The Body Mind Being Institute offers classes focused on yoga, meditation and movement.
WELLNESS
Healing the whole person Body Mind Being Institute guides participants into a new way of living. BY ANN BYLE
// PHOTOS BY ASHLEY WIERENGA
Every event at the Body Mind Being Institute has three goals: to get participants into their bodies, to educate them and to help develop some kind of awareness or being practice. Through a variety of classes, trainings and community gatherings, Body Mind Being is reaching into the community to guide people to a new way of living. Body Mind Being hosts a wide variety of classes centered on yoga, meditation and movement, from Monday Afternoon Flow (focused on movement and alignment) to Yoga for Transformation, from Trauma Informed Yoga to Yin Yoga. There also is Sacred Soul Sundays, a free and open-to-thepublic experience of teaching, scriptures, poetry, movement and meditation drawn from the wisdom practices of Zen, Buddhism, Classical Yoga, Christianity and Bhakti. 26
“We’re a community. Before COVID-19 I didn’t realize how important that is,” said Raechel Morrow, cofounder of the institute and executive director of the board for Body Mind Being’s nonprofit arm (see sidebar). The nonprofit provides free wellness, resiliency and stress management programs for individuals, families and mental health workers who have experienced trauma. “The amount of anxiety and depression is skyrocketing,” said Morrow. “And the rate of burnout and secondary trauma is enormously high. We’re not taught how to regulate and support our internal self.” Through the nonprofit, Body Mind Being works with hospital social workers, community care and case workers, and mental health workers. It also works with Kent County Youth Services, teaching young people “that their body is their home.” Body Mind Being is staffed by practitioners with years of experience. Morrow, a co-owner, has an M.A. in depth psychology and myriad certifications in holistic health and yoga practices. Co-owner Christine Sharp is a yoga
"We want to build a community. We’re not concerned about growing an empire, but about growing souls." Raechel Morrow
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