What is Yoga Therapy?
Yoga Therapy, as derived from the yoga tradition of Patañjali and the Ayurvedic system of health, uses the tools of yoga to help individuals manage their health and wellbeing at any level: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual.
The tools of yoga include:
Postures: To address structural conditions, like muscular tension or recovery from injury or surgery
Breath: To optimize energy, balance the nervous system, unplug from "fight or flight"
Relaxation: To turn on the body's natural healing mechanism
Meditation: To develop a calmer outlook, which enhances immunity and longevity
Chanting: To stimulate cognitive and emotional centers of the brain, linking us to our inner wisdom and higher purpose
Lifestyle habits: To identify how our choices affect our health
What happens in a yoga therapy session?
I'll conduct an assessment to understand your background and health status, and then we'll determine the right yoga program for you, based on your unique condition, goals, and lifestyle. We'll practice the exercises together to ensure you are comfortable with them. I'll provide you with take-home materials so you can practice at home.
The number of sessions required to feel results will depend on the condition you're dealing with and your interest in continuing the process. Ultimately, the level of change and transformation you feel depends on you. As the saying goes, "Be the change you want to see!"
How can yoga therapy help you?
So many of the conditions that we deal with involve a set of common symptoms, such as pain, stress, sleeplessness, or fatigue. Yoga Therapy can help with all of these symptoms because the treatment approach focuses on the person, not the condition.
Your Structural Health: Strengthen muscles, improve balance, increase flexibility. Viniyoga is especially helpful with back and neck pain, but can address all kinds of muscle and joint issues and conditions - injury, surgery, dysfunction.
Your Physiological Health: Maintain healthy systems: digestive, cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, immune, endocrine, and reproductive.
Your Mental Health: Maintain a clear and balanced outlook.
Your Inner Health: No matter what your spiritual or inner direction, yoga can calm and quiet the mind so that you may more easily connect to your sources of inspiration.
Preparing for your Yoga Therapy Session
Most of my sessions are conducted by Zoom, which means we can work together regardless of where you live. In-person sessions are also available in the Ridgefield, CT area.
To prepare for a Zoom appointment, set up your computer or tablet in a room where you can either lie down on the floor, sit in a straight-back chair, or use a bed as your practice surface. Dress in clothing that is comfortable for moving around.
The first session is one hour and includes intake, assessment, and development of your home practice. During this session, I’ll ask for more details about your condition and history. Then we’ll explore movements and exercises to see what's best for you. By the end of the session you'll have a short practice to get started with, and I will follow up with additional materials, like a worksheet or a video demonstration.
From there, the key is practice! Any kind of change can only happen if you work on it.
Follow-up sessions are usually 45 long. The number of sessions required for improvement depends on the individual and their condition, and the consistency of practice. Many clients who practice consistently feel results within 2-4 weeks.
More about Yoga Therapy
The slide set below, published by the International Association of Yoga Therapists, describes:
What yoga therapy is
The range of conditions it addresses
How it goes beyond the "parts" to treat the "whole" being
How it differs from a typical yoga class
The training required to become a yoga therapist
How the clinical approach of yoga therapy actually works
(Click on the arrows on the top right of the slide set to advance the pages.)
OfferingTree