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The boot prints represent my true perspective on the JoyBoots mission, which is for you to feel emotionally stable, sturdy, grounded, insulated, and supported as you contend with cancer and its residual effects … as sturdy as wearing a pair of your favorite boots.
Because joy is not pollyanna wishful thinking. To authentically get to Joy and Contentment on a regular basis (and not just for show to loved ones), you may have to trudge through the mud of a very real experience of loss, fear, and even pain. Treatment choices may be limited or unwelcome, but you decide to do it because you want a chance to embrace your life. Having a full range of emotions is healthy. This is where the hiking or work boots come in. This life requires us to move through difficulty and loss as well as pleasure and enjoyment. Nobody gets through it without a time of challenge.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the new logo. Press reply to email me. [email protected]
Even as a therapist and a yoga teacher, I found it rare to encounter tailored mental health support that really met my need for deeper healing and understanding as a cancer patient, survivor, and caregiver. It is why in 2011, I began teaching a weekly yoga class for cancer survivors in Austin, Texas. For 12 years and through the pandemic online, this class for emotional healing and health was attended by hundreds of people.
I’ve been looking for how to share what I learned and taught about emotional health, healing, and resilience that can reach people who may not have access to all the advantages of living in Austin, and that’s sustainable for me, even when life throws the inevitable curve balls.
Substack is an easy platform that eliminates the need for social media (goodbye Facebook) and lets us connect directly as a community interested in deeper healing and emotional wellness during and after cancer. I will share videos, articles, and resources specially chosen for your emotional and mental health and wellbeing. Beginning February 12, you will receive an email through Substack.
The monthly emails are free … just like this newsletter has been for the past 8 years.
You are not as alone as you sometimes feel, struggling after cancer treatment with confusing pangs of guilt that don’t make sense or feeling shut down emotionally, or any of a dozen other mixed feelings.
How do you cope with uncertainty in the world?
How about in your own life and when recovering from serious health challenges?
These days I’m counting my blessings as often as I can in between the highs and lows of family life and the uncertainty that swirls around me— as I get older, my husband continues his “break” from chemo, and my daughter enters her last years of high school.
I enjoy being in community with YOU! It lifts me up and inspires me.
And I’m excited when I see how useful the JoyBoots tools for emotional healing can be for people as they recover from cancer treatment.
Recently, I facilitated a few discussions at the beautiful Kairos Therapeutic Retreat, a new retreat program for cancer survivors that is piloting inventive, holistic tools for healing in the Austin community with an eye towards sharing with groups in other parts of the country.
A theme that came up quite a bit was “survivor guilt” and feeling, logical or not, that your survival (when others have passed) is NOT fair, not OK.
I was able to share from my new online course Healing Well: Reconnecting With Your Life After Cancer. I saw again in real time how beneficial it is for people to understand that you are not alone in these feelings and that, in fact, these “guilty” feelings may be camouflaging other feelings that are very important to acknowledge if you are going to move forward and get your life back.
My self-paced online course can be accessed NOW at the best price possible. It addresses my 6 Essential Steps for Emotional Healing. Also included are videos of my 3Ms (movement, mindful awareness, and meditation), specific for each step of your healing.
Take your time, in the privacy of your home, to get honest about the ways your experience with cancer has affected you so you can find out what is next for your healing and to keep going!
There’s more support to come soon but I couldn’t wait to share with you my best early bird special valid through April 30. Use the code HEALINGWELL25 which gives you a 25% discount through 4/30.
https://www.kellyinselmann.
Healing Well: Reconnecting with Your Life After Cancer, a 6-week online course that is for people at any stage of the cancer experience. “Recovery” and “survivor” are such imperfect words to describe who we are in relation to the disease. All the practices and the 6 Principles for emotional recovery apply to everyone’s life. If you have questions about whether the course is the right fit for you, simply respond by email and we can talk in more detail about it. It’s not for a hard sell. I just want everyone to know they are genuinely welcomed and appreciated – whether it’s right for you at this point or not.
Inspired, I’m moving forward with three new things I want to share:
I have an updated website which more accurately describes my work moving mental health forward with the JoyBoots Community. Check it out here and let me know what you think!
I’m planning launch activities soon for my new self-paced online course, Healing Well: Reconnecting with Your Life after Cancer. I can’t wait to share bits and pieces of the course in the next few months, but for those who would like the entire framework for healing and support, NOW the best price is available using the discount code HEALINGWELL25, good through 4/30/24. The course is made up of videos, written chapters, printables, exercises and plenty of experiential questions to reflect on and ponder. You can also add private sessions with me and I’d love to support your goals.
Next week I’m moving to Substack, a platform that will give us the opportunity to connect without ads and confusion from other social media. You will still get your monthly free email as usual, but now with the choice to opt-in to special extras like 3M videos (Movement, Mindful Awareness, and Meditation), live group meetings, Q & A sessions, guest expert interviews, special events and more!
Go deeper into your own healing at your own pace and privacy.
I want you to feel emotionally stable, sturdy, grounded, insulated, and supported as you contend with cancer and its residual effects. As sturdy as wearing a pair of your favorite boots.
Would you become a JoyBoots advocate by forwarding this email to 5 people who could benefit or who work with cancer survivors who would benefit? Please forward this email or click the button below to send a personalized invitation.
In much appreciation,
Kelly Inselmann. LCSW, C-IAYT, CGP
PS-Friends can also click here to join: http://www.kellyinselmann.com/
If your cancer experience challenged you on every level …
If you long for community, but not one that focuses on the details of diagnosis, medications, or all the ways to sugarcoat reality …
If you want space held for the beauty, suffering, power and sacredness of your emotional and spiritual journey …
If you’ve been cracked open …
You’re in the right place.
Dear Friends,
Physical side effects were second.
Sharing about the deep feelings and how to make meaning of it all is an area that needs more programs, from what I see as a 16 year cancer survivor and clinical social worker of 20 years.
Cancer support systems rightly focus on the physical symptoms, medical details, and linking social support. But true emotional recovery requires time, support, and safe spaces to get real about the impact cancer has had on your life and to share the deeper feelings – the ones survivors often keep hidden for fear of not seeming positive or strong. Or because they don’t want to make others uncomfortable. Opportunity for deeper healing and emotional support can often be hard to find or unaffordable.
Many of you know what it’s like to be in the infusion center, walking in with mixed feelings of trepidation and hope. That’s kind of how I feel moving into 2024.
It’s my great joy to share what I’ve learned personally and through my work with hundreds of survivors. My hope is that the online format of my upcoming courses will replicate the work I do in person — allowing me to reach more people and provide them a safe and powerful healing space.
Speaking of tools, many of you participated in the 2019-20 study conducted by Ashley Hennegan, PhD, RN, FAAN, and me on how meditation can positively impact cognitive function after chemotherapy (AKA chemobrain) and other side effects from cancer treatment. You can see the published study here.
Ashley continues her groundbreaking research into survivorship at the University of Texas at Austin and has asked for our help recruiting participants to finish collecting data. Who’s in? There’s even compensation for participating. The eligibility info can be found here.
And fellow Joybooter, Rakefet Laviolette, LPC Associate, is also offering a new Group for Caregivers. Details can be found here.
Do you know someone who should be part of our community? A cancer survivor or loved one, oncology professional or mental health professional? Ask them to join the mailing list to receive my future newsletters so we can all stay in touch and connected.
One Breath at a Time,
Kelly
JoyBoots Yoga for Cancer Patients and Survivors is back!
Brain/Body Connection is REAL!
When you experience a real or perceived threat, like being diagnosed with cancer, your brain’s alarm system gets triggered and the whole body responds in “fight or flight” mode.
What can help?
Coming into the present moment through the 3 M’s that I teach in my new course: movement, mindful awareness, and meditation.
Coming into the present moment means you leave your rumination about the past and fear of the future. What a relief!
There are 5 types of movement that I’ve identified as being the most useful for working with cancer survivors.
Can you guess what any of them are?
If you’d like to guess before peeking at the answers, send me your response here: kellyinselmanntherapy@
http://www.kellyinselmann.com/
Shifts Can Happen!
Join the Joy Boots community to receive encouragement, companionship, and support for your emotional healing through weekly videos and blogs. No matter where you are in your personal healing, with the support of community you can feel alive, grounded, centered, and joyful. Learn more about Joy Boots here.
I want to be sure you have the link to previous videos I have made for the JoyBoots community.
https://www.youtube.com/@kellyinselmann486/videos
Check out this JoyBoots Breath Meditation for Clarity and Calm.
It’s simple. Truly, you can practice it anywhere!
Let me know your experience…
http://www.kellyinselmann.com/
One Breath at a Time,
Kelly
I am certified at the highest level as a kundalini yoga teacher (500 hours) and I am a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT).
My personal and professional experience as a clinical social worker has taught me that real healing requires community. Connection is the antidote to loneliness and depression. Let’s get together!
Check out this week’s BLOG: http://www.
Learn more about my Yoga and Talk® Group programs HERE.
You may also be interested in the experience of from longtime JoyBoots Community Members:
When I remember my Joy Boots …
I feel grounded,
connected to the earth and my place in it.
I accept my body with its vulnerabilities
and the sensations felt in this moment.
I am aware of my breathing
and able to take a long, deep breath.
I am connected to the life force
and the present moment.
is the spiritual component,
both spoken and unspoken.
I also enjoy it from an intellectual perspective.
I’m pretty curious by nature
and really enjoy Kelly telling us
about certain movements …
what they are, why they help.
Or specifically things like
“This movement is really good for lymphedema,”
or,
“I do this when I’m feeling anxious.”
When I was going through treatment,
many staff members
at the treatment center greeted me
as if they knew me
vs. just another patient body showing up.
If feels like this with other class members.
I like that we know each other a little bit
and can inquire about what’s going on,
how another is doing.
I’m not sure what I was expecting,
but it wasn’t exactly this.
But I’m very happy with what I found!
I’m surprised that I actually work
at shutting off my mind in class
It’s freeing to just show up
and trust that Kelly will lead me/us
through healing movement and breath
for the next hour.
I think I have more appreciation for my body
through yoga vs. just exercising.
I’ve never been athletic or physical by nature
but I now find myself more connected
to my physical body than pre-cancer.
Also, in class,
I’ve had experiences where a one word answer
comes to me during class
about something I’m noodling over.
That’s freeing.
Finally, I find myself more interested
in meditation in general
due to the experience of this class.
If you aren’t familiar with my 6 Principles for Emotional Healing after the (let’s be frank) PTSD of Having Cancer, this podcast interview gives you a taste.
https://therapistuncensored.
Cancer sucks, no way around it. If you have it, had it or are supporting someone who does, this episode will be nourishment for you by bringing your mind and body into the healing and recovery process for cancer and trauma is so important.
Fighting cancer is often traumatic physically, emotionally and relationally.
Podcast host Dr. Ann Kelley joins therapist and Yoga Instructor Kelly Inselmann (LCSW, C-IAYT,CGP) as she shares her personal journey through cancer recovery and describes her passion and process in supporting others to find hope and healing while in this compromised state.
They discuss how modifying the six principles of emotional recovery into the basic principles of yoga can have an immense impact on well-being and recovery.
I’d love to know if and how you relate to these ideas. .. email me….
One Breath at a Time,
Kelly
I am collaborating on a research study with the University of Texas School of Nursing to measure the impact of meditation on cognitive function in breast cancer survivors.
I am an 11-year cancer survivor and live in Austin, Texas with my husband and daughter.
From Nancy … Kelly posted a very lovely article reminding us of the power of “Making Room.” With her permission, I am sharing the lesson …
Dear Friends,
When my daughter was a toddler at Montessori school, she learned many important life skills. I am reminded of one in particular.
It is the ability to “make room.”
When the children would crowd up trying to see something, start a new activity, or gather around a snack table, one child might be behind the others, trying to get in, but blocked or pushed aside. “Let’s make room for our friend,” the teacher would gently say, and the little group would part to include the new person.
The lesson wasn’t shaming, as early childhood lessons can sometimes be, depending on who is delivering it. This cue was gentle – a reminder that the space was not fixed or rigid. Everyone could fit if there was willingness and flexibility. Nobody had to be left out.
Make room.
This is not a phrase I grew up knowing. I grew up in a competitive, achievement oriented environment that did not value vulnerability. “Make room” was not something I learned. It was more like “You snooze, you lose!” “No pain, no gain,” “Finders keepers.” Of course, focusing on a goal inspires action and toughness and hard work. But the gentleness of making room for others was a tender practice for me to learn with my daughter. It acknowledges the legitimacy and right of everyone to participate. It grants the choice to be generous and inclusive.
Making room is also an important part of healing emotionally and physically from the effects of cancer and cancer treatment.
People struggle tremendously with so-called negative emotions – anger, pain, loss, fear, grief, and often are convinced that it they allow a negative thought, feeling, or sensation to have space at the table of awareness, it will take over and destroy everything. We squelch these feelings because they are uncomfortable or painful. But you simply cannot outrun (or out squelch) yourself and your experiences forever, as much as many of us would like to be able to do.
I am on a mission to encourage people to begin to make room inside themselves for their feelings, instead of attempting to repress, deny or escape them. Imagine there is room for everything to be present. Don’t feel like you have to push anything away. Imagine that your thoughts and feelings have the right to be here with you, whatever they are, part of your human experience. Take a few long deep breaths. Have the intention of spending a few moments observing and allowing the feeling to be present, just one of the crowd of thoughts and feelings. Experiment with not pushing it away for a few moments.
It is a simple, subtle, practice, this making room inside yourself. Simple, but not easy. Eventually the goal is to befriend the difficult sensation, thought or emotion, so that it’s not an enemy at the gate. But you don’t have to move so quickly.
You can begin by entertaining the idea of generously making room at the table to include a more vulnerable part of yourself, just as the children make way to include a new friend.
Kelly Inselmann, LCSW, C-IAYT, CGP
(512) 736-8990
kellyinselmann.com
[email protected]
Joy Boots for Cancer Survivors
1903 San Juan Drive
Austin, Texas 78733
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