ENLIGHTEN UP! a blogSelf-awareness stories: lighting our way to clarity, contentment and resilience in a complicated world.
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ENLIGHTEN UP! a blogSelf-awareness stories: lighting our way to clarity, contentment and resilience in a complicated world.
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![]() The History The emerging field of yoga therapy is steeped in the history and tradition of yoga, which goes back at least 3,000 – 5,000 years. One can say that modern yoga and yoga therapy began to be developed about 200 years ago when western science and medicine began to notice and study yoga. The first institutes of modern yoga began in India in the 1920s while India was under British rule. During that time, new teaching forms were brought in from the English education system, such as group classes as opposed to one-on-one study with a teacher. These were departures from traditional spiritual culture. Another change was the focus on postures. According to Mark Singleton, author of Yoga Body, “The primacy of ãsana performance in transnational yoga today is a new phenomenon that has no parallel in premodern times.” Joseph Le Page, the founder of Integrative Yoga Therapy, says that asana based yoga and yoga therapy are in many ways new creations, rather than a continuation of a specific Indian spiritual tradition. Since the 1970’s:
All of these factors have given rise to the emerging profession of yoga therapy. The Goals of Modern Yoga Therapy The current ‘short’ definition developed by the International Association of Yoga Therapists is: “Yoga therapy is the process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and wellbeing through the application of the teachings and practices of yoga.” The practice of yoga therapy is aimed at developing self-knowledge through a process of personal witnessing and understanding the self at all levels, body, breath and mind (including intellect and emotions) – and their mutual interaction. From the yoga perspective, self-knowledge is health in the most complete sense. It’s a modality that can be applied to groups or individuals with specific health challenges. The goals of yoga therapy include eliminating, reducing, and/or managing symptoms that cause discomfort and suffering; improving function; helping to prevent the occurrence or re-occurrence of underlying causes of illness; and moving toward improved health and well-being. Yoga therapy recognizes that relief of symptoms is just one facet of the healing process and that not all illness and disease can be cured. It does, however, provide a methodology to heal lives, reduce pain, and stress, and relieve physical symptoms and psychological suffering. Yoga therapy recognizes that the healing journey is unique to each individual and so selects, adopts and modifies all practices appropriately for the individual and/or group depending upon age, physical condition and ability, religion and culture. What’s the Difference Between Yoga and Yoga Therapy? All yoga is considered therapeutic but yoga therapy is yoga with a specific focus on health and healing. It is distinct from other systems of yoga where the class content may be pre-structured and the students mold themselves to the form of yoga being taught. Yoga therapy is based in creative, student-centered education, where the yoga therapists see themselves as facilitators and guides and adapt the practices to the needs of the students and clients. What’s in a Yoga Therapist’s Toolbox? A yoga therapist has several lenses through which to view their student/client’s condition or situation. These lenses are used to detect levels of stress and its effects on the body/mind, along with any underlying factors such as physical, or energetic imbalances and to suggest appropriate practices to increase awareness, optimal health and healing. They include but are not limited to:
The focus of yoga therapy is to awaken the student’s connection to their own true source of wellness because that is where true healing can occur.
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![]() So you’ve decided to make an appointment with a yoga therapist to begin dealing your issue, whatever that may be. You may be wondering what to expect. This post will answer some of the basic questions you may have and will share the Four-Step methodology for yoga therapy recommended by Integrative Yoga Therapy founder, and my teacher, Joseph Le Page. Step I: Description of the Condition/Population When you make your first appointment with a yoga therapist, they will ask you to share your reasons for making an appointment. They will take your information and do general research on your condition or issue before your appointment. This will give them background and context from both the western allopathic model (ex. your demographics, description of your condition or issue, body systems affected, any symptoms and treatments that may apply etc.) and add in aspects from the yoga traditions in which they have trained. This helps them better understand how this general information might apply to you as a unique individual. Step II: Evaluation & Assessment As the time of your appointment approaches you may be asked to fill out an intake form and/or agree to an interview to gather additional and more detailed information about what you want help with. In addition to physical or health concerns you will be asked about any stress you may be experiencing on all levels (body, breath and mind). Here the yoga therapist may use the general information they’ve researched to develop questions for the interview or intake form. As a client or student, it will be important to provide complete answers so the yoga therapist will be able to meet your needs. Here’s an example of what can happen when clients or students leave out key information on intake forms or during an interview. Early in my work as a yoga therapist, I was facilitating a therapeutic class for eight women transitioning through menopause. I gave each an intake form to fill out prior to the class and double-checked with each of them before the first class to make sure I had the information needed and that they knew what to expect. Everything went as planned until the final relaxation. As they lay on their mats, I first worked on encouraging relaxation of the body part-by-part, then moved to slowing and relaxing the breath. When I moved to a visualization, I asked them to see themselves rising from their bodies and observing the room, the other participants, the walls, ceilings etc. and then move outside to feel the air and the ground under their feet. Next I had them retrace their steps, and relax on their mats to music. When I brought them back to sitting and asked them to share their experience one woman said she’d been fine during the body and breath scan but did not like the visualization and asked that “I never do that again!” Two others spoke up in agreement. Of course, I was taken aback but immediately asked why that had upset them. It turned out that those three women experienced anxiety and panic attacks and had a hard time staying in their bodies when fully alert and that taking them out had made them uncomfortable. That information had not been provided in either the prior intake forms or conversations. When I asked them why they had not given me that information, the women told me they didn’t think it was important! So as a client it is important to share all key information about your health issue or situation to your yoga therapist. Needless to say, that going forward, I made sure to ask for this information more than once or twice! Step III: Selection of Wellness Objectives & Yoga Tools As your appointment time approaches the yoga therapist takes the information gathered about your concerns from steps one and two and develops a list of ideal wellness objectives to be shared and discussed with you when you meet for the first time. Some of the wellness objectives they consider might look like this:
From that general list your yoga therapist might come up with specific objectives such as:
Step IV: Organizing the Session/Class According to this methodology, your first session (in-person or on Zoom) will likely contain the following components as appropriate: 1. Intake/check in 2. Intention/education 3. Centering & body awareness 4. Breath/energy awareness 5. Warm-ups 6. Yoga postures 7. Guided relaxation 8. Silent relaxation 9. Breath exercises and meditation 10. An opportunity for you to give feedback Keep in mind that the yoga therapist will change or adapt their program plan on the spot depending on your needs and state of mind when you arrive for the appointment. The yoga therapist’s goal will be to meet you where you are and give you:
The amount and content of what your yoga therapist will provide will depend on where you are in your journey and what you are willing to work with, accept and integrate in any given moment |
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February 2025
AuthorBETH GIBBS started her yoga practice in 1968, four months after her son was born and she’s been practicing ever since. She currently teaches all levels therapeutic yoga classes for adults, and specialty classes for seniors in the Hartford, Connecticut area. Beth is a certified yoga therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists and is guest faculty at the Kripalu School of Integrative Yoga Therapy. She writes for the blogs, Yoga for Healthy Aging, and Accessible Yoga. Her master’s degree from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA is in Yoga Therapy and Mind/Body Health. Categories |
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Enlighten Up! a Blog
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