what is yoga therapy?
Yoga therapy is the application of yoga practices to alleviate physical and mental health conditions. Using specific practices such as movement, breath, meditation and mindfulness we can integrate body and mind. This helps restore balance, adaptive functioning to the physical (musculoskeletal), physiological (digestion, respiration, cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune), and mental/emotional systems. Yoga therapy is an empowering process for the client that promotes self-care and encourages overall well-being. Yoga therapy aligns with precise health needs of the client using yoga practices from yoga tradition and also modern, evidence based research.
yoga therapy can be used to treat:
Mental Health Conditions:
Stress
Depression
Anxiety
PTSD
Schizophrenia
ADHD
Eating Disorder
Addiction
Post-Natal Depression
Physical Health Conditions:
Back Pain
Musculoskeletal problems
Diabetes
High Blood Pressure
Parkinson’s
Asthma
COPD
Cancer
HIV
Osteoporosis
Alzheimer’s
Brain Injury
Multiple Sclerosis
Autoimmune Diseases
IBS
Obesity
Heart Disease
Insomnia
Arthritis
Long Covid
“Yoga therapy is a self-empowering process, where the care-seeker, with the help of the Yoga therapist, implements a personalized and evolving Yoga practice, that not only addresses the illness in a multi-dimensional manner, but also aims to alleviate his/her suffering in a progressive, non-invasive and complementary manner. Depending upon the nature of the illness, Yoga therapy can not only be preventative or curative, but also serve a means to manage the illness, or facilitate healing in the person at all levels.”
— TVK Desikachar (one of the great masters in yoga therapy from the 1900’s)