Embodyment Yoga Therapy is a highly effective bodywork technique created by Rama Berch, the originator of the Svaroopa style of hatha yoga.   Deeper and longer-lasting than massage, Embodyment is not only profoundly relaxing, but healing as well.   Each hour-long Embodyment session is the equivalent of 6 to 10 Svaroopa yoga classes, greatly magnifying the benefits obtained in any single class.


  In an Embodyment session, you rest comfortably on your back, fully clothed.   No yoga poses are involved and no previous yoga experience is required.   The healing effects of the treatment continue long after the session has ended.


Embodyment therapy can help clear up long-standing conditions that yoga poses often cannot reach, benefiting a wide variety of mental and physical ailments including:


Back, shoulder, neck, and wrist pain ~ ~ ~ Jaw and sinus problems ~ ~ ~ Headaches ~ ~ ~ Hypertension ~ ~ ~ PMS ~ ~ ~Sciatica ~~~Menopausal symptoms ~ ~ ~ Stress - related disorders ~ ~ ~ and many more.


Embodyment Yoga Therapy releases chronic tension, facilitates the body's natural capacity to heal itself, and improves total body functioning.


Here's what some clients have to say about their experience:

  " I walked into my first Embodyment session with one side of my body in knots; lower back, neck and arm pain.   I walked out pain free, my muscles totally softened.   What's more, I have never felt more relaxed and at peace.   I don't know how this works, but it does!" - Mark, Jamaica Plain, MA

"I had my first Embodyment treatment the day before I had to drive 3 and 1/2 hours to NYC, and back the following day.   Normally, long drives greatly exacerbate the back pain I've suffered from for over 20 years, but even after that trip I felt better than I'd felt in ages!   I have tried a range of remedies including osteopathy, physical therapy, chiropractics, acupuncture, and massage. Embodyment feels at least as good as any of these, and combined with Svaroopa yoga, gives me more control over keeping myself in good shape in a way that I can build into my daily routine." - J. Hochstadt, Jamaica Plain, MA

 

"Having endured a right lower back spasm for five plus days, and mounting neck and shoulder pain, I thought, 'What can I lose?' and went to see Debbera.   What I lost, instantly, was the lower back spasm.  The next day I could feel my shoulders and neck loosening, and all tension was gone by midday.   Aside from these wonderful physical benefits, I also noted a lifting of anxiety; a sense of calm that stayed with me for days (despite being at home with two small children while my partner was half a world away for the week)." - Liz, Brookline, MA


"After a bad fall, I had severe pain in my chest around the sternum.  The pain got worse; a week after the fall it was hard for me to move around and breathing was painful (coughing was excruciating).  I saw my doctor who said that I had damaged the cartilage between my ribs and sternum.  He said there was nothing he could do for me, and that I should rest and avoid doing anything that aggravated the area.  He said that it would take 6 to 8 weeks to heal.  The day after I saw the doctor, I received an Embodyment treatment from Debbera and noticed a significant reduction of pain within a few hours.  The next day I had a second Embodyment, and within 24 hours of that I was pain free.  I was able to resume vigorous physical activity that included house renovations.  By getting just 2 Embodyments from Debbera, I avoided having to take pain medications and was back to normal many weeks before the doctor had anticipated, given the severity of my injury.  I am quite skeptical about the efficacy of most alternative treatments, but there is no doubt in my mind that the Embodyment treatments had a dramatic effect on my recovery." - M.A., Jamaica Plain,MA

"As a 52 year old male who still plays tennis, which is hard on the hips and hams, I am glad to have found yoga 5 years ago with Debbera.   She introduced me to yoga with others in a class setting, and I believe it is keeping me in the game, both on and off the court.  More recently she introduced me to Embodyment yoga therapy.  I had experienced a very positive feeling from hip opening activities in class before, but an hour of private Embodyment with Deb took that to a whole new level, leaving my hips and back free of stiffness for days.  It is like a drug in its effect - you don't understand how something so simple (like re-alignment!) can have such a profound impact.  And, like taking a drug, or acupuncture, it's easy: all you have to do is show up - Deb does the rest.  My trust in her after this way exceeds anything I've had for chiropractors (never got much out of them) or others." - Rick Devereux, Needham, MA

"Embodyment yoga therapy has helped to release my chronic spinal tension, and the pain that came with it, in my neck, middle and lower back.  After a session, I feel so incredibly grounded and connected in my body.  Debbera is focused, knowledgeable and very giving in her work." - Rebecca D., Roslindale, MA

"I have had several Embodyment sessions with Debbera.  After each session, I have noticed that my mood has been uplifted and I feel more energetic.  The sessions have also helped to significantly reduce the tension in my neck, shoulders and lower back." - Kelly, Quincy, MA

"I have had chronic lower back pain for many years, and found the Embodyment treatment by Debbera to be respectful, subtle, and soothing.  The feeling afterwards is like after a deep nap or meditation; relaxed, calm and rejuvenated." - C. Hayes, Dorchester, MA

"Who would think that just lying on the floor with Debbera's hand under your back could have such an effect?  But it's true: I hobbled in and I strutted out.  Well OK, it wasn't exactly a STRUT. But I could walk again, and stand and sit, and after the pain I'd been in, it FELT like a strut." - Scott Campbell, Jamaica Plain, MA