HOW YOGA THERAPY IS DIFFERENT FROM THE YOGA CLASS EXPERIENCE:

Yoga Therapy differs from yoga class in many respects. The most recognizable is that curative yoga takes place in a one-on-one setting between the individual and the yoga practicioner.

Yoga Therapy also differs from yoga class in that the yoga practice in yoga therapy is designed specifically for the needs of the individual (rather than a generalized practice for a group experience).

WHAT YOGA THERAPY IS:

Yoga Therapy, as a healing process, focuses on the individual as a whole while, at the same time, addressing a particular disease or disorder (eg. back pain, chronic stress, etc.)

Yoga Therapy is based on the notion that illness and disease are caused by imbalances in the body and/or the mind, and that when the body and the mind are brought into balance and harmony, illness is alleviated.

Yoga Therapy refers to utilizing practices associated with the yoga tradition, such as movement (asana), breath practices (pranayama), relaxation techniques, (meditation), sound (mantra), and diet (Ayurveda). These practices are employed to address a particular imbalance, whether it be structural, functional, or psychological.

YOGA THERAPY FOR STRUCTURAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND STRUCTURAL IMBALANCES

A unique dimension of yoga therapy is that it can help with not just structural (physical) conditions, but psychological and functional conditions as well.

Physical conditions: As a physical practice, Yoga Therapy can help bring the body back to a state of physical health. That can range from general structural well-being (strength, balance, flexibility) to addressing specific imbalances. For example: following an injury (whether due to repetitive, long-term movement or incident-based injury), through specific, carefully chosen movement, the injury can be brought back toward a state of health. It can also be helpful for prevention (for example, in preparing for surgery) by strengthening and stabilizing the affected area of the body to bolster recovery after surgery.

Functional conditions: As a holistic practice (affecting mind/body), Yoga Therapy can help with such conditions as hyper-tension (high blood pressure), diabetes, and auto-immune disorders (etc.) by helping to regulate the nervous system and encourage homeostasis in the body.

Psychological conditions: Traditionally, yoga is a practice for the mind. As such, Yoga Therapy is effective in addressing conditions such as anxiety, depression, trauma (see ‘Yoga for Trauma’), fatigue, fibromyalgia, and other conditions linked to imbalances in the nervous system.

NOTE: Yoga Therapy is a supplemental therapy, often and best utilized in conjunction with or after such primary therapies as Physical Therapy, Psycho-therapies, and Allopathic Medicine. A practice created in Yoga therapy is carefully integrated with primary therapies being suggested by your physician(s) or therapists.

Yoga therapy can be done with no prior yoga experience.

A practice created in Yoga therapy is structured around an individual's unique holistic qualities in order to bring back into balance both specific and systemic imbalances.

 

Yoga therapy brings healing and balance in a way that is specific to the needs of the individual - to the unique qualities that make us who we are.