Modern Wellness...

The studio was filled with yoga mats, plants, candles and a peaceful ambiance as the women started slowly assembling in their spots. The class was taught by a friendly yoga instructor, Cheyenne Fiore, and the room was full of women of varying ages.

Fiore was teaching an integrated yoga class based on somatic healing on March 16. The class included various techniques such as tapping, breathwork, gentle movements and vagus nerve stimulation.

Fiore’s approach to the class was calming the mind by relaxing the body using a “mind-body” approach to wellness. The class emphasized on “opening the heart” in addition to deep relaxation and mediation featuring a “third-eye” massage.

Modern Wellness, a mental health service in Lynbrook, uses a combination of ancient wisdom and modern science to offer holistic services. Yoga, Reiki, mental health therapy and sound bath meditation are some of the services that are offered to improve the body, mentally, physically and spiritually.

What sets Modern Wellness apart from other mental health services on Long Island is its ability to assist clients in every way possible. The physical, mental and spiritual state of the client is taken care of and catered to at this center.

The first half of the class focused on the physical aspect of yoga in which Fiore encouraged participants to release the distress or negative feelings they might have had through breathing techniques while doing yoga postures.

The second half of the class included a deep meditation and relaxation for which the lights were dimmed and the participants lied down comfortably on the mats. Cheyenne used tuning forks for vibrational healing and sound therapy to create a peaceful setting.

Cheyenne also used oils for her “thirdeye” massage, which she placed on the participants’ foreheads and hands to smell. This was meant to create a sense of balance and tranquility.

Mind-body Approach

“The purpose of the integrative sessions comes from the holistic therapy modality- meaning that our mind can’t be well unless our body and spirit are well and vice versa,” said Fiore.

Fiore said people can release stagnant or stuck emotions that live in the body

By Ariadne Morales

through talking about the stress and moving the “emotion” out of the physical body. Additionally, meditation and breathwork is used for healing the spirit.

“The somatic healing class is essentially the same as the integrative sessions. We use EFT tapping techniques to release stuck emotions and create new neural pathways, which is why we tap while also repeating “I am” statements and “I release” statements. Next, we move the body, mainly because it feels good. Then we meditate for a good amount of time to let the positive benefits of the practice settle in,” said Fiore.

Karen Marin, a Nassau Community College student was a first-time member of the class, said she left feeing “relaxed and developed a sense of motivation.”

“The second half was much more soothing physically and mentally. I was able to absorb the scent of lavender, release all the negative energy and permit the sense of relaxation,” said Marin.

“I arrived at the state of serenity, where I was granted peaceful thoughts only. That is when I achieved tranquility. I think everyone should give yoga a try, because not only can you reach a state of peace, but you’ll be able to exit the doors with motivation. Yoga will develop our strong minds,” said Marin.

The owner of Modern Wellness; Hofstra University alumna Bianca Posa, said she suffered from anxiety many years ago and used therapy, yoga and mind body practices to heal.

“I just thought that it would be so cool to have a place that offers all of this in one, all of the things that I’ve done for myself and the first place to have the mental and the physical component,” said Posa.

Therapy

What separates Modern Wellness from others is its sense of community. After the pandemic, many people felt a sense of isolation and began working from home, which led to them not getting out as much. This means that not everyone has had or has the support that they really need.

“So having these groups, workshops, Reiki circles, it helps people to connect with each other on pretty much relating to the same issues that we’re all experiencing. It really helps people find a sense of belonging and with that support, it helps guide them to the next level that they are trying to reach in their progress,” says Posa.

“Talk Therapy,” which includes individu- al, couples and family therapy, are offered by Bianca and five other therapists. The additional physical types of services like yoga are meant to use the full system from starting with the mind and then releasing through with the body.

The Western philosophy that Modern Wellness uses is by looking at the clients’ symptoms and how they can be treated. Eastern philosophy is more of a mindbody approach and seeing a person in all the different capacities, including the mental, physical and spiritual.

“We believe the best way to overcome these things is combining both of them because those ancient practices are based on that ancient wisdom, which is yoga and meditation that people are still using today, even after thousands of years. So those practices really do work, but we believe it’s a combination of both,” said Posa.

Reiki

Reiki classes are also offered, which are meant to release “blockage” that comes from a negative state of mind. This includes trauma, stress and sickness. The goal with Reiki is to restore the energy and alignment in the body. Reiki is also used to implement the new changes that are discussed with the “talk Therapy.”

“With the Reiki sessions, that’s where we look at the person in a holistic way. We are all a source of energy, so if someone is experiencing a mental concern, something is off in their energetic system. So of course you need therapy to figure out the patterns and the past and what exactly is happening,” said Posa.

“If someone needs help with nutrition, we have someone that we outsource them to because, again, we look at a person on all these different levels. That nutrition also actually does play a part in mental health because neurons are in our stomach, not just our brain,” said Posa.

Modern Wellness has also started a postnatal support group for people who just gave birth and are facing challenges with becoming accustomed to being a new mom. With this type of support group not being offered in many places, it is very much needed for women. Pop-up classes for either pregnant women or people who just gave birth to help them along their journey are also offered.

Instagram: @modernwellnessli

Address: 500 Merrick Road, Lynbrook, N.Y. 11563 Phone: (516) 341-0097