About Second Nature
Yoga Therapy & Wellbeing for Life

Second Nature Wellbeing for Life is based in Bloomington Indiana, specializing in yoga for therapy and comprehensive therapy for women with neurological conditions, recovering from cancer or in treatment, living with a disability or seeking support for long-term health challenges. For more than twenty years we have provided customized therapy, therapeutic rehabilitation, and neurosupportive therapies for women of all ages in Bloomington IN, Indianapolis, and surrounding areas.

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Second Nature offers common-sense, sustainable alternatives to mainstream therapy, long-term rehabilitation, and chronic pain management, yet the therapies we provide may also complement conventional therapies. Our in-depth therapies may be integrated into a client's current care and support—or be an alternative resource and means of self-care for those who wish to have a mindful, active role in their overall health and wellbeing. Rather than symptom-centric, formulaic therapy, clients receive personalized therapy and a person-centric outlook on their health, recovery and healing.

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Compassion. Intention. Learning. Knowledge. Experience. These elements are fundamental to practitioners in any healing tradition. We hope to honor and respect our role as practitioner, therapist, mentor and caregiver through these qualities. ​

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Yoga Therapy as Lifestyle Medicine

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Yoga Therapy is centered on the individual ... You. Regardless of your perceived abilities or inabilities, we would like you to experience the subtle and sometimes dramatic effects of yoga, both in body and sense of wellbeing, by providing not only therapy but a means of self-care which will endure for a lifetime. 

 

We are a C-IAYT certified yoga therapist under the standards set by IAYT, the International Association of Yoga Therapists. The concept of yoga as a therapy is not knew; however, its currently expanding role in healthcare and as a lifestyle therapy—on a global scale—requires a bridge connecting the vast tradition of yoga with those who can benefit most, but may be unaware of its scope and adaptability. We are grateful to have studied yoga therapy with Dr. Ganesh Mohan, a yoga therapist and MD trained both in allopathic medicine and in Ayurveda. He studied yoga under the tutelage of his parents, A.G. Mohan and Indra Mohan—direct students of Krishnamacharya, and founders of the Svastha Yoga Therapy System, an international yoga therapy network emphasizing whole-person wellbeing and yoga as an individualized practice. The Sanskrit word Svastha describes a complete state of balance: being oneself or in one's natural state, and healthy in body and mind.

 

Although helping others takes us into various settings—clinical, palliative, residential—the core of our yoga therapy is traditional Hatha yoga, grounded in simple yet foundational principles. The most important of these are that yoga is introspective and experienced differently by each person. Its gentle yet profound effect on the body and mind is something to be observed, felt, internalized, creating awareness at all levels.

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"Women have been yoga practitioners over the ages. But as we applaud their many achievements, we also owe it to them to ensure that Yoga which is meant to bestow us with health and well-being becomes a support in this journey and not a hindrance. Returning to the core, Yoga is not getting on the mat, but getting into the mind." __Indra Mohan

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Supporting Women 

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Compassion in health care is not a mere concept—it is an inherent facet of being a practitioner, and an integral part of healing. Simply liking and trusting one's physician / surgeon / health practitioner has been shown to have exponentially positive effects on recovery and long-term outcomes. This is not surprising: compassion goes hand-in-hand with attentiveness and empathy, two attributes which have been found to be lacking in current, mainstream healthcare. A person is a whole, not a sum of parts, therefore it is beneficial to employ a whole-person outlook on healing and wellbeing, utilizing a therapeutic approach which addresses more than ill-health and encompasses the varied aspects of life and living. Using common sense and the broad scope of yoga therapy we approach long-term health challenges as a lifelong continuum—with an effort to improve, or sustain, quality of life.

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NeuroSupportive Yoga Therapy™ acts as a counterpoise to the myriad challenges faced by women with long-term neurological conditions.  We provide one-on-one therapy with a yoga therapist who has experience with the complexities and ever-changing nuances of neurological conditions—and can adapt, change or modify each session, or as life circumstances and ability change over time. As a practitioner and therapist, we have both personal experience with, and practical knowledge of, neurological conditions: It has been a natural progression to provide yoga therapy for MS as well as movement disorders such as Parkinson's.

 

Mentoring and Lifestyle Therapy supports women through the physical and non-physical practices of yoga therapy as well Ayurveda, emphasizing stability, self-reliance, and resilience during life-changes, health challenges, and the various roles a woman may take up during the course of a lifetime. Supporting, laughing, crying, and dying with clients for over twenty years has given us a profound appreciation for people's resilience despite the ever-changing state we live in as human beings. We are equally respectful of the potential inner depth, strength, and solidity of the human spirit.

 

For many, food is a source of comfort, and yet, it can also be an addiction. Whole Person Nutrition provides nutritional guidance and counseling for wholesome, healthful eating and lifestyle habits, informed nutrition choices in specific conditions such as Parkinson's, autism, and celiac disease, as well as support for disordered eating. The relationship between food and mental / emotional state has been established by science, yet it is an age-old part of all traditions of medicine: Food is medicine! Similarly, with the mass movement to urbanization across the globe, we have lost awareness of the intrinsic relationship between nature as a sustainer, and the effects of natural settings and our environment on health and state of mind. The Nature of Yoga Therapy™ acknowledges the fundamental yet often overlooked need for the outdoors and the natural world—regardless of ability or (dis)ability.

 

Thai therapies and bodywork are still used to this day by traditional Thai medicine practitioners and are integrated into medical facilities across Thailand as a respected form of medicine and healing. We return to Thailand periodically to deepen our practice with two ajahn (master-teachers) who focus on neurological conditions and paralysis, as well as traditional Thai healing. Although we have studied and utilized several westernized bodywork methods and modalities, we have found that the basic, foundational elements for all of these are encompassed within the vast Thai medicine tradition which addresses the body and person as an integrated whole, rather than isolating a physical symptom or endeavoring to "fix" a single issue while overlooking the person connected to that particular issue. 

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Teaching & Outreach

 

As a yoga therapist and yoga therapy education provider, we endeavor to share what we have learned over time, and with experience. NeuroSupportive & NeuroPalliative Yoga Therapy™ Training as well as Yoga Therapy for Women: Live Life Well Training are provided as specialized training for C-IAYT yoga therapists, while educational yoga therapy workshops are offered to clinics, hospitals and integrative health centers.

 

Bringing awareness to the public, as well as healthcare providers, of the scope and potential of yoga therapy for self-care, healing, and recovery has been an ongoing effort. We are a contributor to Yoga Therapy Today, a publication of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), as well as providing content for YogaTherapy.Health, the sister-site of IAYT.org. We appreciate opportunities to speak on the topic of yoga therapy as a respected, globally recognized therapy, emphasizing the need for a change in how current, mainstream healthcare perceives health, treatment, and care: shifting perspective from symptom-centric to person-centric. Through educating, speaking, and writing, we are committed to raising awareness of the need for compassion in healing and providing care which is person-centered. Visit this page ​to learn more about our outlook and perspectives on care and support, health and healing, as well as published articles and topics in yoga therapy.

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How Can We Help?

English, Spanish, French are spoken.

​We welcome your interest, questions, concerns.

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Contact Us

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