What is yoga therapy?
Yoga Therapy is the process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and well-being through the application of the teachings and practices of yoga.
Individualized Practice
Yoga Therapy uses age-old approaches of postures, breathing exercises, relaxation techniques and such, adapted to the individual’s needs at the moment, to deepen presence and awareness so that we may know ourselves more fully, to practice a more meaningful relationship with oneself. Through the adaptation and application of these approaches and techniques, individuals facing wellness challenges at any level are assisted in finding the best path for them to “manage their condition, reduce symptoms, restore balance, increase vitality, and improve attitude.” (Gary Kraftsow, American Viniyoga Institute)
Yoga Therapy is generally provided in one-on-one sessions customized to address an individual’s specific wellness concerns, or in small therapeutic groups or clinics focused on a specific condition being addressed by multiple participants. While Yoga Therapy can be an ongoing process for some, and is generally not a one shot solution, one of the goals is independence from the yoga therapist, rather than an ongoing dependent relationship. Yoga Therapists want their clients to develop the awareness and path that works best for them and continue their practice on their own.
No Experience Required
While a Yoga Therapist has specialized information regarding the tools of yoga and Ayurveda, the client has specialized information regarding their own bodies; together the two work to find the best path of practice. It is not a matter or a once a week activity done with an instructor, but rather the daily routine one develops to find individual optimal wellness.
Yoga Therapy requires no experience in yoga and respects individual differences in age, gender identification, culture, religion, philosophy, occupation, mental and physical health, and abilities.
Why is it so hard to define?
Yoga Therapy is an emerging discipline in the west that has recently gone through rigorous review to develop standardized principles of training in order to preserve the unique characteristics it brings to Integrative Medicine. Because of the breadth and depth of the practices involved and the variety of approaches available, it is challenging to define.
yoga vs yoga therapy
advanced training required
While there is some overlap between what a Yoga Teacher learns and what a Yoga Therapist learns, there is also a great deal of difference.
To begin with, a Yoga Therapist must be trained as a Yoga Teacher (200 hour level training). This is done with a Registered Yoga School in order for the Yoga Teacher to register with Yoga Alliance which serves only as a directory, not an accrediting body for yoga teachers.
To continue, a Yoga Therapist completes an additional 800 hours of training, including a practicum/mentorship component, with a school that has been accredited by the International Association of Yoga Therapists – an organization that has worked with traditional western medical practitioners as well as complementary and alternative medicine practitioners and yoga professionals to create an accreditation process for standardization of training in Yoga Therapy.
Yoga Therapists are trained extensively in anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, working with healthcare professionals, psychology and mental health, yoga philosophy and teachings asana, pranayam, ethics, and more.
Links for clarification
The following are links to additional information for clarification.
Training Yoga Teachers As Compared to Training Yoga Therapists
Certification Pathways for Yoga Therapy – IAYT
Scope of Practice for Yoga Therapists – Overview and Download Option
Learn more about educational standards for yoga therapists
For over twenty years, the Integrative Yoga Therapy faculty has been actively involved in training Yoga teachers as well as Yoga therapists. Our experience has been that many of the Yoga tools and techniques overlap, but that the skills, learning processes and objectives are essentially distinct.
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