About- Dragonfly Wellness, Holistic Counselling & Yoga

About

Meshing yoga and psychotherapy and counselling, comes as much from my own personal experience with healing and seeking wholeness, as it does from professional training or “book learning”. And, as personal growth and development is an ongoing, lifelong process, I continue to practice yoga, seek counselling and “work” on myself.

My interest and expertise in psychological approaches and physical fitness to help people be their best goes back several decades; my passion for the therapeutic and lifestyle dimensions of yoga that complement and enhance conventional psychotherapeutic counselling and fitness training is a decade old.

The Dragonfly Wellness approach is not just yoga, or yoga therapy, not just psychological intervention – it is a holistic integration of both… and more.

Susan Dakin

Susan Dakin, PhD

M.A. in Counselling Psychology, Diploma in Yoga Therapy

Therapist/Instructor

Susan has more than 25 years of experience in the Health and Wellness field. She has work experience in occupational health, recreation therapy, kinesiology and sport, as well as environmental health, nature therapy and sustainability, and in yoga teaching, psychotherapy, counselling and life coaching. Susan has lived in Lethbridge, Alberta for over 15 years. In Lethbridge, she has assisted people of all ages and backgrounds through counselling at South Country Treatment Centre, Lethbridge College, and Victoria Park High School. She has also taught yoga classes at Yoga Rituals and South Country Treatment Centre.

Education

BSc (Kinesiology and Psychology)

MA (Counselling Psychology), Registered (provisional) Psychologist

PhD (Environmental Studies)

Diploma in Yoga Therapy, Yoga Vidya Gurukul, Nasik, India

Yoga practices for mental and physical health conditions. YVG is affiliated with the University of Pune and the yoga therapist designation is recognized internationally.

Registered Yoga Teacher Training RYT (200 hrs) Lethbridge, Alberta

LifeForce Yoga® Practitioner (taken at Kripalu Centre for Yoga & Health, Albany, New York)

LFY is a practice encompassing not only asana, but other limbs of yoga – mantra, mudra etc. to help access inner resources to manage / accept one’s mood – depression and anxiety.

Emotional Fitness Life Coach

With the aim of inner balancing, emotional fitness development, consisting of nine inter-related processes, has as its core the recognition that people have their own answers to their own questions.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Dragonfly Wellness Approach

The Dragonfly Wellness approach recognizes two realities:

What we usually think of as “separate” – our mind, body and spirit – are actually inseparable. So in “treating” mental or psychological ailments we need to consider Body as well. And in treating the Body, we need to look to the Mind and Spirit as well. A holistic view of healing is necessary, using an integration of approaches, techniques, interventions.
We each have internal resources, body wisdom and intuition (inner knowing) to heal ourselves – we may just need assistance accessing them and using them to move through obstacles or limitations to uncover our Best Selves.