Yoga therapy

 

What is yoga therapy?

This method of therapy uses various yoga postures, meditation techniques, breathing exercises and guided imagery to improve both your physical and mental health. It is a holistic approach that helps integrate your mind, body and spirit. 

 

What is it used for?

Yoga therapy has been proven to help maintain both physical and mental well being. It has also established itself as a treatment for depression and anxiety. In Western countries, this approach has also been used as a stress management technique. It is also known to increase energy. 

 

How does it work?

What you must remember when you choose this therapy is that though it is a good therapeutic tool, it is slow medicine. It is generally advised to start with lower intensity exercises and then ramp up the intensity slowly. 

Meditation helps you focus your thoughts on one place and lets you focus on the present moment. 

A study done by the National Health Service, UK proved that breathing exercises can help reduce depressive symptoms. 

 

The difference between yoga and yoga therapy?

The main difference between the two is that yoga therapy is done under the guidance and the presence of a Yoga therapist, who is a licensed individual. The Yoga Alliance (YA) and the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) are two separate nonprofit membership trade and professional organizations for yoga teachers and yoga therapists, respectively. Their voluntary registries recognize teachers and schools who’ve received a certain standard of yoga and yoga therapy teacher training.

Given below is a short video explaining the same: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPz0mWtZRBE

 

What makes it therapeutic? 

A yoga therapist applies the techniques of yoga with knowledge about a specific problem, experience, and intuition to help alleviate that problem (whether it’s physical, mental, and/or spiritual). The physical tools used by yoga therapists can be different from the traditional props used in most yoga classes.

 

The pros and cons of Yoga?

Pros-

1. It is a natural detoxification process.

2. It helps increase strength and flexibility.

3. It relieves stress. 

4. It works on the whole body. 

5. It can help integrate your mind and body. 

6. It can help you to manage your emotions. 

 

Cons-

1. It can be hard to find what is the best fit for you.

2. It requires time.

3. It may be expensive for some. 

4. It may not be available near you
 

Here are a few articles that talk about the benefits of Yoga therapy:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193654/

2. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-benefits-of-yoga

3. https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/yoga-therapy

 

Here is some of our personal music recommendations you could listen to while practising Yoga therapy:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvCQHM3kA6Q

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDXHcR5AL6E

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luRkeDCoxZ4

 

Here is a video for you, if you want to give this therapy a try at home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8C0zzT5l0M

 

If you are still not sure whether this is the right fit for you, we have a Yoga App that you could download (completely free of cost) to try it out for yourselves:

Simply Yoga- This app keeps it simple with just a few routines and multiple poses. Choose from a 20, 40, or 60-minute workout, or master more than 30 yoga poses with helpful audio and video instruction.

Available on both Playstore and AppStore

Cost: Free

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