What is Yoga Therapy?

The number of people doing yoga, specifically for therapeutic reasons, is rising. More and more doctors and healthcare practitioners are recommending yoga to complement usual medical care. The rise of the popularity of yoga in America, for example, is clear.

According to a large survey released in January 2016, the number of Americans practicing yoga has increased from 20.4% in 2012 to 36.7 million. This is an enormous number, and it has significantly increased. Yoga is also being supported by scientific research for various health conditions.

Yoga is showing promising results for conditions such as low back pain, arthritis, depression, and cancer. Yoga is proving to be therapeutic for many people.

What is a Yoga therapist?

I am a Yoga Therapist. I’m not a physical or psychotherapist. Yoga therapy has emerged as a field due to the popularity of yoga and its effectiveness in healing. Most often, I am asked: “Since yoga can be therapeutic, isn’t all yoga yoga therapy?”

I would say that chatting with my best friend on the phone can be therapeutic, but it doesn’t mean that she practices psychotherapy. Yoga therapists are trained in a specialized field.

Yoga teachers usually need to train for 200 hours. A minimum of 1000 hours is required to become a yoga therapist. Yoga therapy is also usually done in small groups or one-on-one with people who have similar life circumstances or conditions. A group of people suffering from anxiety or depression, for example, may attend an eight-week course with a yoga teacher who adapts the practice to their needs.

A highly qualified therapist must adapt yoga therapy. Research reveals that despite the hype in the media about yoga therapy, it is safe for people with compromised health. This is especially true when comparing the therapeutic class with a more intense general class.

What Can You Expect?

Yoga therapy is a form of therapy that relies heavily on the therapeutic relationship, just like psychotherapy and physical therapy. This requires deep listening and tailoring your practice to what you hear.

Yoga therapy does not limit itself to just the physical or psychological. It uses traditional yogic methods to examine the entire person. It may be that we look at the koshas or layers of ourselves, which include the physical, emotional, spiritual, wisdom, and energetic parts of us. In yoga, energy (also called “prana”) is also measured in terms of chakras or vayus.

Yoga therapy addresses our pain and suffering at its root, which is often subtle and deeply rooted.

You can expect to:

This is a thorough assessment of your medical history and your physical, mental, and spiritual needs.

Analyze your breathing, posture, gait, and different yoga poses.

Choose and adapt physical poses to your needs.

Relaxation, breathing, and meditation are all part of relaxation.

Yoga homework (just like magic, it takes practice to make the magic work).

Have you attended a yoga session? What did you gain from it? Comment below to share your experiences with the community!