Gray Matters Counseling & Wellness
Leslie A. Gray, LCMHC, RYT
L​ocated in the Lakes Region, NH | Serving New Hampshire
Yoga Heals
Gray Matters Counseling and Wellness, PLLC develops and facilitates mental health-based Yoga classes specially designed to address your mental health needs.
Yoga for Depression
Depression: one single word that can carry an enormous amount of weight for sufferers and survivors alike. Non-sufferers sometimes advise: just do something fun, go for a walk, or listen to some music.These are wonderful suggestions, but they aren't enough. Depression is just too complex for simple solutions. It is persistent and can be incredibly difficult to overcome.
Yoga can help your brain re-start the production and distribution of the feel-good chemicals necessary for
good mental health. Coupled with psycho education, you will begin to feel awake, alive, and ready to re-engage in life.
Yoga for Addiction
Addiction comes in many forms: alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, sex, pornography, shopping, hoarding, exercise...and it can destroy lives.
The 'drug' of choice as well as the effect on an individual's life can vary greatly from one person to the next.
This is one reason addiction can be so difficult to treat and recover from. Today, there are countless treatment programs, group classes, and activities intended to help, which is great.
But what if I told you that part of the secret of recovering from addiction isn't so much about what you're doing?
It's about not doing. Just the simple act of breathing (which you're already doing anyway) has incredible healing powers to calm the central nervous system, reduce anxiety, focus and quiet the mind, improve mental clarity, and rejuvenate the production of naturally manufactured and distributed chemicals necessary for good mental health. Yogis love when students just show up to class and breathe. Check out a local Yoga class near you and see for yourself. Do one thing and do it well. Just breathe.
The Anxious Yogi
Worry, anxiety, panic... the reasons and severity may vary but the experience is all too similar. The negative effects these have on both your physical and emotional being can be significant.
You might experience one small trigger, then suddenly your anxiety is spiraling out of control creating a piling-on of unwanted thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Yoga, coupled with psycho education, can help you manage your anxiety in a way that allows you to gain clarity
and insight as well as feel more grounded and relaxed.
Mom-Me Yoga
Stress-Less Yoga
Stress​ can ruin your day, your week, your month and to make matters worse, stress is unavoidable in life and
actually helps to keep us alive, making it annoyingly necessary. But we, as a society, have way too much stress.
And the worst part is that we tend to bring it on ourselves. Listen, there is plenty of stress in the world already.
We really don't need to go out looking for more. But we do. Yoga forces us to take time to be present on the mat, which ironically increases our ability to deal with stress off the mat. Win-win.
Motherhood is fascinating and miraculous... and at times, overwhelming. Suddenly, this tiny little human is completely dependent on you to meet their every need. The crying, and diapers, and midnight feedings... New moms often report feeling 'touched out' by all the contact. But their little one needs the physical contact for bonding and feeling safe. After all, they spent the first 9 months of their existence safely tucked away in mom's belly. Now, they are thrust into a world of unknowns.
The time spent together is so important for their mental health... and yours. Mom-me Yoga helps moms stay connected with their little ones, and helps their little ones feel safe and secure. Moms will also learn Reiki techniques they can use to help
with their babies' tummy troubles, relaxation, and sleep.