After working 20 years at a desk, her body hurt and needed a change
Brooke Strickland
For ClarkCountyToday.com
VANCOUVER — When Moriah Diederich discovered holistic yoga, her life changed.
Diederich had worked for 20 years at a desk and over time, her body hurt. She used to wake up in the middle of the night with hip and shoulder pain and it was difficult for her to walk the dog.
“I had to take baby steps from my car to the office because my hips hurt so badly – and I was only 36 years old,’’ Diederich said. “Although massage, chiropractor, and acupuncture visits helped, the pain was persistent. Yoga, which I had been practicing since 2002, had always provided me relief.’’
Diederich decided to research yoga therapy and wanted to see if there were one-on-one yoga sessions that she could participate in to help with her chronic pain. She signed up for a local private holistic yoga therapy session and in that first session, she realized how it was going to change her life.
“I learned new ways to move and breathe and the aches and pains I had been so debilitated by quickly began to subside,” says Diederich.
After working with Annie Adamson of Yoga Union in Portland, Diederich decided to change career paths and study alongside Adamson so she could start helping others. After two years of training, she is now a certified holistic yoga therapist and registered yoga teacher with 500 hours of training.
At the beginning of January, Diederich took her career to the next step and opened her own business, Yoga Mojo and Movement Therapy, in Vancouver. She says owning a local business that is centered around her passion for yoga and movement is a dream come true. She explains, “I opened this studio because I wish I’d known sooner what I know now. I want to help people better inhabit their own bodies and learn mindful ways of moving and breathing that can help transform their lives.”
The studio is unique in that it only offers private, one-on-one sessions to meet clients where they’re at. Diederich believes this is a great benefit, especially for those who are interested in doing yoga, but are intimidated by group classes or are simply limited by their physical capabilities.
Diederich says, “I’m not interested in having my clients put their foot over their head, but I do want them to be able to carry the groceries, play with their kids and tie their shoes with ease.”
Because each person’s body is different, each session is customized to the client. Diederich and her clients spend time talking about the overall goal of each session, so they leave the studio with the wisdom and power to help their bodies heal.
Diederich shares that it’s common for people to limit their movements without even knowing it. Maybe it’s from sitting all day at a desk or because moving causes discomfort, but over time, the body begins to adapt to non-movement by tightening muscles.
“It can be a vicious cycle – we reduce movement because we hurt but then our bodies hurt because we’re not moving. The phrase ‘use it or lose it’ really is true,” says Diederich. “I work with my client to help ease these pains. I look at how they’re walking, sitting, standing, and picking things up to see if there are any postural and movement patterns we can learn from. And knowing how busy life is, I can teach them how to manage stress through self-care techniques, breath work and restorative yoga.”
Yoga Mojo and Movement Therapy is located at 108 SE 124th Ave. in Vancouver. Learn more on their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/YourYogaMojoTherapy and on their website at: https://www.youryogamojo.com/.
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