Is Movement Therapy Right for Me?
Are you tired of all the chit chat and want to find a way to go deeper into your healing journey? Do you have trouble connecting with your body or are you painfully aware of your body and the space you take up in this world? Does it feel like talking just doesn’t always cut it for you? Are you stuck in your current therapy process and need some help getting deeper into your process?
Movement Therapy may just be the next step you are looking for in your healing journey!
Movement therapy is a type of treatment that utilizes safe movement and exploration to process experiences in the body and gain a deeper understanding and healing of your emotions.
Movement therapist, Natalie Makardish, BA, MA, describes it as getting our “emotions in motion”.
Whether in recovery from trauma, disordered eating, body image concerns, grief, depression, or chronic pain and illness, movement therapy offers a safe way to explore dis-ease in the mind and body and develop an intuitive awareness to what the body is in need of, facilitating release, connection and ease.
When looking for a movement therapist, whether that be a yoga therapist, dance movement therapist or other, make sure their approach feels gentle, non-restrictive or rigid, emphasizes the wisdom of the body and is focused on your internal experience (not your external looks!).
Here’s a quick guide to finding the right kind of Movement Therapy to support your recovery:
Movement Therapy helps you…
deepen your recovery
explore sensation safely in the body
build intuitive awareness
process and express felt emotions and needs
heal your relationship with your body
reclaim the joy of movement!
Movement Therapy is not…
A performance
About how you look
Focused on calorie burning or weight loss
Rule-based
Restrictive
We feel blessed to have movement therapists at Spilove Psychotherapy, specializing in yoga therapy, authentic movement, and dance therapy from a trauma informed, body neutral lens.
Learn more about one of our Movement Therapists below and call today to schedule a FREE 15-minute phone consultation to find out if Movement Therapy is for you! 484.784.6294
Meet Movement Therapist and Depth Psychology Coach, Natalie Makardish, BA, MA
Founder of Empowered Artist Training (E.A.T.) and Fit Flow Fusion, Natalie Makardish has developed unique curricula and multifaceted kinetic approaches toward empowering her clientele through various healing modalities. Her interdisciplinary background in psychology, fitness, classical dance and theater invites an invigorating perspective toward educating and healing within the fitness, dance and eating disorder recovery communities.
Natalie studied Dance, Theater and Psychology at the University of California, Irvine and went on to graduate school where she studied Depth Psychology at Sonoma State University. Her training in Jungian Analysis, Dance Movement Therapy and Sports Psychology compliments her movement repertoire as a movement specialist and mental health consultant. She has instructed and designed mindful-movement curricula for dance academies and fitness studios; facilitated therapeutic groups within intensive eating disorder and substance abuse treatment programs; and sits on two non-profit boards that provide awareness, education and resources for individuals and families who are on their path to healing and recovery from an eating disorder. Natalie subscribes to loving ourselves in our darkest spaces; embracing and shifting the strengths of our shadows and empowering our true Self through metaphor and symbolism.
Natalie’s ‘heartwork’ encourages oneself to explore the relationship of unconscious intentions and adverse behavioral patterns for a more conscious, balanced and nourished life. Most importantly, her sessions are about having fun, accessing internal joy and enjoying the given experience within and outside our body.
“Loving, caring and celebrating our body through joyful and mindful movement, allows space for self-resilience, pleasure and peace outside of our movement practice. When we move mindfully, we get our emotions in motion. When we move mindfully, we hone our intuitive awareness and strengthen our overall self-efficacy. When we move mindfully, we develop a moving meditation that synchronizes our mind and body toward individuation. When we move mindfully, we amplify our authentic self, thus we are available to feed the starving artist from within.”
- Natalie Makardish, BA, MA
Natalie was trained and resides in California, but has joined us, virtually, to support our clients through their healing processes using movement and depth psychology. Whether you’re struggling with an eating disorder, anxiety, depression or other difficulties, contact Natalie today for a free 15 minute phone consultation. If you’re interested in movement therapy or mental health coaching through a Depth Psychology approach, contact us here: