Embodied Healing

12/23/2025

May this holiday season bring you the gifts that truly matter ❤️

12/18/2025

Sharing this because it made me smile 😊 To all my fellow Rudolph’s out there, keep shining bright!!!

12/15/2025

The holiday season can worsen untreated mental health issues for many people, especially unresolved trauma & loss. The good news is that pain can serve a purpose by guiding us towards exactly what needs to be healed.

Insight alone doesn’t change lived experience- it lives in the brain & body. Many people feel stuck or unable to achieve the results they want through talk therapy alone because talking cannot access the part of the brain needed for deeper healing. Fortunately, EMDR can!

We are one of the few practices on LI offering EMDR Intensives, a short term immersive experience that can offer faster results. It is cost effective & doesn’t involve adding another weekly appointment! It is inspiring to hear clients tell me “I feel like I did 6 months of therapy in a day” or “I can’t believe how different I feel about something I have carried my whole life.”
**Clients who do an intensive may continue to work with an existing therapist who I happily collaborate with. It takes a community to heal sometimes! **

We also offer EMDR within a more traditional therapy format for individuals who want evidence based results while also getting the ongoing support you may need to navigate life’s bumpy periods.

You deserve to heal in a deep, meaningful way. If you would like to learn more about our services or to contact me to schedule a free 15-20 minute phone consultation, reach out to me on my website: embodiedhealingli.com.

Holding Space,
Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT
Certified EMDR Therapist
Trauma Focused Yoga & Meditation Teacher
www.embodiedhealingli.com

12/08/2025

Grief can amplify during the holiday season for many people & weigh extra heavy during a time of year when folks are “supposed to feel the holiday spirit.” Painful emotions often feel even more painful when they exist during seasons or life periods that are incongruous to these emotions. And it often creates a deeper sense of feeling alone.

Sharing this to highlight the many different ways loss can emerge. It can sprout from death, change or even the absence of something. It can show up from unexpected situations!

Some ways to maintain a healthy relationship with grief during the holiday season:
* Simply hold space for yourself, allowing yourself a much needed cry, a slower pace, permission to say no, etc
* Practice mindfulness to emotions. Emotions ebb & flow. When grief feels really painful, remind yourself of times it’s more tolerable. It is helpful to know it won’t be at its worst forever.
* Gravitate towards people, places & things that create opposite emotions, such as connection, happiness & calm
* Move your body in a way that feels good. Listen to your gut & you can’t go wrong. If you feel stagnant, try energizing movement. If you need rest, try some restorative yoga postures.

And, remember, there are other people out there in the same boat. We can expand our self compassion practice by sending love to ourselves & others who are part of the same group.

If you or anyone you know needs support managing grief, loss or exacerbated trauma symptoms, don’t hesitate to reach out for help at embodiedhealingli.com. EMDR can help when grief doesn’t unfold in a way that improves with time. We are here if you need us!

Holding space,
Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT

11/17/2025

Join Ish*ta tomorrow for Yoga Wellness if you are seeking space where you can come home to yourself, calm your nervous system & feel restored.

To join, click here: https://www.embodiedhealingli.com/yoga-meditation

Namaste,
Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT

11/11/2025

This post honors all of the survivors who continue to show up for themselves when the work gets tough. Healing is a journey, an evolution. It’s never black & white- we cannot go from wounded to healed like it’s a switch. Noticing the shifts, gains & progress as you go can strengthen the internal resources that take a lot of hard work to achieve. When you notice positive, healing changes you can strengthen these adaptive networks by connecting to where you feel this shifts in the body when you bring them into your awareness. Let that connection feel solid. The more awareness we bring to these shifts, the stronger the connections get. Perhaps you can place a hand on your heart to drop into yourself more deeply & with compassion.

In EMDR therapy, these connections are part of building internal resources. Strengthening adaptive responses & experiences that align with your wise self is just as important as clearing out the wounds & triggers. Resources can be leaned on & internalized to stay with you on your journey. In EMDR, we use bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, or audio sounds) to reinforce these adaptive resources. Because that’s how important they are.

Take some time to notice, appreciate & cherish the signs of your healing every time you notice it. It was hard won! And it will strengthen these resources for the next time you need them.

With peace & faith in the human spirit,
Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT
www.embodiedhealingli.com

10/31/2025

A scary truth & a chuckle in the spirit of Halloween 😂

10/26/2025

October Newsletter- New Offerings at Embodied Healing! We look forward to practicing with you on the mat!

October 2025 Let's start by getting the greatest debate of the Fall season out of the way: Pumpkin Spice- yay or nay? LOL. Now that we have that outta the way.... I have been reflecting on what we need to infuse into yoga practices to support trauma recovery, mental health & resiliency. This has gui...

10/24/2025

Let’s change the rhythm of the world together!

Kindness Challenge: Sometime today, do something kind for a person, an animal or our Earth with intention. When we are present in the world with good intention, our energy reverberates outward & inward. We are all united as humans, which is getting lost in a world so full of divisiveness, and we are all responsible for the energy around us.

Kindness is simply always a good look 😊✌🏻

Sending loving kindness to you all,
Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT
embodiedhealingli.com

10/09/2025

Working with survivors of domestic violence & sexual assault has always been work that I feel deeply passionate about. It’s a human rights issue. The fact that DV is the leading cause of nonfatal injury to women & homicide by DV remains a leading cause of death to women bothers me to the core. It occurs among all age groups & socioeconomic groups. 1 in 3 women & 1 in 4 men will experience DV in their lifetime. These statistics persist.

I pursued my clinical internships at the Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence (which later became the Safe Center until sadly the agency closed its doors a few months ago, devastating 😢) when I started my career 20 years ago because I wanted to work against this horrible reality. I later went on to work there for several years, first in the crisis center then as a clinician working with survivors in the child welfare system. I continue to work with survivors because even abuse can’t break the drive to heal that exists in one’s true self.

And yet there is hope. If you are a survivor of domestic violence, either firsthand or as a witness, you are not alone. I have had the honor of working alongside many survivors in their healing journey. If you or someone you know is ready to work on healing, please reach out to discuss working together. It truly takes the support of community to heal so I am happy to collaborate with existing providers.

Sending peace,
Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT
Www.embodiedhealingli.com
If you are currently in an abusive relationship & need immediate help, please contact the National DV Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

09/26/2025

Do you ever feel like this by Friday? 🤯 you are not alone! Most folks I speak with these days express feeling stressed, like they have too much to think & worry about & are constantly multitasking. This results in physical symptoms caused by too many stress hormones in the body. If you are also struggling with trauma related symptoms or an anxiety disorder in addition to stress, it may feel like a full time job just to get through a day. Embodiment practices like yoga can bring us back to our body in the present, where we can take a breathe & ground ourselves. It has had a true therapeutic benefits to regulate the nervous system & lower our cortisol levels. We can make a significant shift in how we feel just by doing a few yoga postures, whether it be some sun breaths, a forward fold to let go, a cat cow or a powerful warrior. Take a minute to sit back in your chair & just breathe. If you need a reset, allow the space. If your heart, mind & body is telling you that it’s time to ask for help, then it’s time to seek the support you need.

If you or a loved one are struggling & are in need of treatment for PTSD, CPTSD, an anxiety disorder or feeling overwhelmed by a difficult life transition or stressor, learn more about the benefits of EMDR or contact me on my website at embodiedhealingli.com.

Hope you can have some peaceful moments this weekend,
Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT

09/19/2025

Let’s together take a moment to mindfully reflect on our self talk today. The words we speak to ourselves have a very significant impact. Some internalized beliefs are lessons learned in childhood & reinforced throughout life, further creating habitual patterns of self talk (these can be positive or negative). We are the gatekeepers of our self talk- notice what your internal dialogue sounds like. Simply noticing a thought as a judgement, or a worry thought can help us create distance from our thoughts rather than subscribe to them as facts. EMDR can also help shift beliefs that became problematic because they were branded into the mind living through traumatic experiences. For example, a thought like “I don’t feel safe” can be mindfully translated into “I am afraid right now” which then offers an opportunity to check the facts & help self soothe. EMDR can help the nervous system realize it is safe now. Our body is our home so let’s tend to it ❤️🙏🏼