Gentle Nia Class at Laughing Dog Yoga

Gentle Nia Class will be held at
Laughing Dog Yoga, Wellesley, MA
www.ldyoga.com
for details about directions and class fees

Begins November 8, 2013, 11am-Noon

New Nia Class for People with Cancer and their Caregivers

I am pleased to announce a new Nia class. 

 

Nia for people with cancer and their caregivers is a collaboration between Facing Cancer Together and the West Suburban YMCA

 

Caring for yourself during your cancer experience is important for health and well-being.  Through expressive movement to inspiring music,  Nia helps you to face the challenges of cancer.  Nia promotes joy, strength, balance, energy, and relaxation. Individual attention is paid to each person, making the class safe for mixed levels of ability and wellness.

 

Cost for this class is $10  per session.  A package of 6 sessions for $50 is also available.  For information about attending this class, please call FCT at 617.332.5777

 

DAY:  Tuesdays, beginning October 22, 2013

TIME:  10:30-11:30 AM

Led by:  Suzanne L. Cohen, Licensed Nia Practitioner and Psychologist

Studio Location:  West Suburban YMCA, Newton, MA

 

New Gentle Nia Class

New Class

 

Gentle Nia

Movement Medicine for Health and Wellbeing

 

Suzanne Cohen, Nia Instructor

 

Fridays, 11am to Noon

Beginning November 8, 2013

 

 

 

Nia is a sensory-based movement practice that draws inspiration from dance arts, martial arts and healing arts.   This gentle Nia class is  for people of all ages and abilities; and those coping with or recovering from injury or illness who would like a gentle movement experience.

 

 

Soul-stirring music is the foundation for movement that each person can adapt to individual  needs.  Nia   activates and expands our capacity for personal healing and well-being; in Nia we move the way our bodies were meant to move, with ease, joy, balance, and pleasure.

 

 

 

The instructor of Gentle Nia is Suzanne L. Cohen.  She has been teaching Nia and using it for her own personal growth and healing for 15 years.  She is a Licensed Psychologist and integrates Nia with her psychotherapy practice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Health and Wellness

Health and Wellness Psychology builds from principles and theories of psychology, biology, health, and social sciences. Health psychologists are concerned with promotion and maintenance of health; and the prevention and treatment of illness across the lifespan. In addition to being a Licensed Psychologist, I am a senior instructor of The Nia Technique www.nianow.com.

 

Dr. Suzanne Cohen: 

• Empowers you to discover the healing forces within you
• Works with you to promote health of the body, mind, and spirit
• Addresses your issues from psychodynamic and interpersonal perspectives
• Assists you in managing physical illness and symptoms, including pain, lupus, cancer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, eating disorders, and gastrointestinal disorders
• Teaches alternative approaches, such as sensory awareness, expressive movement, breath work, meditation, guided imagery, affirmations,  and journaling
• Is well versed in other approaches and makes referrals to Nia yoga, tai-chi, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, physical therapy, and occupational therapy
• Sees each individual as a whole living system, with the understanding that physical disease has powerful emotional and psychological components; when these components are addressed, physical health and wellbeing improve

 

NSGP Experiential Group June 8, 2012

Integrating the Mind, the Body and the Emotions in an experiential process group  

This group meets for three sessions, morning, afternoon, and early evening on June 8, 2012 at Simmons College.  There is a maximum of 12 participants.

Traditional group therapy  addresses cognitive and emotional processing and focuses on understanding and meaning making.  Sensory experience is a third domain that can be utilized in group therapy.  In this experiential process group we will learn to access present experience from all three domains (cognition, emotion, and somatic experiences), and  will see how  contributions from these three domains deepen self-awareness, interpersonal connection, and group cohesiveness.

See www.nsgp.com to see brochure and register

I will also be one of three discussants for the special presentation at the conference.

     

Workshop in NYC March 8, 2012

I will be giving a workshop on March 8 from 2:30 to 5 pm at the Sheraton Hotel, Midtown Manhattan.  Please see www.agpa.org to register.  Here is the detailed schedule:

Your Body is Your Supervisor: Using body awareness and expressive movement (The Nia Technique) to explore therapeutic dilemmas in groups

I. Introduction (20 mins)   objective #1

A.  Names, your interest in mind/body integration.  Review schedule of workshop. 

B.  Didactic presentation of somatic psychology

II.  Guiding participants in sensation focused body awareness  and discussion:(15 Minutes)  objective #1, 3

A.  Discussion to include:  word or phrase to describe what you are experiencing in your body, what you notice or noticed.

B.  Each person write down, from place of body awareness, a group issue or problem that comes to mind, a dilemma, an experience that is interesting, puzzling, that causes you to feel unsettled, which you�d like to explore today.

II.  Movement to Music (15 mins) Objective #2

Experiential movement to music with three levels of intensity:  easy and calm music and movement, more intense  rhythms, and quiet and relaxed music.

III.  Meditation  (10 minutes) Objective #2

Focus on  body sensations, emotions, energy in and out of the body; where energy flows and where it gets stuck; access felt sense, whole body experience

IV.  Focus on the issue or problem that participants wrote down earlier. (20 mins)  objective # 1, 2, 3

Focus on the body’s way of experiencing the problem.  Notice any sensations and emotions, images, thoughts, etc., that connect with the whole of it.  Any emotions.  In pairs, participants discuss their dilemma and listen with body awareness for insights and discoveries.

V.  Discussion, including principles of somatic psychology and application to therapy groups and leadership. Wrap Up with questions and answers; reviewing reference material for further study (30 mins) Objectives 1, 2, 3

VII.  Evaluations (10 mins)

Ongoing Consultation Group for Psychotherapists 2012

  CONSULTATION GROUP FOR PSYCHOTHERAPISTS:

Sensation Focused Experiential Psychotherapy

                         

I am offering an ongoing consultation group for psychotherapists that focuses on integrating the body into the therapy process, Sensation Focused Experiential Psychotherapy.  Traditional psychotherapy relies on verbal expression almost exclusively.  This consultation group  incorporates movement, body awareness, and verbal communication in a group format.  Group members meet for 90 minutes. The focus of the first segment of the meeting will be sensory based awareness and movement. The group will  transition into presentation of case material and self-study so that  members can develop their own ways of integrating the body into their psychotherapy practices.   The goal is for participants to develop embodied attunement.  There will be readings and homework assignments to supplement our work together.

By participating in this group, you will learn to assist yourself and your clients in individual, couples and group psychotherapy:

• to approach life and relationship issues in new ways,  when traditional talking-only psychotherapy has been of limited value for desired changes
•  to explore relationship difficulties with the added information from the body
• to access emotions and facilitate emotional expression
• to enhance body attunement and awareness of sensations
• to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression at a physiological and emotional level and develop  somatic resources

The group will meet every other Wednesday, from 3:30-5 pm in my Wellesley office.  There is a limit of 6 members.  

• Winter/Spring  2012 dates:  Feb 15, 29;  March 14, 28;  April 11, 25;  May 9, 23;  June 6, 20.

                                                                  

Membership requirements: all master’s and doctoral level professionals: nurses, social workers, psychiatrists, alcoholism counselors, school counselors and school psychologists, marriage and family therapists, expressive arts therapists, and psychologists; students in advanced training programs.   An individual session is required before joining at no additional charge.

About the group leader:   I am a psychologist and have been in private practice for over 30 years, working with individuals, couples and groups.  I am a Certified Group Psychotherapist and a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association.  I have supervised and consulted  for the Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy Training Program, Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Harvard Medical School Residency Program; and faculty of both AGPA and NSGP institutes and conferences, leading workshops on somatic psychotherapy.  I authored a  paper entitled “Coming to our Senses:  the application of somatic psychology to group psychotherapy” which was published in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, July, 2011.

For the past twelve years I have taught classes and led workshops in The Nia Technique.  I have led therapy groups that integrate body awareness and expressive movement with dynamic psychotherapy.

For fees and more information, please feel free to contact me by phone or e-mail.

Fall and Winter Health

As we approach the fall and winter in New England we notice changes in the weather, light, and temperature.  Our bodies respond to these changes.

There are several things we can do to stay healthy during the fall and winter to avoid colds, sleep better, and have more stable moods.

LIGHT

Start using a light box for 10-20 minutes each morning at the beginning of September.  The light is changing.  Not only are the days growing shorter, but also the sun is lower in the sky.  We are preparing for daylight savings time to be over.  For some of us, light boxes help the most during these months of transition, from September to December. For others they help most during the short days of December through March. I have found the best light box to be the Verilux Happy Light at www.verilux.com

Vitamin D

We get Vitamin D from sunlight.  Most of us in the Northern Hemisphere have low levels of vitamin D.  It is recommended that we take 1,000 mg vitamin D per day, for both men and women. 

Nasal Dryness

Our noses are exposed to much dryer air in fall and winter.  Nasal irrigation daily with a mild saline solution can help with nasal congestion and can help prevent colds.  A neti pot works well, as do  similar products you will find at CVS and Walgreens.  Use distilled water only.

Skin

Dry skin, itchiness, and reactions to dry skin can be prevented by using a light moisturizer after you shower or bathe.  Feels good and your skin will be happy.

Feet

Wearing shoes that have a good heavy sole will help in slippery weather.  Keep your feet happy with moisturizing and using a foot file on rough heals.

Keeping Active

There are many ways to be active during fall and winter.  Physical activity has been associated with reduced depression and anxiety, as well as improved cognitive functioning and mood.

Walking outdoors except in extreme weather can be continued throughout the winter.  Yak Trax, sold at EMS and REI, are great for walking in icy streets and sidewalks.  Trekking poles with tips for city walking will help with balance and also will give you an upper body workout. 

The MagneTrainer is a mini-bicycle that can be used indoors in bad weather for both legs and upper body; an inexpensive alternative to bigger and more cumbersome exercise equipment. 

Nia is a great, fun, indoor activity that will keep you active and energized.  See www.niaboston.com for classes, teachers, and locations.  There are classes at Laughing Dog Yoga  www.ldyoga.com  right next door to my office on Linden Street and at Fitness Club for Women across the street. 

Join a gym.  I have also referred people to Fitness Together for one to one personal training.

Hydration

8 glasses of hot or cold water, herbal tea, or diluted fruit juices each day will keep you well hydrated and will help with energy, skin, digestion, reducing cold symptoms, and will prevent headaches.  I drink a glass of Emergen-C  with 12 ozs of water—it  gives me my daily vitamin C and  electrolytes each day. I also drink diluted apple cider vinegar (the unfiltered kind, Bragg's, can be found at Whole Foods.  This is a refreshing drink and is a tried and true folk remedy for overall health.

Coming into Sensation

Introduction to Coming into Sensation for therapy (individual, couples, and group)

Somatic sensations are physical experiences arising from our nervous systems through our muscles, joints, skin, viscera, and our bodies as a whole.  Sensations are messages from the body.  We can develop awareness by paying close and sustained attention to our sensory experiences without  judging them.  Once we are able to pay attention, we listen, hear, and trust these messages.  We can rely on them for insights about ourselves, for guidance  in making wise choices,  and in caring for ourselves. In our relationships, we can empathize with others more effectively as we imagine what someone else is feeling without judgment.

Eastern Group Psychotherapy Plenary and Workshop

Groups of the Body, Groups of the Mind: Neuroscience and Attachment Theory Come to Life
Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society Plenary: November 18 and 19, 2011
Group psychotherapy continues to evolve and group leaders continue to develop. Their interventions are guided by professional training, the latest research in neuroscience and attachment theory, and their own lived experiences. This plenary will explore how each of us develops a way of working that is both personally comfortable and clinically effective, and how we keep learning even after we have found the theory and practice that is the best fit for us.
Two expert clinicians will demonstrate their answers to these questions, each taking a demonstration group from the same moment of crisis, offering a snapshot of the same moment developing in different ways. Their approaches—Mentalization-Based Treatment (grounded in the work of Peter Fonagy and Anthony Bateman) and Somatic Psychology as applied to group psychotherapy—are psychodynamic approaches that focus attention in ways that may be quite new for many of us. Quite different from one another, each approach offers clinical understandings and interventions that are accessible and readily incorporated into our ongoing clinical work.
The leaders, the group members, and the audience will have the opportunity to notice the similarities and differences in the two experiences. The group leaders will share with us how the development of their treatment approaches evolved from the matrix of theory, education, life experience, creativity, mentorship, practice setting, personal treatment, and perhaps even pure serendipity.
Demonstration group leaders:
Suzanne L. Cohen, EdD, CGP, FAGPA, Private Practice, Wellesley, MA, and
Steven Krugman, PhD, CGP, Private Practice, Boston and Newton, MA.
Discussion facilitator: Barbara R. Cohn, PhD, ABPP, LFAGPA, Associate Professor of Medical Psychology, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Plenary co-chairs: Sherry Breslau, PhD, CGP, Private Practice, and Peter J. Taylor, PhD, SEP, CGP, FAGPA, Past-President, EGPS.

Contact www.egps.org

Nia Poetry

Joy for No Reason
By Danna Faulds


I am filled with quiet
joy for no reason save
the fact that I'm alive.
The message I receive
is clear--there's no time
to lose from loving, no
place but here to offer
kindness, no day but this
to be my true, unfettered
self and pass the flame
from heart to heart. This
is the only moment that
exists--so simple, so
exquisite, and so real.

My Summer Vacation Nia Diary

July 11, 2007

What I Am Doing on my Summer Vacation

I am a convert. I have crossed over from the life of the mind to the life of the bodymind. I am now a true believer.

During my July vacation I hiked familiar trails in Maine, in the Camden Hills. Every trail felt new to me, every step I took was grounded and efficient. Going up, going down, finding my way through rocks and tree roots, climbing onto and over slabs of granite, sensing the slippery, wet stones after a rain shower, everything was easy, like floating. What accounted for my delight? My ability to connect to the earth through my base, my feet, legs, and pelvis. My own tree trunk. My experience with The Nia Technique over the past 8 years has brought me to this place of dynamic ease, dancing through life.

Yesterday, a day at home: my stomach is in a knot and I feel stuck in this state. I’m not really trying to distract myself from it, knowing it is necessary for me to be feelings these feelings. I’m here for some reason I do not understand as yet. I decided to watch a DVD of a new Nia routine which I wanted to learn. I spent a few minutes moving along with the class as I watched. One of the moves was from tae kwon do, pushing the heal of my right hand forward as I stepped back with the right foot into a bow stance. I exhaled with a loud “heeeett” as I pushed the breath out of my lungs. That simple gesture and sound changed my mood. All the fear and anxiety that I had been internalizing had a place to go. I repeated the movement a few times, totally engaged, feeling my energy return. My mood shifted, as did my thoughts, from depressive and dark to optimistic and joyful.

This simple transformation has sparked an idea. How habitual is it for me to internalize my feelings? Wasn’t that what I was taught growing up? I was the little girl who was told to sit with her hands folded in school. I so wanted to move and express myself that I resorted to singing to myself, at a low whisper. Of course, my mother got a call from the school that I was singing when I was supposed to be quiet. Because I was a good little girl, I stopped. Internalizing, keeping quiet about what was going on inside of me was taught at home, too. My mother told her friends, “Suzy never gives me any trouble.” Internalizing and containing was taught to me when I became a therapist. Listen, don’t laugh or cry or show your fear or horror over what you hear. Be a transference object. Keep yourself out of it.

Today I taught a Nia class. I chose to focus on the base, the feet, legs, and pelvis. I felt such joy this morning as I prepared. I chose music by Candy Dulfer, a female saxophonist with her own brand of funky music called “Girls’ Night Out:” expression of joy, fun, playfulness, aggression, sexuality, sensuality. “Sultry” was the pearl, the word on this hot and humid day that embodied the movements. My students, who are all middle-aged like me, come to class to express, to feel their bodies move, to bring outside what is locked inside. In the process we become fit, we sweat, we are spontaneous.

Come dance with me sometime. Give yourself the opportunity of a lifetime, to express, to ex-ternalize, to bring what is inside out, to breathe, to be funny, sad, angry, afraid, and let yourself and everyone see. Let your face shine, be wholly yourself, all of you, body, mind, emotions, spirit, energy.

Signing on

I am initiating a blog in order to post articles, update classes, and communicate about my Nia classes, workshops, and NiaPsychotherapy.