance Brain and Behavioural Recovery and Dr. Lionel Marks de Chabriss talk, The Distractions of Pain and the Implications of Treating ABI both mentioned Yoga as an option to support clients with brain injury. #PIAB2S2018 #yoga #yogatherapy #OTyogi #braininjury #occupationaltherapy #holisticOT #neuroplasticity

Join me for my favourite fundraising event of the year! My family, friends and colleagues dress up like super heros and we join the 5k run, walk and roll to support the Brain Injury Society of Toronto in a beautiful park in Toronto. I hope to see you there!

Curious what a chair yoga class might look and feel like? Read this insightful blog post by a member of the Brain Injury Society of Toronto (BIST). She writes about her experience and participation in the chair yoga class I led in May at their community meeting. Excellent post Julia and thank you Julie Notto for inviting me. https://torontobraininjuryblog.com//may-community-meeting/... #yoga #yogatherapy #occupationaltherapy #braininjury #chairyoga

*****HAPPENING BETWEEN 12-1pm EST****, Click the attached Amazon link for Canada or USA to purchase Purpose In Paralysis and all proceeds go towards support for Brain Injury survivors. A sure to be excellent book written by my friend and fellow OT/student/teacher of alternative ways of healing merging Western and Eastern Philosophy. She shares her experience after being a survivor of a spinal cord injury and her healing journey which promises to inspire others from a mind-body-spirit perspective .....

Thank you, March Of Dimes Canada for inviting me to teach Yoga to your staff at your companys Wellness Day. It was inspiring to hear the President and CEO, Andria Spindel encourage staff to find balance, joy and laughter in their lives. She spoke of the importance of doing what you love and trying something new as a way to explore what life has to offer. I thoroughly enjoyed leading this group of people who work hard to fulfil their companys mission To maximize the independence, personal empowerment and community participation of people with physical disabilities.

Calling all healthcare providers, family members, friends and individuals who have had an acquired brain injury or know of someone who has; Join me for a chair yoga class at the Brain Injury Society of Toronto (BIST) on Wednesday May 30th from 6-8pm (link below) during their monthly community meeting. Check out their website for many excellent peer groups, resources and committees to help support survivors and care givers of brain injury. http://www.bist.ca/event/community-meeting-may-2018/

Many of you know I founded Empowering Mind and Body in 2016. Ive been posting about what Im up to on a professional level but havent shared much about me personally and how I balance my life as a loving mom & partner while running a growing business. I realized very quickly when I forgot about taking care of myself, the most important areas of my life began to suffer. Today, I decided to practice a little self-care and do what I love; I went for a run along the Scarborough Bluffs where I live. What you do for your self-care? Type or post an image of what brings you joy!

Looking forward to being apart of this group and learning ways to become more connected with my own bodys energy and stress reaction and how I have control over that experience. Join me, Its 4 weeks for 75 mins on a Wednesday evening from your own home led by Avdeep Bahra.

Looking forward to speaking about Yoga Therapy as a complementary treatment for individuals with acquired brain injury at Neurologic Rehabilitation Institute of Ontario (NRIO)s Breakfast Seminar on Friday April 27, 2018 at 9:15am. Save your spot by registering at https://www.nrio.com/seminars.html and check out the other interesting topics being discussed by well respected professionals working with individuals with an acquired brain injury.

A big thank you to the team of Occupational Therapists at Providence Healthcare for hosting this workshop last week which focused on how they can apply the tools of Yoga Therapy with inpatient and outpatient individuals with orthopaedic injuries and lower extremity amputations. They were first guided through a self-care Yoga practice to embody the benefits of Yoga. We then reviewed how tools such as body movements, affirmations, visualization, breathing techniques, mirror bo...x therapy for phantom limb pain, meditation and yogic props can be used to empower an individual to become aware of their body, mind and breath and to make subtle changes at all levels to aid their healing. This is an amazing team of therapists and I am looking forward to helping them incorporate Yoga Therapy into their treatments. #providencehealthcare #healthcare #occupationaltherapy #holisticOT #OTyogi #yogatherapy #yoga #duallens #yogaforeveryone See more

This Pain Care Yoga workshop led by Neil Pearson over the last three days provided an in-depth look at recent research in pain science and highlighted that the pain experience can affect all systems (physical, physiological, cognitive, psychological, emotional and spiritual) and that all systems can affect the experience of pain. As health care providers and Yoga Therapists we learned how to educate and guide our patients with pain to use multiple tools at all levels to change the pain experience as they work towards what is meaningful to them. Neils website provides excellent resources for clients and Healthcare Professionals at https://lifeisnow.ca/

My daughter had the day off school so I took her to Yoga Therapy Toronto to learn about the tools of Yoga Therapy with Felicia Pavlovic. The tools of Yoga are so much more than the physical poses. Its a holistic practice using the body, mind and breath connection for healing. We learned how to prep the body for scorpion pose (aids focus) and how to determine if this pose is appropriate (prevent harm), how different essential oils can be used therapeutically in combination w...ith head massage for regulating the nervous system and to aid with sleep. We learned about how essential oils can be used with my clients to help reduce and manage headaches and facilitate the return of the sense of smell when lost as a result of a brain injury. We also learned how to use sound and vibration to address damaged vocal chords and loss of smell after brain injury. #lifelonglearning #yoga #yogatherapy #occupationaltherapy

When I graduated from Yoga Therapy Toronto I told myself I would present at the Ontario Brain Injury Conference some day.... welllllll that day is tomorrow! I will be Presenting Yoga Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury. #dreambig #grateful #occupationaltherapy #yogatherapy

Grateful for the opportunity to close out Occupational Therapy Month yesterday as the guest speaker at North York General Hospital applying Yoga Therapy through the lens of an Occupational Therapist. There are many similarities between the two that allow them to merge beautifully. Similarities include; looking at the individual holistically, developing an individualized program to address the clients unique abilities, setting functional goals driven by what brings meaning and joy into a clients life, being creative in the tools we use and above all, according to Dr. NC from India, "If you have not improved a persons quality of life then you have not done Yoga". I would say that quote defines why I love using Yoga Therapy as an Occupational Therapist. #occupationaltherapy #OTmonth #yoga #yogatherapy #northyorkgeneralhospital

It's been one year since I resigned from my job to open my own Occupational Therapy and Yoga Therapy business, Empowering Mind and Body. It has been a very positive and rewarding experience following my heart and intuition and doing what I love. I am grateful for all the support from friends and family. I remember this day very clearly. I went straight to the Scarborough Bluffs to flood my senses with nature to ground myself (pics below). I now lead group Yoga Therapy classe...s at March of Dimes for individuals with complex neurological conditions, a seniors chair Yoga Class to promote health in my community, I go in to individual's homes to do private Yoga Therapy and Occupational Therapy for individuals with complex physical, neurological and psychological symptoms and I am going to talk at the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA) conference Nov 3rd in Niagara on Yoga Therapy for Brain Injury. I will remain grateful with an open heart and open mind to spread Yoga to as many people as possible irregardless of their limitations. See more

Its been one year since I resigned from my job to open my own Occupational Therapy and Yoga Therapy business, Empowering Mind and Body. It has been a very positive and rewarding experience following my heart and intuition and doing what I love. I am grateful for all the support from friends and family. I remember this day very clearly. I went straight to the Scarborough Bluffs to flood my senses with nature to ground myself (pics below). I now lead group Yoga Therapy classe...s at March of Dimes for individuals with complex neurological conditions, a seniors chair Yoga Class to promote health in my community, I go in to individuals homes to do private Yoga Therapy and Occupational Therapy for individuals with complex physical, neurological and psychological symptoms and I am going to talk at the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA) conference Nov 3rd in Niagara on Yoga Therapy for Brain Injury. I will remain grateful with an open heart and open mind to spread Yoga to as many people as possible irregardless of their limitations. See more

What a beautiful day for heroes to get together and run, walk and roll a 5k in support of Brain Injury Society of Toronto. My Team Unique sporting their unique super powers of Speedy, Strong, Lightning, Thoughtful, Compassionate, Tenacious and Persistent had a great time! Thank You #BISTrun #bistrun2017

Every year my family participates in the Brain Injury Society of Toronto (BIST) 5k run, walk and roll! There are a lot of fun activities for the kids too! Join in and be a hero on October 1st!

It was a pleasure to lead consumers living at the March of Dimes in Toronto through a Yoga Therapy class today. Individuals with a diagnosis of muscular dystrophy, stroke and traumatic brain injury shared how it felt to use their breath and mind to stay present and move their body throughout the class. We started with sharing what we love to do on beautiful days like today (sharing our uniqueness through connection) and then ended with a meditation on love, compassion and gratitude for ourselves and others in the group (coming back to our uniqueness and connection). Thank you March of Dimes for having me and offering Yoga Therapy to your consumers. #yoga #yogatherapy #occupationaltherapy #yogaforbraininjury #yogaformusculardystrophy #yogaforstroke #yogaisforeveryone #marchofdimescanada

View from my Yoga Therapy demonstration at Bridgepoint Healthcare today! Combining the principals of Yoga Therapy with my knowledge and experience in Occupational Therapy allows me to create a group Chair Yoga Therapy class uniting body, breath and mind to target movements required for functional tasks, which support the goal for each patient to work towards increasing their independence. A group class supports a sense of connection among patients who may experience social is...olation in hospital. Each session aims to improve body awareness through teaching the patients to listen to their body and find their therapeutic edge. Breath control is used to elicit the parasympathetic nervous system and present moment awareness and meditation aim to calm the mind and body. Finally the hope is that these patients are empowered with tools to strengthen their whole self so they can be prepared to use these tools as needed in their daily life. #yogatherapy #occupationaltherapy #doublelens See more

Thankful to Dr. Shari Geller for the opportunity to introduce Yoga Therapy as a complementary approach to the excellent work they are doing at the Centre for MindBody Health where they "specialize in Mindfulness, Emotion-Focused and Dialectical Behaviour therapies that are informed by science and infused with compassion." Thank you for having me last night and being open to all the tools Yoga Therapy has to offer to help individuals who have experienced trauma. Thank you for the gift of your recorded meditations. I look forward to using them for myself and my clients. #yogatherapy #yogaismindfulmovement #mindfulness #meditation #union #mindbodybreath #weareinthistogether

The powerful tool of intention setting and how I use it in Yoga Therapy! A little glimps: Think of one thing you would like to harness in your life right now.... maybe its self-compassion, maybe its acceptance, maybe its to be present.... inhale, and as you inhale feel your intention fill your heart..... exhale, and as you exhale send that intention to every cell of your whole body; maybe close your eyes and repeat these steps FEELING your intention in your body, however ...that feels for you... The picture to the left was a bracelet made in a Yoga Therapy session with a woman who sustained a brain injury as a result of an assault. She wants to get back to being able to live and care for her two sons....... The picture on the right, is an anklet, made by an 18 year old who sustained a brain injury as a result of an automobile collision. She wants to live on her own and become a singer/song writer some day.... Each piece was made by the client during a yoga therapy session with a stone, colour or charm that spoke to them. Each client said her intention to herself with each bead she put on... each one uses her bracelet/anklet as a reminder of her intention and a tool to meditate on her intention. These positive thoughts replace the minds tendency to want to get drawn in to a negative thought pattern that might be an easy and familiar place to go....practicing with an intention on your yoga session or during meditation helps you to harness that intention off the mat and in your every day life. I invite you to give it a try, I would love to hear how it works for you #yogatherapy #powerofintention

Feeling grateful and inspired after many great discussions with other healthcare providers at the Ontario Brain Injury Association/Brain Injury Society of Torontos Mix and Mingle last night. I feel strongly about the importance of inter-professional collaboration to maximize a clients rehabilitation journey. #celebratingpartnerships #weareinthistogether

I attended this talk yesterday by Dr. Karen Pape who spoke about neuroplasticity in the developing brain as well as after brain damage at different ages. The title of her book, "The Boy Who Could Run but Not Walk, Understanding Neuroplasticity in the Childs Brain", describes a boy who has cerebral palsy. When he learned to walk he had spasticity in one arm and leg causing him to limp with effort and his elbow flexed with hand fisted. As he developed, his brain was reorganizi...ng and neuroplasticity was happening. When he was ready to learn how to run, he was learning a new skill with a different brain than when he learned to walk. When he ran, he RAN! She reported he ran with complete symmetry on both sides of the body, arms moving reciprocally and hand relaxed. This lead her to her research understanding neuroplasticity on a young and developing brain. She reported findings that youth and adults with neurological damage will have spontaneous neuroplasticity but that when exposed to novel and highly focused therapy the return on the effort put in is significant even many years after a neurological event. She recommended that as Healthcare providers, teachers, parents and/or caregivers of someone with neurological damage whether congenital or later onset, the brain will work very hard to reorganize and we can support that process with exposure to novel and highly focused therapy. She reported that she wrote her book to support advocacy for early intervention and highly focused treatment guided by the understanding of neuroplasticity. #nevergiveup #neuroplasticity #lovethisstuff See more

Thank you Neuroactive Physiotherapy for inviting me to speak last night on Yoga Therapy. Great discussions around how Yoga Therapy can complement a clients Rehabilitation team to address strength, range of motion, proprioception, balance, sensory, asymmetry in the body, pain management, fear around falling, transfer training, sleep, concentration, mood regulation, circulation and sleep. All of the Physiotherapists were open minded to incorporating some of the tools of Yoga Therapy into their work with their clients and enjoyed a flow designed to counter the effects of their day. #selfcare #practicewhatyoupreach #yogatherapy #occupationaltherapy #physiotherapy #worktogether

Wishing everyone a Happy Victoria Day! #eattherainbow #sharetherainbow #friendsandfamily

I am very excited to share that I have been accepted to present Yoga Therapy for Brain Injury at the 2017 Acquired Brain Injury Provincial Conference in Niagara Falls this November! I am grateful that healthcare providers, brain injury survivors and care givers have been open to using this transformative, holistic and complementary approach as part of their healing journey. http://ontarioabiconference.ca/

The statement that made my day: "Did I just touch my head?" I met a young man in his early 20s today that had a severe brain injury two years ago leaving him with hemiparesis on the left side of his body. Through the combination of Yoga Therapy with emphasis on breathing to relax spasticity in the muscles and Neuro-developmental Treatment (NDT) (motor relearning techniques), this young man was able to touch his forehead for the first time in two years! #nevergiveup #neuroplasticity #brainhealsitself #lovewhatyoudo #yogatherapy #occupationaltherapy

My goal in teaching Yoga to children is to teach them to be an observer of their thinking minds, to become aware of their bodies and the powerful tool of controlling their breath. Through sharing circles, individual poses, partner poses, breathing techniques, creative expression, Yoga games, guided meditations and chanting, it is my goal as their teacher to guide them through an experience where they feel perfectly unique and loved while at the same time foster a sense of int...erconnectedness to show kindness towards themselves and others. Here are a few descriptions of pictures I was able to snap over the course of the three sessions. The 1st picture is a picture of the grateful trees we made over three classes. At the beginning of each class, the children came in and threaded/wrapped three glass beads on their tree, each representing something they were grateful for in their life. The 2nd picture is a partner pose where one person was a "rock" in childs pose and the other person was a lizard. Each child was able to be a lizard by lying back and opening their hearts while relaxing on their "rock". Each child also got to be the "rock" and feel good supporting someone else while curled up in a pose that fosters safety, grounding and introspection. The 3rd picture is a line where the children learned "Square breath" (inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4). Each child drew a line on the persons back in front of them to make a square as I cued the breath. The 4th picture is a Yoga game where the children had to focus and balance while walking on blocks and when the music stopped, they had to strike a creative balance pose on a block while being quiet and still. The 5th picture is one child helping to give the "Pom Pom blessing" where the child lying on the ground was able to feel the sensation of the feathers on their body in a body scan meditation for body awareness. The 6th picture is final rest where they rested with lavender scented eye pillows on their eyes as I walked them through a meditation up into a tree house where they had anything and everything that made them happy in this tree house; no worries allowed! The last picture sums it up perfectly. It is such a beautiful display of connectedness, love, safety and trust among cousins and friends. It was a pleasure to share the space and energy with these children. They shared personal information in the sharing circle and chanted Om and Shanti (peace) for our closing chant. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching and learning from these children and look forward to the next round with them starting next week!