What is Yoga

Yoga is an ancient system that offers wisdom, techniques and practices to support physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. From the physical postures (asanas) and breathing techniques (pranayama), to guidance on living (yama and niyamas) and meditation, the aim of different yoga processes is to help a person achieve harmony and greater understanding of themselves and life.

Yoga is a science that can be effectively applied whether the practitioner ‘believes’ in the philosophy of yoga or not. It offer a wide range of tools and practices that are accessible to all, and is not limited to any age, sex, race or religion.

Essentially yoga is a process of self-realisation and discovering the true nature of things. While it may appear that yoga is a group activity, the journey itself is an individual one. And as such, everyone will have their own unique level of understanding as they progress along the path of yoga.

The benefits of Yoga

Some of the commonly known benefits of practicing yoga include:

Improves flexibility and balance: Yoga poses and stretches help to increase mobility and enhance the range of motion in various joints in the body.
Reduces stress and anxiety: Yoga practices such as deep breathing, meditation, and certain poses help to calm the mind and reduce stress.
Improves overall health: Yoga has been linked to reducing high blood pressure, improving heart health, easing chronic pain, and strengthening the immune system
Enhances mental clarity and concentration: Yoga practices promote mindfulness and focus, leading to improved clarity and concentration.
Promotes better sleep: Yoga practices can help to reduce anxiety, stress, and physical tension, leading to improved sleep quality.
Increases strength and tone: Yoga poses and sequences challenge various muscle groups, leading to improved strength and muscle tone.
Boosts self-awareness and self-esteem: Yoga practices help to increase self-awareness and self-esteem by promoting self-reflection and self-acceptance.
It is important to note that the benefits of yoga vary from person to person and depend on various factors such as the type of yoga practice, frequency of practice, and individual health conditions.

What is Yoga Therapy

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.

Yoga is a scientific system of self-investigation, self-transformation, and self-realisation. It is a tradition that recognises that the human being’s essential nature is an unchanging awareness that exists in relationship to and identification with the changing phenomena of the empirical world.

The yoga tradition views humans as a multi-dimensional system that includes all aspects of the body; breath; mind; intellect; and emotions and their mutual interaction. Yoga is founded on the basic principle that intelligent practice can positively influence the direction of change within these human dimensions, which are distinct from an individual’s unchanging nature or spirit.

The practices of yoga traditionally include but are not limited to, asana, pranayama, meditation, mantra, chanting, mudra, ritual, and a disciplined lifestyle. Yoga therapy is the appropriate application of these teachings and practices in a therapeutic context to support a consistent yoga practice that will increase self-awareness and engage the client/student’s energy in the direction of desired goals.

The goal of yoga therapy include eliminating, reducing or managing symptoms that cause suffering, improving function; helping to prevent the occurrence or reoccurrence of underlying causes of illness; and moving toward improved health and wellbeing. Yoga therapy helps clients/students change their relationship to and identification with their condition.

The practice of yoga therapy requires specialised training and skill development to support the relationship between the client/student and therapist and to effect positive change for the individual.

Yoga therapy is informed by its sister science, Ayurveda. As part of a living tradition, yoga therapy continues to evolve and adapt to the cultural context in which it is practiced, and today, it is also informed by contemporary health sciences. Its efficacy is supported by an increasing body of research evidence, which contributes to the growing understanding and acceptance of its value as a therapeutic discipline.

Similarities between a Yoga Teacher and a Yoga Therapist

Both a yoga teacher and yoga therapist start their yoga career with a 200hr or 350hr training certified by Yoga Alliance. Learning is focused on teaching general group classes, offering movement sequences, pranayama (breathing techniques), and some meditation techniques.

Differences between a Yoga Teacher and a Yoga Therapist

Yoga therapists must then go on and do an additional 1000+ hours of training
Yoga therapist work more in one-on-one or in very small groups. In one-on-one sessions the yoga therapist will assess the client’sunique physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. A yoga teacher will usually choose a sequence for a class to follow and make individual adaptations to make the pose easier or harder for people in the class. A yoga therapist gets to know each client individually through a detailed intake process and then works collaboratively with the client to work out exactly the right practice to meet the specific health outcomes that have been identified (for example, pain reduction or management, anxiety, depression, management of an autoimmune disease.
In group settings classes sizes are very small (typically 4-12 students) where the yoga therapist still goes through the detailed individual comprehensive intake process to make sure the individual circumstances and needs are met in each class.
Yoga therapists are trained in both classical yoga and western science.
The client is always the expert on their own health
The role of the yoga therapist is to support students to identify and develop new habits that help them reduce unwanted symptoms and achieve the health outcomes they want. That could mean exploring new ways of moving and breathing, new approaches to lifestyle choices and new ways of thinking about things.