I have always been a seeker of knowledge and have desired a deeper understanding of the self through holistic modalities. Many years ago, I found myself in a state of imbalance and immense anxiety. Then, while living in Chicago, I came upon yoga.
It made me feel so grounded that my practice turned from a four-times-per-week practice into a journey to become a yoga teacher. After six years and 500 hours of yoga, I became a certified yoga teacher. That led me to New York, where I joined Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman-Yee for their Urban Zen Integrative Therapy (UZIT) training. Developed by Donna Karan, UZIT blends Eastern healing modalities with Western medicine to create a conscious change in health care. I am now a senior trainer with the UZIT program. I’ve traveled to Colorado, New York and Chicago to provide training, and I’m happy to call Columbus my home base for my current offerings.
Throughout my years of training and experience, I began to see a disconnect in addressing our society’s opioid epidemic. It is affecting so many people in our world, and I was trying to make sense of this crisis. Though I do not consider myself an expert on the cause of stress, I’m passionate about holistic treatment modalities to heal the effects of stress on the mind, body and spirit.
Through UZIT, Lori Bower doesn't just focus on the body, but the mind and spirit as well.
In 2017, I developed a program founded on self-care called CARE (Compassionate Addiction Recovery Experience). I developed CARE to facilitate recovery for those facing addiction and provide and promote self-care for anyone with their own challenges. For those simply seeking techniques to manage daily stresses, I have developed a branch of CARE called Compassion and Resiliency Experience that will be offered weekly at the Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany.
Every time we compassionately and consciously care for ourselves, we become empowered to manage stress. Through CARE, I teach my students that we have all the tools inside of us to find healing. CARE provides a roadmap to find these tools. Participants learn gentle and compassionate approaches such as movement, breathing, stillness, aromatherapy and other healing energy modalities. After CARE sessions, students often experience feelings of calmness, stability and relaxation. In essence, CARE promotes a deeper sense of awareness, thus returning the body and mind to its natural state of balance: a state of understanding that we are enough.
One of Lori Bower's class
My mission with CARE is to raise awareness of the stigma surrounding mental health and addiction issues, and through this guiding principle, become part of the solution. The methods employed by CARE may be alternative, but they are being embraced by the Columbus medical community through The Ohio State University Center for Integrative Medicine. Additionally, I provide UZIT at Columbus Springs Dublin and Columbus Springs East, two hospitals that focus on addiction treatment and mental health issues. I also spend two days each week providing UZIT at the Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio, and am the integrative wellness manager at the Heit Center.
Through my work at the Heit Center, I plan programs including an all-day women’s retreat that focuses on self-care, Reiki training, CARE and UZIT classes. Specifically with the women’s retreat, I look forward to spending a day with the community to share self-care techniques. I’m hopeful that participants learn not only to care for themselves, but also find the tools within them to know that they are enough.
It is my belief that, when we reconnect with this feeling of enough, not only can we heal ourselves, we can heal our community and our world.
Lori Bower is a New Albany resident. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
