Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness: A Play Therapy Toolbox

1 CE, but not for play therapy credit

In this one-hour workshop, we will explore simple techniques for incorporating yoga, meditation, and mindfulness into our clinical play therapy sessions and into our own self-care experiences. This interactive lecture offers practical ways to incorporate therapeutically beneficial methods that are easy to learn, adapt, and adopt. Participants will come away with several tools for reducing stress and anxiety, enhancing concentration, and balancing emotions, which they can add to their play therapy “toolbox,” using both directive and nondirective approaches. The tools we will cover are appropriate for any age group and can be done without any special mats, props, or accessories.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the role of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system in our ability to create balance, ease, and heal our minds and bodies in the play therapy session.
  • Practice 2 uses of movement to create calm feelings and focus and apply them to directive and nondirective play therapy sessions.
  • Demonstrate or observe 1 breathing technique designed to keep our stress-response systems (sympathetic nervous system) in balance during play therapy.
  • Identify 3 resources useful for integrating yoga and play therapy.

Presenters

Naomi Graychase is a yoga teacher based in Bucksport, Maine who specializes in restorative/therapeutic yoga for adults and children. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American Studies and Secondary Education from Smith College, a 200-hour foundational yoga teaching credential in Hatha and Kundalini yoga, and a variety of special certifications in therapeutic, restorative, and children’s yoga techniques. She is also an NFPA-certified interior fire fighter (FFI/II). Most her work is private yoga instruction, generally in clinical or public school environments, but also with cancer patients, first-responders, and adult or teenaged students coping with chronic illness, injury, or stress. She has been teaching yoga for more than eight years and has seen first-hand how dramatically and meaningfully yoga, meditation, and mindfulness—or something as simple as a nice, deep breath–can assist with coping, healing, and resiliency in adults and children living with PTSD, ADHD, depression, anxiety, OCD, autism, pain, sleep disturbances, stress, anger, and other issues. She can be reached through her website (PeaceFellowMammals.com), by email (graychase@gmail.com), or via Facebook (fb.me/yogawithnaomi).

Sue Carroll Duffy, Psy.D., RPT-S is a psychologist working with the Passamaquoddy tribe at Pleasant Point, Maine and founder of By The Sea Seminars. She developed the Moving Stories Play Therapy Method and therapeutic stories specifically designed for the theater of the sandtray. Her latest therapeutic story is “Finding Diamonds” a picture book that encourages children to connect with nature and to express their hopes and dreams.