Never Above You.
Never Below You.
Always Beside You.
— Walter Winchell
SYLVIA PESKE PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES
This quote relays an important message. It represents my mission, values, and perspective on my relationship with others. I see all of us on a journey together as equals. I may have background and knowledge regarding how our brain and psyche interact, but you are ultimately the expert of your life. Your experiences create unique perceptions and responses to situations and events. I see my role as a facilitator to help you discover and reconnect to your sense of self and that all-knowing part of you. This process can foster personal clarity, relief, and empowerment. We have limited control over others and external events but we can take control by deciding to venture inward to discover and learn how to communicate with our innate wisdom for healing and wellbeing.
This portion of therapy, Yoga for the Brain, helps you learn introspective mindfulness so you may uncover pieces of your true self and situation. Integrating the wisdom of body-based yoga into psychotherapy, Yoga for the Brain offers a unique approach that nurtures mental flexibility, strength and inner harmony.
This approach will challenge you to be honest with your true reality and work towards manifesting your authentic life. My ultimate goal is to help you uncover and tap into your full potential.
I am pleased to offer Yoga for the Brain modules as a supplement to one-on-one therapy with clients to save time and money in actual therapy sessions. These modules are also available to those wanting their own independent self-paced exploration and self-development process.
YOGA FOR THE BRAIN HAS TWO PARTS:
SELF-SEEKERS AND SELF-HEALERS.
Here, you will begin your journey of self-exploration, cultivating introspective mindfulness and gaining a deeper sense of your true self and the intricacies of your life. This starts by looking at how your personal values impact the decisions you make and guide how you show up in various life aspects, including relationships, work and even conflict. This self-seekers phase provides the necessary foundation to uncover hidden aspects of your being and helps to expand your internal and external resources for coping with stress and emotional discomfort, which also sets the stage for EMDR processing in the self-healing phase of Yoga for the Brain (currently in development) or in one-on-one sessions with Sylvia.
INSIDE SELF-SEEKERS:
Values
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Values are our guiding compass on our life’s journey. A deeper exploration of your values, both authentic and strategic are necessary for understanding how you show up in your relationships, your interactions, your emotional responses, etc. whether pleasant or not. Most of us make assumptions about values without truly understanding how they influence our life experiences. In Yoga for the Brain, you will begin to explore the difference between your authentic and strategic values.
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Approximately 30 minutes of video instruction.
Why are values important?
What kind of values are we talking about?
Important considerations for assessing values.
Values assessment.
Determined values.
Making sense of your values - Educational Video.
Values in Action.
High Priority Actions (HPAs).
Bringing it all together.
Up to two Live Q&As with Sylvia to support activity completion ($175 value).
One activity community debrief and integration session with Sylvia (60 to 90 minutes based on the number of attendees - $375 value).
This module is supplemented by a downloadable 30-page workbook designed to be your companion.
Resourcing
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Embark on your transformative journey by equipping yourself with essential resources, much like filling your backpack for an adventurous expedition. Yoga for the Brain will help you access a wide range of internal and external tools that help you find balance amidst challenging experiences. The program will explore the current contents of your backpack and equips you with additional resources for comfort, nourishment, and support along the way.
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Approximately 73 minutes of video instruction.
Resources Introduction
What are Resources?
How breath impacts us.
Diaphragmatic Breathing.
Pelvic Floor Muscle Technique.
Basic Bioenergetic Breathing.
Safe Space.
Safe Place install.
Safe Place practice.
Lightstream.
Container.
Self-care.
Totem intro & prep.
Totem resource.
Practice for installation
Wrapping up & integrating resources.
Up to two Live Q&As with Sylvia to support activity completion. ($175 value)
One activity community debrief and integration session with Sylvia (60 to 90 minutes based on the number of attendees - $375 value)
This module is supplemented by a downloadable 53-page workbook designed to be your companion.
Life Inventory
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Shed light into the corners of your existence, unveiling the hidden stressors, pressures, and expectations that shape your journey. The Life Inventory will help you gain clarity on the areas where you feel both support and challenge and provide you with a platform to align your conscious understanding of your values with your lived experience. Define your challenges with precision, uncovering the pieces of your life that beckon for healing, growth and transformation. Whether you embark on the Self-Healers process or seek guidance from other valuable resources, The Life Inventory empowers you to chart a course toward a more fulfilled and authentic life. Embrace the opportunity to take charge of your narrative and shape a future aligned with your deepest aspirations.
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Aproximately 15 minutes of instructional videos to support you through the reflective Life Inventory exercises.
Life Inventory introduction.
Initial Life Inventory assessment.
Spiritual.
Mental.
Vocational.
Financial.
Family.
Social.
Physical.
Environment.
Closing Life Inventory assessment.
Integration your Life Inventory.
Up to two Live Q&As with Sylvia to support activity completion. ($175 value)
One activity community debrief and integration session with Sylvia (60 to 90 minutes based on the number of attendees - $375 value)
This module is supplemented by a downloadable 124-page workbook designed to be your companion.
Integration
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My approach emphasizes the integration of mind, body, and spirit, inviting you to explore the depths of your being and harmonize the various aspects of your life. Integration is the action step that propels your healing journey forward. It’s about taking the valuable insights gained throughout this process and putting them into meaningful practice so that healing and growth can permeate every aspect of your life with lasting change.
We embrace the understanding that we are all fellow travellers on this journey of life, with unique experiences and perspectives. When we come together in community, we risk vulnerability, and in exchange for that vulnerability, we open our hearts to the collective power of compassion, innate wisdom, healing and love. You get to decide how much you are wanting and willing to risk as we navigate the path of healing together.
Seeking
To be truthful I must do more
than speak words true.
I must also
hear truth, be open to truth,
receive truth, act upon truth,
that truth — difficult, painful,
searching around me,
within me,
else my life mistaken
seeking to honour
my very
own truth.
Yasmin Shaheen Jaffar
* Currently under development. *
Once you have completed Self-Seekers, you will have begun developing the necessary self-awareness, resilience, resourcing, and readiness to embrace the therapeutic journey of Self-Healers. This advanced segment is designed for individuals ready to dive deeper into their healing journey and integrate the powerful modality of Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. EMDR is renowned for its ability to facilitate the resolution of traumas and emotional wounds.
INSIDE SELF-HEALERS:
EMDR
Processing Sessions
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Welcome to the world of EMDR processing, where healing awaits. This powerful therapeutic approach delves deep into the realms of your experiences, emotions, and memories. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) unveils the intricate layers of your being, helping you understand how past events impact your present. With a compassionate facilitator by your side, you will embark on a profound exploration of your inner landscape, uncovering the hidden pathways to healing. Through bilateral stimulation, EMDR facilitates the reprocessing of distressing memories and helps you unlock resilience and growth. Embrace this empowering method that harmonizes mind, body, and spirit, as you embark on your transformative journey towards healing and wholeness.
Integration
-
My approach emphasizes the integration of mind, body, and spirit, inviting you to explore the depths of your being and harmonize the various aspects of your life. Integration is the action step that propels your healing journey forward. It’s about taking the valuable insights gained throughout this process and putting them into meaningful practice so that healing and growth can permeate every aspect of your life with lasting change.
We embrace the understanding that we are all fellow travellers on this journey of life, with unique experiences and perspectives. When we come together in community, we risk vulnerability, and in exchange for that vulnerability, we open our hearts to the collective power of compassion, innate wisdom, healing and love. You get to decide how much you are wanting and willing to risk as we navigate the path of healing together.
WHO IS
YOGA FOR THE BRAIN
FOR?
Have you ever felt lost in your life’s journey and ever wondered about the meaning of it all? Has the mundane, boredom, depression, anxiety, illness, and disease left you questioning if this is all there is or if there is more? I mean… there’s got to be more, right?
Most of us can relate. We move through life on autopilot, making decisions without trusting our inner compass which will ultimately lead us off course.
My Yoga for the Brain approach is for:
Self-seekers and self-healers who may be feeling a lack of meaning or are feeling lost on their life’s journey.
Individuals who are looking to integrate mind, body and spirit.
Those who understand that their depression, anxiety, illness or disease is not a condition to treat as much as it is a feedback process of information that guides our daily life experience towards authentic living.
Individuals who already have a sense of awareness of their mental health - where they are right now.
People who are feeling isolated or alone, or disconnected from community.
Those who are willing to show up, look deep within and do the work.
BRENE BROWN (Image sourced from Wikipedia)
“Vulnerability is the core of shame and fear and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it is also the birthplace of joy, creativity, belonging and love.”
HOW DO I KNOW IF
YOGA FOR THE BRAIN
IS RIGHT FOR ME?
Assess whether you feel mentally prepared and engaged to participate in your healing process. Are you willing to take ownership of your mental well-being? Be honest with yourself. In your truth, are you ready to commit to your healing and hold yourself accountable?
Reflect on your readiness to face difficult emotions head-on. You will be provided with resources for coping in the initial Self-Seekers phase of my approach since EMDR processing can trigger uncomfortable feelings and emotions. Do you feel open and motivated to begin? It would be natural to feel somewhat anxious and afraid. Are you ready to hold a space for your uncomfortable emotions and fears?
Recognize and acknowledge any limitations and judgements you may hold while also being open to releasing them to create space for self-reflection, participation and full integration. What are you afraid of? What judgements are you holding? To quote Brene, “Shame needs three things to grow exponentially in our lives. Secrecy, silence and judgement.” Shame and vulnerability go hand in hand. To break shame, we must embrace vulnerability and release judgements. Vulnerability is necessary to achieve authenticity. Being honest with yourself and sharing your experience is fundamental for true well-being. Brene Brown puts it all out there in her short video below.
Overall, your decision to participate in therapy with me will be based on your level of mental readiness, willingness to face challenges, and openness to growth and change.
The Power of Vulnerability:
Meet your facilitator,
Dr. Sylvia Peske
Life's journey is a tapestry woven with both joy and pain, but it is through our struggles that we discover our true selves and find our purpose. Dr. Sylvia Peske, a compassionate and insightful psychologist, has embarked on a remarkable path of self-discovery, transforming her own wounds into a source of healing for others. With her innovative approach, Yoga for the Brain, she invites individuals to embark on their spiritual journey of self-exploration and growth.
Dr. Peske's own journey began with childhood experiences that left her with emotional voids, where she felt compelled to suppress her true Self in order to be loved and accepted. The rejection her authentic Self felt as a child and throughout most of her life led to some very strong and negative belief systems and conditioned responses that have remained the focus of her life to heal. The particulars of her situation led to deep feelings of loneliness and chronic states of depression as she navigated through unsatisfying relationships, meaningless jobs, health challenges, and identity crises. In her mid-20s, she reached a critical juncture that demanded a reevaluation of her life and a reconnection to her authentic values and her purpose. It was during this challenging time, guided by her deep desire to assist others in their healing journeys, that she embraced psychology as her calling.
Dr. Sylvia Peske earned her Doctorate of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology from the University of Alberta in 2014. After establishing a successful psychotherapy practice in Spruce Grove, Alberta, she returned to her home province of British Columbia and currently resides in picturesque Peachland. She offers both in-person and virtual services according to clients preferences and her location.
Drawing from a rich background of therapeutic approaches and working with diverse client populations, she recognizes that wounds and traumas shape all our lives. Driven by her own healing process, she developed Yoga for the Brain, a therapy approach that embraces the integration of mind, body, and spirit, empowering individuals to live authentically and find their own sense of meaning and purpose within a supportive space and/or community. This approach incorporates Eye-Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) and is rooted in the principles of spirituality, mindfulness, neuropsychology, applied physiology, and quantum physics.
Dr. Peske's approach is influenced by the works of distinguished visionaries such as Carl Jung, Dr.’s Dan Siegel, Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine, Gabor Mate, Deepak Chopra, and Abraham Maslow to name a few. Gestalt, Integrative Family Systems, Cognitive-Behavioral, Psychoanalytic, Psychodynamic, and the teachings of Brene Brown PhD, MSW, Dr. John DeMartini, Lisa Dion MA, LPC, RPT-S, Jayson Gaddis, Michael Singer, Paul Selig and more contribute to her worldview and practice.
Today, Dr. Sylvia Peske stands as a beacon of hope and transformation, lighting the path for those seeking to trust their own innate wisdom for healing and living authentically. With her warm presence, unwavering empathy, and vast therapeutic expertise, she guides individuals toward embracing their shadows, unlocking their true potential, and living a life of purpose and fulfillment.
Embark on the transformative journey and let Dr. Sylvia Peske be your trusted guide as you begin to awaken your authentic self, heal deep-rooted wounds, and unleash your boundless potential. The path to genuine self-discovery awaits, and Dr. Peske is here to walk alongside you.