Mary Beth Camardese MS C-IAYT
Yoga Yoga Therapy Integrative Stress Management
About
I am a certified yoga therapist, yoga teacher and mind body skills coach. I help people apply the tools and philosophy of yoga to mental health and medical conditions.
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I have a BS from Boston College where I studied psychology and biology and an MS in Counseling Psychology from Northeastern University. I have additional training in Mind Body Medicine from the Benson Henry Mind Body Institute at Harvard Medical School Dept. of Continuing Education.
I am a certified yoga therapist by the International Association of Yoga therapists and a Kripalu trained Holistic Lifestyle teacher.
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I have over 30 years experience in the mental health, rehabilitation and integrative medicine fields including 12 years as a clinician in the integrative medicine department of Morristown Medical Center.
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In addition to yoga and meditation, I am a reader ( I love the library), Scrabble player and a fan of the farmers market (sun gold tomatoes my favorite)
My Yoga Story
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Yoga has been an invaluable companion in my life for over 30 years and has influenced both my personal and professional life.
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I came to yoga in a time in my life when graduate school, the end of a relationship and other stressors of a twenty something life found me overwhelmed, depressed and anxious. I was surprised how much well being I felt after my first yoga class and a regular yoga practice became my therapy (even though I was in graduate school learning to do therapy). It helped that my first yoga teacher used to tuck our feet into a blanket at the beginning of shavasana - so soothing. ​On and off the mat, I found my way to peace of mind and ease of heart.
Over the years, the practice of yoga and other mind body skills have helped me many times including recovery from a fall that resulted in three surgeries and a shoulder replacement. I developed "couch routines" to deal with stress, increase mobility and get back to downward dog (ny goal for physical therapy)
Most recently. I am dealing with my own aging body - especially arthritis, pain and walking issues.
My practice might look different than when I was younger but I still get all the benefits for mind body and spirit. Yoga Works!!
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My Approach:
These are some of the influences on my teaching style:
Kripalu Yoga/Integrative Yoga Therapy:
My first teachers were from Kripalu (a yoga retreat and training center in the Berkshires)
and I would say this underlies my basic teaching style.
Koshas:
Yoga therapy addresses the Whole Person.
During a class or session we work with all aspects of being - physical body, mental/emotional body, energy/prana body, wisdom body and bliss body.
I am particularly interested in the role mental and emotional states have in our health and well being.
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Stress management:
I believe learning to manage stress is the key to health and well being. I teach effective tools to elicit the relaxation response in the body mind.
An essential part of my services involves working with the brain and nervous system.
In particular learning to activate the vagus nerve to increase the "rest and digest" mode
to balance the "flight/fight/freeze" response in the body.
I also use mindfulness and interoception to increase resilience and stress hardiness
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Neuroscience:
​I believe in the power of the MindBody connection. My work is influenced by the brain/body/nervous system connections. Through neuroplasticity we can repattern the body and the mind. Yoga and meditation can create profound changes in the brain, nervous system and neurotransmitters.
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Fascia:
Fascia is the connective tissue web that gives us our shape. It is also a vast communication network and transport system.
After studying with Tom Myers (Anatomy Trains) my view of how I view the body mind changed to observing the body along the 12 anatomy trains. Everything is connected.
I also teach a lot of interoception - tuning into the inner sensory feedback from receptors in the fascia - this can increase stress hardiness and resilience.
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Mindfulness:
I consider yoga meditation in motion. Cultivating mindfulness and presence during our practice helps us be present and relax but also helps us apply this to our lives off the mat.
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Body as Pharmacy:
I believe yoga and meditation can make changes in the brain, nervous system and neurotransmitters. Research shows that yoga can decrease cortisol and increase GABA, dopamine, norepinephrin and oxytocin. This can have profound effects on levels of stress/relaxation, mood, pain management, resilience and well being.
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Smart Yoga:
​i am a perpetual student. I am also a little nerdy - I enjoy understanding some of the science behind why yoga works. It is interesting that research is identifying many of the mechanisms that support the benefits of yoga and meditation on health. I try to apply this research to my teaching. One of my students once called this evidence based approach "smart yoga"
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