Presented to staff of SickKids hospital, as part of the Mindfulness & Compassion Rounds
Message from the organizer:
Note: This is a very vital, sensitive, vulnerable, honest and emotional session of an adult recounting their healing journey post treatment. Some may find the presentation triggering. As a whole, we as a group felt it was important to share and to start to go deeper into the topic of healing a life; for all of us that give bedside care this is an important recounting. This is Part One, we hope in the near future to present Part Two where she is today and how this has motivated her to support and heal others…and to bravely share her story.
Montana is a yoga and meditation teacher, guiding individuals facing health challenges to discover their inner wisdom and healing potential. As a former childhood cancer patient at SickKids, Montana's presentation will highlight how the absence of emotional, psychological, and spiritual dimensions in her treatment led to decades of mental and physical health challenges.
Through the design and implementation of an integrative approach to well-being for herself and her clients, she has found that patients access increased agency in healing, overcome hypervigilance and fear, and discover a sense of peace with their new-found identities and in their lives.
Montana strives to bridge the gap between biomedical and integrative healing for healthcare professionals and patients alike, recognizing that these tools must be accessible to everyone. Learn more about her practice and get in touch at: https://montanaskurka.com/
Montana Skurka is an OCT-certified Integrative Wellness Educator and yoga and meditation teacher with a Masters of Teaching degree from the University of Toronto specializing in mental health education. She has over ten years' experience coaching individuals and facilitating self-care groups, providing her students with tools and supports to access their innate healing potential. Montana's dedication to this therapeutic holistic work and the mind-body connection stems from her personal struggles navigating health crises throughout her childhood and young adulthood.