Wellness Education to empower you
About Somatic Healing by Astra
Astra Apsitis, M.A. is a SMC® CEI Level 3 instructor in Glen Ellen, California. She is also certified as an Ayurvedic Practitioner, Functional Behavior Analyst, and is an E-RYT500 Hatha Yoga Instructor. Astra genuinely loves helping people make the vital mind-body connection and empowering them to heal themselves.
Astra's journey with Clinical Somatics started in 2019 when she discovered this life-changing practice during her yoga training. With years of potential sciatic pain due to degenerated discs and two car accidents, she found relief she never thought possible through Clinical Somatics.
As she began regularly teaching yoga, she discovered a mix of tension and weakness from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome that resulted in an 11% disability rating 30 years ago. It left her unable to hold her body weight and build strength in her shoulders. Clinical Somatics exercises allowed her to release the tension and find a new way to engage weaker muscles.
She's learned that while trying to remedy this through traditional yoga, she overstretched the tendons and ligaments of her upper body. Astra maintains a daily practice of Clinical Somatics and incorporates strength training in small doses.
Astra honed her skills while working for a group of pain clinics in Central California, daily serving a steady stream of injured workers as part of a Functional Restoration team. She has used her own experience in healing chronic pain to understand the plight of others who are suffering. Driven by the desire to better help others, Astra became a certified Clinical Somatics exercise instructor. Her journey started with the realization that traditional yoga doesn't always work for people with serious back, knee, or shoulder issues.
Along the way, Astra developed her business, Somatic Healing by Astra, to reach people without access to pain clinic programs and those needing a tailored approach. Her focus is a unique combination of Clinical Somatics, Kriya Yoga, and Ayurveda—a holistic approach that can bring lasting changes to your movements, thoughts, and breath.
Acknowledgements
& Gratitude
My inspiration for this work was the life and example of my greatest teacher, Baba Hari Dass. His silence, selfless love of all beings, and dedicated service inspired a deep shift in me – his teachings have guided me on my yogic path to finding inner peace so that I may serve all beings in the same spirit.
Other teachers who profoundly impacted me include Brian Gray (Rudolf Steiner College), Orland Bishop (ShadeTree Multicultural Foundation), Kamalesh Hooven (Mount Madonna Institute), Yashashree Mannur (Shubham Ayurveda), and Dr. Ganeshan, student of Swami Rama (Sadhana Mandir, Rishikesh).
I am forever grateful for the lessons they taught me that had no words. They helped my find my self. Jai Gurudev!
Hare Om
