MediYoga is coming to Tehachapi

MediYoga is a form of yoga that uses gentle postures done in a slow and controlled manner. The process of using yoga as a therapeutic tool to treat and prevent health problems was developed in 1995 by Swedish yoga teacher Goran Boll. Scientific research was conducted in collaboration with hospitals in Sweden to prove its medical value. After it was demonstrated that MediYoga reduces the risk of heart attacks, the therapy was integrated into the public health systems in Sweden in 2010 and later in Norway. Long standing research with several of the largest hospitals in Sweden and now in Norway, Denmark and the U.S. has shown MediYoga to be scientifically based. Combining modern medical science with ancient holistic tools to help us heal ourselves, MediYoga works on a physical, mental and emotional level.

Kathryn Bernardino, a certified MediYoga instructor, is bringing MediYoga to Tehachapi through a grant sponsored by Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. Kathryn says, “MediYoga is a therapeutic yoga scientifically based for those who suffer from different health related problems like stress, heart disease, cancer, chronic pain and even high blood pressure. It is suitable for everyone, including people with physical limitations. In one class you will feel a difference. It has improved my quality of sleep, I have less stress and more flexibility. MediYoga is for everyone. The very specific movements can really improve the quality of your life.”

Bernardino said she struggles with an autoimmune disease and was looking for something to help relieve stress and pain in her life. She found MediYoga at the Art for Healing Center at Mercy Hospital and was so impressed with the changes in her life she decided to become an instructor to help others. Kathryn trained under Helen Lynch.

Helen Lynch is the Educational Director of MediYoga U.S.A. She educates MediYoga Instructors in Central California and conducts research on MediYoga. She is a Diagnostic Radiology Nurse specialized in cardiovascular intervention. As Educational Director for MediYoga U.S.A., Helen Miller Lynch has educated 15 MediYoga Instructors in the U.S. For the last four years Lynch has worked with cancer patients at the AIS Cancer Center in Bakersfield. A recent grant from Kern Behavioral Health has made it possible to offer nearly 400 MediYoga classes for stress and anxiety, free of charge to residents in ten Kern County communities, Tehachapi being one of the ten.

According to Bernardino, “No one expects you to be a master yogi the first time you attend. These classes are made for everyone. You can attend these classes even if you don’t know anything about yoga. All of the instructions will be clear, so you’ll know just what to do to follow along. MediYoga works on a physical, mental and emotional level via gentle exercises and meditations that everyone can do. The combination of these tools and the order of the exercises produces a certain effect on your mind and body, something we has been verified over the course of many years.”

Thanks to a grant from Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services the following FREE MediYoga classes will be held at the Tehachapi Library, 212 S. Green St.

On Fridays from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Sept. 6, 13, 20, 27, Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, Dec. 6, 13, 20, 27, Jan. 10, 17, 24, 31.

For more information or to register, please contact Kathryn Bernardino at (661) 805-1123 or [email protected].