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Burnout is a medical syndrome characterized by unmanaged chronic stress which leads to mental, physical and/or emotional exhaustion. Left untreated, it can have very serious consequences in your life, your work, your family, your health. Burnout usually, though not always comes with some or many of the following symptoms:
A life coach is a professional who can help you set and reach goals, overcome obstacles and live your best life. Just as a sports coach helps athletes create greatness on the field, a life coach helps clients create greatness in life. A life coach is someone who can provide judgement-free support, motivation and accountability in different aspects on a client’s life. Most life coaches have specific areas of expertise. For example: Fitness, Financial, Relationship, Executive, Religious, Recovery, etc. As a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation, Larisa has over 125 hours of training and 500 hours of coaching practice, and she is held accountable to the highest ethical standards in the coaching industry.
Though some think the words coach and strategist are interchangeable, we believe that they are not. As a coach, Larisa does not tell you what to do, and rather guides you to the answers that are most impactful to you. As a strategist, which more closely resembles the role of a traditional consultant, Larisa works with clients to create a more directive plan of action. In her work as a strategist, Larisa helps clients identify root cause problems and then implement action plans to create desired outcomes. In group programs, Larisa always works with clients as a coach to guide them toward the answers they seek. In a 1:1 setting, Larisa functions as both a coach and a strategist, and both guides and prescribes a plan for success with clients.
Mind-Body Medicine is the process of healing the mind-body connection, with the intention of fostering greater mind-body awareness. Mind-Body Medicine Healing Sessions are small group sessions that always look a little different and are always transformational. Each session begins with a group practice; it could be meditation, breathwork, journaling, artwork, listening to and reflecting on a written passage, yoga or other movement, etc. After each practice, participants are invited, though never forced, to share about their experience. These sessions are not a place for coaching or counseling, even though participants regularly comment that these sessions are more cathartic than therapy. Mind-Body Medicine sessions are very simply a dedicated space to do deep healing work in community with others who validate, accept, and support you.
We are an Accessibility focused and Trauma-Informed practice. Because of the nature of the deep healing work that we do, we hold the safeness of each member in our community in the highest regard. We believe that every person deserves to experience a life of freedom, peace and joy. Strong By Nature was created to be a welcoming place for all, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, religion, neurodiversity, or disability. As such, we do not allow any person that is willing to pay into our group spaces. We have an application process so we can ensure that anyone entering our group community shares our values and commitments to kindness, authenticity, and connection. In addition, we openly ask for feedback from the community if there is anything we can do to make our group sessions or other classes more safe. We have found that with these practices, we attract the most amazing, kind-hearted, honest, caring, and compassionate people to Strong By Nature. Our groups are incredibly diverse, and yet participants often comment that this is the only group where they feel truly comfortable to be seen exactly as they are.
Accessible Yoga was named by Jivana Heyman, founder and director of the Accessible Yoga Association, an international non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to the yoga teachings. In looking at their Mission and Vision on their website, “Accessible Yoga believes that all people—regardless of ability or background—deserve equal access to yoga. Through education and advocacy, Accessible Yoga shares the teachings and benefits of yoga with those who have been marginalized. Accessible Yoga envisions a world where everyone has access to the yoga teachings that offer individual empowerment and spiritual awakening. We identify and remove barriers to access, build strong networks, and advocate for an accessible, equitable, and dynamic yoga culture.” At Strong By Nature, we have been trained and are committed to furthering the mission and vision of the Accessible Yoga Association in all of our practices. In addition, we commit to making yoga safe, accessible, and inclusive for people of all personal and economic backgrounds.
Trauma-Informed Yoga is in many respects an extension of Accessible Yoga. It is a practice and commitment in recognizing that all people carry seen and unseen trauma with them in their body based on their identity and lived experiences. Trauma-Informed Yoga therefore makes an intentional effort to invite each individual to experience yoga in a way that is safe for them, rather than dictate that a practice or post must be done in a certain way. Trauma-Informed Yoga is a supportive invitation, and it gives you permission to do what you need to practice in a safe and empowering way. At Strong By Nature, all of our yoga and meditation instructors have been trained in and use trauma-informed practices. We are very intentional about using language and cues to create a safe space that doesn’t replicate harm or provoke past trauma. We are committed to ongoing learning and accountability, and we invite you to share feedback with us as we strive to make yoga safer for you.
Today, most people in the western world practice yoga as the “asanas” or poses. Many people believe that yoga is just stretching, or that they can’t do yoga because they aren’t flexible. While most of us will improve flexibility during a physical yoga practice, it is not the only benefit nor a prerequisite. Some benefits of a physical yoga practice include:
Increased muscle strength
Improved respiration and energy
Improved focus and memory
Decreased risk of injury
Improved cardiovascular health
Increased flexibility
Decreased pain
Improved posture/protects spine
Improved sleep duration and quality
Boosted immunity
Increased happiness and sense of well-being
If you’ve asked yourself this, first of all, know that you’re not alone and it’s not your fault for having this concern. Unfortunately, mainstream Yoga often caters to one very specific body type: small, slim, white, flexible, young. At Strong By Nature, we welcome, accept, honor, and protect all races, bodies, abilities, identities, and lifestyles who enter our community. As part of our commitment to making yoga more accessible to communities that have been marginalized, we invite and welcome you to experience yoga with us, even if you don’t consider your body to be a flexible one.
We practice Vinyasa yoga, sometimes referred to as Flow yoga, meaning breath-synchronized movement. We have instructed classes of over 100 people, small groups, and individuals. We have worked with executives, stay at home moms, disabled veterans, seniors, children and many other different groups of people, however, Larisa’s specialty is in using yoga to help prevent and treat depression, anxiety, and PTSD. As a 20 year Air Force veteran living in the DC area for most of her life, she has seen the necessity of offering different prevention and treatment options to use in conjunction or in place of traditional medicine. She also uses her training in crisis intervention and resiliency in her yoga therapy. She believes that yoga can be very preventative in nature, however, she has also seen yoga help treat many different mental and physical issues. She believes that due to the many different styles and aspects, yoga can be beneficial for everyone.
Our yoga classes offer gentle stretches and breathing practices to help support mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health and well-being.
Our guided meditation sessions use breath and body awareness, mantras, affirmations, yoga nidra, visualizations and/or a meditative reading to help bring clarity, improve focus and relax the mind and body.
A lot of people think that yoga is nothing but poses on the floor and medication is simply being still, but the truth is, both are much broader than that.
Meditation could be done while walking and yoga can be done from a chair.
At Strong By Nature, we offer a variety of yoga and meditation practices to allow you to find the type that works best for you.
You are a good fit to work with Strong By Nature if you are driven by a sense of greater purpose to leave a positive impact in the world — whether that is in your family, your job, your business, or your community. You’re a good fit if you care about the way that you show up in the world, and the impact and legacy you create… and if you feel like you can’t show up the way you want to because you’re so darn exhausted. You’re a good fit if you KNOW you need to take better care of yourself, SO THAT you can take better care of the people, places, and things that are important to you. You are a good fit if you are sick of a band-aid approach to your health and self care since it is not working. You are a good fit if you are ready to receive support so you can show up as the best version of yourself. Lastly, you are a good fit to work with Strong By Nature if you believe that \ every person deserves to experience a life of freedom, peace and joy, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, religion, neurodiversity, or disability.
