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Yoga therapy is the application of yoga to health problems. While general yoga can help with some ailments, specialist yoga therapy is needed for others. This is important not only because yoga therapy can be more effective than general yoga for such ailments but it is safer. Certain conditions can be exacerbated by general yoga.
What is Yoga Therapy? - please read on for a deeper exploration of this emerging field.
Yoga has a great wealth of practices that can be drawn upon for health purposes. This enables yoga therapists to select practices which are appropriate for different ages and conditions. In their hands yoga is safe and effective for children and old people, as well as for those in the middle age range. It can also be of great benefit for pregnancy and childbirth.
There is no need to be fearful of yoga if you have never tried it before. The commonly-seen pictures of difficult yoga postures are misleading. Yoga therapy can be beneficially utilised by people with no prior experience of yoga, as well as by those with years of yoga experience. Yoga therapists adapt the practices to each person’s level of health, fitness, flexibility and prior experience of yoga.
Yoga is a ‘mind/body’ system. It works at both mental and physical levels, aiming to foster harmonious functioning of the whole person. Just as mental actions affect the physical body through psycho-somatic processes, so physical actions affect the mind through somato-psychic processes. Accordingly, yoga therapy utilises the following broad range of physical and mental practices:
Simple yoga postures gently stretch and strengthen muscles, improving mobility, flexibility, respiration, circulation, digestion and elimination. These consist of both simple movements and held postures, which promote a general sense of health and well being.
Breathing is at the interface between body and mind. It continues automatically from the moment we are born to the moment we die without a break. It is, however, constantly being influenced by our emotions and activities and (unlike heart beating) we can consciously modify it. Yoga therapy uses simple breathing practices to help harmonise body and mind, manage stress, and reduce energy blockages which are often associated with health problems.
Learning how to relax is another central element of Yoga Therapy. Relaxation is the body’s way of recharging, and helps to ease physical and mental tension. Yoga therapy uses very effective relaxation techniques, which can often be of great help in the relief of stress and renewal of energy. They can also help in the management of pain.
Meditation can help one step back from the pressures of daily life and look objectively at one’s habitual patterns of behaviour, enabling one to cope better with situations that put the body and mind under strain. The two most-widely-used meditation practices in yoga therapy are ‘mindfulness meditation’ and ‘emotion culturing’. In mindfulness meditation one gets to know oneself by observing one’s thoughts and emotions without judging them. In emotion culturing one explores the reduction of fear and other negative emotions by replacing them with positive emotions. Negative emotions often play a part in the perpetuation of health problems.
Yoga therapy is provided by yoga teachers who have undergone additional training in anatomy, physiology, pathology and the application of yoga to medical conditions.
If you are looking for modern, evidence-based yoga therapy training, CPD, or therapeutic resources, please visit The Minded Institute.
It is important to choose a yoga therapist or specialist yoga teacher to suit your condition. The Minded Institute maintains a database of highly skilled yoga therapists where you can find a yoga therapist near you.
We can, also, recommend yoga therapists and teachers for other health problems but not in such a precise manner, as for low back pain.
Yoga therapy normally starts with an assessment of your condition. This enables your yoga therapist to co-craft a suitable course of action in conjunction with you.
