Donna Brooks
Walking is the best exercise you can do and a walking course will help you do it!. Walking increases cardiovascular fitness, reduces the risk of heart disease and strokes, helps you lose weight. It improves conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Walking strengthens bones and muscle, relieves stiffness and helps with balance. But, In … Read more
Why Somatic Breathing Exercises? As a long time yoga and somatic movement therapist I studied many breathing techniques that dictated rules about breathing. For years, I imposed breathing exercises on my body. But, by giving my body the freedom to find its own breath I am healthier and happier. Somatic Breath is about breathing from … Read more
A self help tool. Lower back pain can be everything from an ongoing nuisance to a debilitating life crisis. Everyone who feels lower back pain needs both pain alleviation and learning how to move without re-triggering the problem. So how can yoga poses help alleviate lower back pain? And how can you help yourself with yoga poses for … Read more
Yoga for Parkinson’s disease makes a big difference in your life and mood. Particularly, knowing how to use your voice can lift your mood. Yoga For Parkinson’s understands how using your voice can lift your mood. Just like understanding and practicing how to stretch, bend, stride or breath properly help you relieve the stiffness of … Read more
A somatic movement is made with focus on the internal movement instead of on the external movement. Internal movement is very different from most physical or exercise training. Because his internal way of moving builds your interoception (self sensing) it helps you feel good. And, as you master this skill, you will make better and … Read more
Finding pain relief with somatic movement is often what brings people to my office. When pain is severe or when it triggers other symptoms people look for a gentle approach. I help them ease out pain and move in more ease and wholeness. In doing so, I recognize three different levels of pain somatic movement … Read more
Creating a good life after a child dies is not easy. In 2020, I lost my adult son. His death has been, without a doubt, the most devastating loss of my life. I wanted to beat the odds and create a good life after my child died. I was told about all the statistics that … Read more
I have had to find simple sanity in chaos, This is because I have had so much change, adversity and chaos in these last years that if I were to take a stress inventory I would be off the Richter scale! Since Covid began (as if that hasn’t been stressful enough), I lost my son, … Read more
Tightening and relaxing the pelvic floor is great exercise. BUT if that is all you are doing you are missing a lot. Most importantly, you are missing the connection between your pelvic floor dysfunction and emotional resilience. Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Emotional Resilience Just like our pelvic floor, humans have to be both flexible and … Read more
Today I had a great conversation with my friend and colleague Clare Maxwell. She is doing movement coaching on a fantastic BAM experiential theater exploring beliefs and emotions of Black life in America. Our conversation was an inquiry into how a white person could grieve black people being killed by police. It was a good conversation and it brought me to a real … Read more
