More information on our Yoga Page.

“Yoga is a holistic approach to life, which helps with mind, body and spirit. Yoga asana (physical postures) require your undivided attention to your breathing, which is the cornerstone of all yoga practices,” Cheryl said.

For more information, visit our Yoga page.

Register by Feb. 5 – More Info Here.

As the health care reform debate continues to make national headlines, America is undergoing a conciousness raising around the concept of health. Good health constitutes more than just the absence of disease.  Consider the word dis-ease and open to the understanding of good health to include the following additional characteristics: a unified body, mind, spirit; a state of ever-present mindfulness to the wonder of this beautiful world; a joyful, grateful and loving heart; and finally, a life lived to fulfill ones unique purpose and benefit humanity.

Are Americans experiencing this holistic view of good health?  Does our present health care system deliver services in a way that empowers the whole human being on a path to good health?   What are we as indiviudals doing to put our health in motion to get on a right path?  If you want to cultivate this spectrum of good health, do you know how?  Read on and find out about how Health in Motion programs might be a good start.

We have all heard the cries of alarm from the medical and social research communties for years about America’s adult sedentary yet stressful lifestyles contributing to ever increasing rates of cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and depression.  Although this should come as no surprise, the cries are getting louder now as we see these same issues rapidly increasing in America’s youth.   As we sow, so shall we reap.  Following the health care dollars spent in this country annually, one will notice that the top 10 areas of expenditure consistently include not only the conditions already mentioned, but also depression, osteoarthritis and chronic low back pain.   Beyond genetics, these conditions all have very strong contributing factors resulting from an unhealthy body-mind/mind-body.

So, what is the good news?  First, we have complete control over state of mind; yes complete control.  Second, humans are designed with a biology and physiology that is highly modifiable; we get out that which we put in.   Third, humans are at the top of the animal kingdom because we the power to reason and act!   Present medical management strategies for these conditions can be greatly enhanced by an evidence-based holistic approach employing concepts combining Eastern and Western health principles and social science.  Are you ready for some right inputs to yield some right outputs ?  Having practiced physical therapy in Northern Arizona for the past 21 years, I know there are many people who should be saying YES, I am ready!

Enter Health in Motion. Health in Motion, LLC was formed by Cheryl Van Demark, PT in February 2009 to fulfill a mission of developing a well being program that would demonstrate the art of physical therapy as expressed through mindful movement practices.  Health in Motion currently provides the following programs: Joint Investors a holistic osteoarthritis program; and Yoga for Arthritis Seminar. The Joint Investors Arthritis Program utilizes an evidence-based and multidisciplinary approach to introduce the power of mind-body science in cultivating health and well being.  The target beneficiaries of the program are the 50+ age demographic in the Quad Cities who are experiencing limitations in function due to movement impairment related to chronic joint pain, muscle weakness, deconditioning and an unhealthy mind state that perpetuates this cycle.

Joint Investors Arthritis Program enhances fitness by combining traditional modes of resistive and aquatic exercise with mindful movement practices of Yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates; all of which are adapted for individuals with balance and motion challenges.  Joint Investors promotes wellness through health education on the management of arthritis and chronic pain using mind-body science combined with meditation practices.   All movement arts are team-taught with the physical therapist and certified instructors in each movement art.  Only credentialed instructors with experience working with older participants with chronic conditions have been recruited into the Joint Investors program.  A combination of large and small participant groups are used to promote peer support, socialization and improved exercise adherence.  Guest speakers from the community assist with the health education.  Yoga for Arthritis Seminars allow those participants who enjoyed the Yoga introduction in the Joint Investors program to deepen their practice.

The next session of Health in Motion, Joint Investors will be held September 28 – November 20 at The Center for Physical Excellence & The Adult Center of Prescott.  Free informational talks illustrating how this program reflects evidence-based management for osteoarthritis and fulfills recommended federal guidelines for physical activity for public health will be held at the YMCA and The Center for Physical Excellence in coming weeks.

Health in Motion programs promote “the science of physical therapy as expressed through the art of mindful movement practices”. The keystone of our Joint Investors Arthritis Program is the Mindful Movement Class. The value of mindfulness training has slowly been working its way into our American culture and health care system as research continues on mind-body medicine.

Simply stated, mindfulness is present moment self awareness without judgment in this very moment … and now again in this moment, and the one after that into an endless string of ever changing present moments. Sounds like a simple enough request! Consider however that mindfulness asks for us to cultivate present moment awareness not only of our physical actions, but also of the activity of our minds.

Mindful movement practices are widely varied, but share a common and very powerful element. They all teach us practices by which we may use our physical bodies, our motion matched with breath, as a vehicle to access the power of our mind. Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Pilates and other movement arts all ask us to learn a way of paying great attention to our movement in a way that invites unification of the body, mind and spirit. This unification is the true foundation of an optimal state of health.

The exciting and wonderful news is that each of us already has all that we need to be successful! Why? Because mindful movement practices take us on a journey through the breath back to a quiet, natural state of being. These soothing forms of movement offer us valuable tools to remove any perceived obstacles that burden or obscure our path back to this natural state of unity (body, mind and spirit). What a relief that we need not seek outside of ourselves, but instead, need to learn to look inward to begin this powerful journey toward well being.

In the creation of Health in Motion, physical therapist Cheryl Van Demark has attracted a very talented and fun group of inspired teachers who are commonly motivated to help each participant gain a direct, comfortable experience with their respective movement practices. I hope you will join us for our second session of The Joint Investors Arthritis program, which features the mindful movement arts class. Open the door to a great opportunity for self discovery and well being. Each and every one of us may begin this journey wherever we are … here and NOW!.

A new exercise program aimed at people with knee problems kicks off on April 6 at Prescott’s Center for Physical Excellence. Its organizer, Cheryl Van Demark, says it fills a need in the quad-city area.

“It’s taking all the pieces out there in the scientific literature about non-pharmaceutical ways to treat osteoarthritis and packaging it in a user-friendly eight-week program,” Van Demark said.

As a yoga teacher, she said, she sees how many people with osteoarthritis struggle in regular classes for the general public.

“They try to do right and they hurt themselves,” Van Demark said. “They don’t know how to do right by themselves in the gym and they end up thinking exercise is bad for them.”

She gave it some thought and came up with her Health in Motion program combining water exercises, Chinese martial arts, yoga and health education.

Seventy-three-year-old Sandy Swan, a Prescott resident with what she calls a “blown-out” knee, has signed up for the Wednesday arthritis health education and group movement class, which is part of the Health in Motion program.

She’s taken classes before with two of the instructors participating in the program.

“I’m just delighted to be able to hook up with the two of them again,” Swan said. In the past year she’s taken two bad falls and now wears a knee brace, which she hopes to eliminate after taking the classes.

Lack of mobility and loss of strength and balance are hallmarks of an arthritic joint, Van Demark explained.

Her program uses lots of props like blankets, straps and blocks coupled with “joint-safe” tips that emphasize proper body alignment.

“Pain can be devastating to how you move in the world and can alter your perception of how you feel,” she continued. “In these classes, you learn to feel certain body signals. People have the power to sense these things.”

Aaron Kravetz, a local Chinese Martial Arts instructor, will be teaching chi-gong and tai-chi movements as part of the program. If done correctly, the movements can be very effective at strengthening the muscles around the knees, he said.

“It’s just shy of miraculous,” he added.

The Arthritis Foundation, while not directly endorsing Demark’s Health in Motion program, says on its website at www.arthritis.org that health and exercise professionals have been identifying and developing alternative activities that people with osteoarthritis can do to improve their pain and function.

The foundation says water’s buoyancy allows easier joint movement and is virtually impact-free, making it an excellent choice for people with painful joints.

It also says tai-chi is an ancient movement practice that consists of slow, continuous movements that incorporates strengthening, balance, posture, relaxation and concentration – all of which are important elements for people with knee or hip osteoarthritis.

For more information or to register for any of the Health in Motion classes, contact Demark at 925-4388 or visit her website at www.HealthInMotionAZ.com.

8 Week Program Begins April 6, 2009