Brandy Vanderheiden, MA, MFT, SEP

Healing and Personal Exploration addressing the mind, body & spirit

Brandy Vanderheiden
201 San Antonio Circle
Building C, Suite 125
Mountain View, CA
ph: 650-281-9315
Brandy@soulmindyoga.com

Classes/Workshops

If you have a group and would like me to put together either a stress management (Somatic Experiencing) or yoga themed workshop, please be in touch.

New!

Trauma on the Mat
A Trauma Education Workshop for Yoga Teachers

by Brandy Vanderheiden, MFT, SEP

Saturday March 17, 2-5pm
$60 with early registration by March 1, $75 thereafter

Blue Lotus Studio in Palo Alto www.blueirisstudiopaloalto.com

How to handle emotional reactions when they arise
How to spot someone who may be in trouble
How to support a student with a trauma background
Simple refinements you can make in your class to make it more "trauma sensitive"
Trauma 101 for yoga teachers

Brandy Vanderheiden is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology with a Holistic Emphasis. She is also a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and has been teaching yoga since 2001. As a trauma specialist, Brandy sees clients in private practice, and also uses her experience in yoga classes to help people with trauma have a more welcoming experience so that they can more successfully experience yoga's benefits. Brandy works with the full spectrum of what is considered trauma or nervous system disregulation, including shock trauma (accidents, falls, war, surgeries, rape, etc) as well as developmental trauma beginning before birth and beyond. Brandy is an Anusara Inspired teacher and believes that the containing qualities of the principles of alignment and community are important factors in traumatized individuals finding the courage to access their heart.

New! Private Stress Relief Consulations and

Stress Relief Sessions.

Rates discounted for holiday stress relief.

-50 minute Stress Consultation. Get specific ideas and practices for how to transform stress in your life. (One time session) $60 (50% off)

-50 minute personal relaxation session. Combination of techniques may include guided meditation, breathing, and Somatic Experiencing, perfectly tailored to you. $60 (50% off)

Special 50% discount is for sessions purchased before December 31, but may be used any time in 2012. (Almost like a Groupon!). A great gift alternative.

*Please note, these sessions are not for counseling or psychotherapy.

Call 650-281-9315 or email brandy@soulmindyoga.com

New! 4-Week Stress Relief Group

No matter where your stress comes
from: crazy work schedules, balancing family life and relationships, kids, financial worries, you can reduce your stress and be happier, more easeful and enjoy your relationships more.

*Learn how to stop stress in its tracks.
*Identify precursors to stress
symptoms before they become
more serious and difficult to manage.
*Easy, every day tools you can
use to lower your overall stress
levels.

(We will not be processing stressful/traumatic content. This is a skills group)

Choose
Wednesdays Jan 25-Feb
$35/session - $140 total (must come to all 4 sessions)

Early Discount of $30/session, $120 by January 13.

Phone or in-person interview required to be sure this group is a good fit for you. (free)
Call 650-281-9315 or email brandy@soulmindyoga.com

Intro to Stress Relief

Practical information about how our mind/body process stress and how to reduce your symptoms by learning basic self-regulation skills. Registration required, $15. At my office in Mountain View: 201 San Antonio Circle. Call or email with questions or to join.

No Intro to Stress Relief classes scheduled now. If you're interested, send me an email and I'll let you know when I do another one.

Stillness Running Deep

Understanding the connection between stress, overwhelm and trauma in the body, and how to find peace. Based on Somatic Experiencing by Peter Levine.

You know about yoga's stress relieving benefits and how it can help strengthen your body and increase your balance and flexibility. But you may not know how it helps us heal past trauma, anxiety, and overwhelming stress. Every event we have ever experienced, whether we remember it or not, is imprinted in our bodies.

This workshop will give you an introduction to the body's role in processing stress, and easy things you can do every day to help settle your nervous system and make a big difference in your life. When your nervous system is more settled, you will feel calmer, have more positive interactions with people, and feel more engaged in life.

Feedback:

"I think it was part of the last key I needed to unlock myself." MN

"I so enjoyed your class on Sunday. Learned a lot, too...an extra bonus! You are a really talented teacher. The lecture part was lively and interesting and you have so much compassion as a yoga teacher." MB

"You put information I 'knew' in a way my body felt" MB

"This will change the way I work with clients forever." LB, Marriage & Family Therapy Intern

Class to include lecture, experiential exercises, and asana practice. (Will not include talking about difficult traumatic events). All levels.

See Somatic Experiencing page for more information.

Want this workshop to happen near you? Contact me

Stress Management Classes/Workshops

Learn basic techniques to calm your nervous system and reduce stress once and for all. Will include breathing, guided meditation and other techniques.

To hold a stress management class at your workplace, please contact me for information. Class length can be modified to fit your event.

Neck and Shoulder Release & Recovery

Find lasting freedom from chronic tension and take your yoga practice to the next level. Then using the proven methods of Anusara bio-mechanics and therapeutics, we will learn the most comon causes of neck & shoulder pain and simple ways to change your body forever. We will also discuss how your current yoga practice is supporting or aggravating neck, shoulders & wrists, and ways to use these two modalities for a stronger practice.

The Yoga of Transformation

An 11-week group using yoga, meditation and group support for advancement of Self

The new year is often a time of self-reflection and readiness to make changes in our lives. For maximum impact, we engage the mind, body and spirit in the process. In this group, all members will register for my Winter '09 Anusara-inspired class at Foothill and attend at least once a week (see Foothill Classes page for details). In conjunction, we will meet as a group to deeply engage with what emerges in the class and in our lives. Meditation and breathwork will also be a regular part of the sessions. Note: The Weds group will not be for asana practice - it is group discussion and processing.

The group will be limited to 6 participants.

Emotional Healing Benefits of Yoga

Improves emotional boundaries

Develops self confidence, personal resilience

Raises energy

Activates parasympathetic nervous system, considered the antidote to chronic stress, PTSD, anxiety, etc.

Teaches awareness, development of the witness, mindfulness

Healing through social engagement - connecting with others, receiving support from peers, and belonging, all shown to help with symptoms of depression.

Encourages following body's impulses, which will lead us to self healing. Especially impulses of playfulness and self care.

Dynamic Stretching Workshop

For fitness instructors and students

Learn the 5 Universal Principles of Alignment for Stretching! This workshop will help your group exercise students learn to stretch deeper and more effectively than ever. No matter what type of class you teach, whether it is kickboxing, step, or spinning, this workshop will help you incorporate new and effective ways to stretch. If you are a student, this workshop will help you to learn safe and unique stretching techniques to use in and outside of the gym.

Brandy has been teaching yoga for more than 6 years, but her practice was transformed when she tried Anusara Yoga three years ago. She has a passion for working with students of all levels to help them reveal their own inner strength and open to infinite possibility.

Who can attend: Anyone! Group fitness instructors, trainers, fitness enthusiasts, and people interested in improving their alignment in yoga.

Questions: Please call Brandy at 650-281-9315 or email Brandy@soulmindyoga.com

Intro to Yoga Workshop: Awakening the Yogi Within

Here is an opportunity to bring a friend who has been interested in trying yoga but worried about not knowing the basics or for returning students who want to brush up on fundamentals. In this 2-hour workshop, we'll take a fun filled journey through the most important principles of Anusara Yoga and learn basic poses that you will find in most yoga styles out there. Yoga can look intimidating - but here we will break down the basics so you can do poses in a way that will support where your body is at right now. You'll see why millions of people love practicing yoga! (5 student minimum).

Please email me with questions & pre-registration brandy@soulmindyoga.com;

Payment can be mailed to: Brandy Vanderheiden, C/O CHAC, 711 Church St, Mountain View, CA 94041

*Licensed California Marriage & Family Therapist #49771

**It generally works best if I am either your yoga teacher or your therapist/Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, not both.