


What is Yoga Therapy? ~an individualized practice that inspires you to be more in harmony with your true nature~ K. Ebert
- It is an emerging field that complements other healing modalities, including Western Medicine, and encompasses both health-care and preventative care.
- It teaches self-empowering practices that give you tools to help yourself on and off the mat so you can progress towards improved health and well-being. This is for anyone, no Yoga experience needed.
- It is an individualized, one-on-one approach to Yoga that works on your needs and brings you into a more balanced state of being in body, breath, mind, and emotions. It can also be done in small groups of similar conditions where each person would get an individual assessment.
- Yoga Therapists create a safe space for the client to feel relaxed, respected, nourished, and heard.
- It is about relationship – with yourself, with your family, with your friends, and with your community.
- It is a two-way street: you make a commitment to practice and take responsibility for your process, do it with good intentions and an open mind/heart; and the teacher guides you through practices you can do at home, refining the practice as needed based on your feedback and what the teacher sees from a holistic perspective.
- It is based on ancient healing modalities that have been around for thousands of years, many of which scientists are now proving, with scientific study, that Yoga works.
- It is a holistic method using the Pañcamaya model to assess the person as a whole, on all the levels of the human system as Yoga recognizes that all levels are interconnected. Pañcamaya assessment is done at five levels of the human system: physical body; breath/vitality; mental/intellect; personality/lifestyle; and emotional/spiritual.
- It brings us from a distracted or confused state of mind to a more calm and balanced state of mind.
What can Yoga Therapy help with?
- Physical pain, chronic pain, or other physical problems
- Chronic illness
- Sleep
- Emotional and mental well-being
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Infertility
- Moving through grief, trauma, PTSD
- Breathing problems
- Self-confidence
- Increase vitality
- Increase quality of life
These are just examples of the conditions. Yoga Therapy works on all levels of the human system and has something to offer to create changes in your life for healing to happen, no matter the condition.
What can Yoga Therapy do for you?
- Gives you a personalized practice that evolves over time as you change through your practice or as life circumstances change, beginning with where you are today and moving towards your goals into the future.
- Guidance on a path of self-discovery gaining clarity of the underlying unconscious patterns that we continue to repeat, that may be creating discomfort or suffering you feel.
- With dedicated practice, you will establish a better relationship with yourself and in turn gain a better relationship with your family and friends. Your life will begin on a new trajectory of inner peace and balance.
- You will create new patterns of health and well-being in body, mind, and spirit and gain clarity about your values and beliefs.
- You will have a new outlook on life that brings more vitality, joy, and fulfillment.
- You will begin to see life as your practice, and events that used to upset you – don’t upset you anymore.
- You will have a box of tools to use when something does throw you off balance, when relationships change, when you are triggered, or life circumstances change. This box of tools has been around for thousands of years, helping self-regulate and to care for yourself.
- You will gain confidence with humility, increases attention, mindfulness, concentration, cognition, increased resilience, equanimity, life meaning and purpose.
How does Yoga Therapy Differ from a Yoga Class?
- A group Yoga class is more general and not specific to you or your needs
- A Yoga teacher certification is much different than a Yoga therapist, you can become a certified Yoga teacher by taking a 200 hour training. Some Yoga teachers are not even certified.
- A Yoga Therapy certification is accredited by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) that has strict guidelines; you must be a certified Yoga Teacher certified for minimum 200 hour training, that has completed a 800-1000 hour training by a certified IAYT Therapy school, and keep up with your required continuing education and adhere to their code of ethics which has detailed enforcement provisions to promote responsible practice.
- Yoga Therapy is one on one and tailored to the needs of the client. A practice is drawn out so it is easy to follow and can be done at home. Changes are made as needed based on the progression of the client and as other things obstacles come up that need addressing.