What is yoga therapy?

In Sanskrit yoga therapy is called 'yoga-chikitsa', where chikitsa means cure or treatment. Yoga therapy is a treatment using yogasanas (yoga postures) to treat certain ailments, or to alleviate pain, and also as a preventive and soothing measure in many cases. It is a mixture of physical therapy combined with yoga psychotherapy.

Traditionally, yoga was used only to gain spirituality.

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Yoga therapy, on the other hand, is a relatively modern formulation, which combines the ancient techniques and concepts of yoga, with contemporary medical know-how. It attempts at a holistic treatment for a wide range of psychosomatic and psychological disorders.

Yoga therapy makes use of the fact that the mind and body are related. It prescribes to the view that while a healthy mind resides in a healthy body, vice versa too, a healthy body is also related to a healthy mind.

Like dance therapy which uses physical movements to enhance moods and bring about a feeling of well-being, yoga too uses the performance of the yoga poses as a physical therapy. At the same time, yoga psychotherapy comes into play when the performances of the physical poses, bring about a release of tension and stress, and create a mental and emotional well being.

Do you wish to undergo yoga therapy as a treatment for yourself or in order to become a teacher? If you feel that you have certain physical problems such as aches, pains caused by a faulty lifestyle, or if you have some ailments like asthma or depression, which are triggered by psychological causes, or if you feel you are under stress, you can undergo yoga therapy.

On the other hand, you may already be teaching yoga, and wish to move into the field of yoga therapy training in order to help others. For this, you may find it helpful to undergo a yoga therapy teacher training, so that you can become a better guide to others.

The principles of yoga therapy:

Yoga teaches us that our health depends upon ourselves if we learn to bring about a physical, emotional and spiritual harmony. There are brought about by following 6 principles:

Right posture:

This is brought about by practicing the yoga postures, which strengthen and tone external muscles and internal organs, thus stimulating and revitalizing them. This cures some illnesses, and keeps other illnesses away.

Right breathing:

This relates to the breathing techniques of Pranayama, which increases intake of oxygen in our body, and also brings a feeling of tranquility to the mind.

Right cleansing:

These relate to the Kriyas (actions) which are simple physical procedures, which help the body to release toxins and cleanse itself.

Right diet:

Yoga therapy believes that wrong diet is one of the root causes of physical illness, and it includes a proper balanced diet, which influences our entire body system.

Right relaxation:

Yoga therapy regards stress as another cause of unease in the body. It seeks to de-stress by certain physical postures such as Corpse Pose (Savasana)

Right mindset:

Meditation is an important component of yoga therapy, and is used to bring about a stability and serenity in the mind.

Yoga Therapy - Psychotherapy
Yoga Therapy - Psychotherapy
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