Researcher, therapist and healing practitioner Cindi Saj is exploring how combining movement and therapies may impact well-being, and she’s doing so right here in Williams Lake.
A faculty member of the Master of Counselling Psychology program at Yorkville University, Saj conducted a study on Sunday, April 13 to test the theory in her recent research article on the IDEA framework, published in the International Journal of Positivity and Well-being.
Twelve people participated in the study, which began and ended with filling out a questionnaire to determine how participants’ feelings of self-esteem and well-being may have been impacted by a yoga-based therapy session.
The session was hosted at Studio 20 in Williams Lake, which she co-owns with Brandy Links and Bianca Cronin, and involved yoga, hypnotherapy, bilateral stimulation and psychotherapy integration.
Saj is now going through the data and, if the results are promising, plans to host more sessions of its kind in the future. She may even take the sessions to the studio’s new yoga dome, located out west of Williams Lake.
The dome was just recently set up and offers an opportunity to disconnect and embrace nature year-round. Studio 20 organizes small group hikes to local spots such as Fox Mountain and Russet Bluff, allowing customers to develop a sense of well-being through movement and a connection to nature. With the dome now in place, hikes – or ski trips in the wintertime – will bring customers to the dome where well-being workshops and yoga sessions will be hosted.
“It’s finding a different way to de-stress or unpack or find peace,” Saj said about the dome.
The next yoga session in the dome will be on May 10 and on May 11 there will be a workshop in the dome with a Mother's Day wellness theme. Studio 20's next hike and lunch will be on June 8.
