From the moment you enter the peer recovery community, you will be exposed to a lot of information on the importance of self-care. At Ripple, we view self-care as crucial to a person’s well-being; provisions are written into our bylaws and provides a mechanism for anyone on our staff to take needed downtime. Your mind and body are going to be with you for life. Investing in the time you need to heal and replenish is essential. No one will ever take better care of you than you, and we want you to be around for a long time.
Peer Run Holistic Healing
Toivo is a peer-run, non-profit initiative that includes statewide classes, workshops and a center for holistic healing and stress management. Donation-based offerings include yoga, meditation, qigong, sound healing, laughter yoga, drumming, creative expression, healing arts, support groups and more. Toivo activities are offered regularly at the center in Hartford as well as in psychiatric hospitals, addiction rehab facilities, club houses, shelters, prisons, schools, senior centers, corporations, community events and conferences. Most importantly, Toivo is a community, a safe space to find support and understanding.
CLASSES
Toivo offers a variety of weekly classes. Some of our classes include:
- Breathing
- Chair Yoga
- Mantra Mornings
- Meditative Coloring
- Qigong
- Yoga
- Yoga Bilingue/Bilingual Yoga
- Yoga en Español
- Zumba
SUPPORT GROUPS
Peer-run support groups are available each week. Some of our support groups include:
- Alternatives to Suicide
- Beyond Anger and Violence
- Healing Trauma
- Men’s Group
- Nourished
- Rainbow Alliance
- Women’s Group
WORKSHOPS
An array of unique workshops are offered each month. Some of our workshops include:
- Afrikan Dance
- Drum and Dance Circle
- Forest Bathing
- Laughter Yoga
- Open Floor
- Sound Healing
- Writing Group
Various Media For Learning & Relaxing
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment – By Eckhart Tolle
The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are – By Brené Brown
52 Small Changes for the Mind – By Brett Blumenthal
The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have – By Mark Nepo
You Can Heal Your Life – By Louise Hay
Man’s Search for Meaning – By Viktor E. Frankl
TED Talk – Eleanor Longden: The voices in my head
To all appearances, Eleanor Longden was just like every other student, heading to college full of promise and without a care in the world. That was until the voices in her head started talking. Initially innocuous, these internal narrators became increasingly antagonistic and dictatorial, turning her life into a living nightmare. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, hospitalized, drugged, Longden was discarded by a system that didn’t know how to help her.
TED Talk – KC Davis: How to do laundry when you’re depressed
When you’re burned out, taking care of yourself (or your family) can feel nearly impossible. Therapist KC Davis gets it, and she’s got a message for anyone struggling with daily tasks: you’re not lazy. Care tasks, she says, are neither good nor bad — they’re morally neutral. Davis offers creative shortcuts and workarounds for everything from using wet wipes when you can’t manage a shower to sealing dirty dishes in a giant zip-loc until you feel up to washing them. Because regardless of your mental health struggles, you are a person worthy of a functional space.
TED Talk – Daryl McGraw: Urban Trauma Unchecked is Urban Trauma Untreated
A term commonly heard yet rarely discussed in formal settings, one the most undiagnosed problems in the world. What we can all do right now to break the cycle of urban trauma Darryl McGraw of Formerly Inc. A self-proclaimed product of his own violent and poverty-striken enviornment, McGraw will talk about Urban Trauma. Is there a way to identify this trauma, and treat it to prevent young people from making the same mistakes he and others have made? This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
