Yoga Therapy
Aside from its current celebrity status, yoga is now being recognised as an excellent form of therapy for disorders ranging from joint problems to heart disease.
The profile of yoga around the world has risen tremendously over the past couple of years. The general public are turning to yoga for everything from weight loss, through improving posture, helping bad backs and de-stressing to finding inner peace. Alongside this, individuals are more aware that they should take greater responsibility for their own health and wellbeing.
So, why are people seeking out alternative and complementary therapies? For one thing, these therapies are non-invasive. For another, they offer a holistic approach, including body, mind and spirit. And what's more, research is beginning to document the effectiveness of specific non-traditional therapies, such as yoga.

Yoga as therapy

Yoga can play an important role in the prevention of chronic, degenerative diseases such as coronary heart disease (CHD). Risk factors such as physical inactivity, smoking, poor diet and stress are all major contributors to these diseases and health risks. By reducing these risk factors we can help prevent premature death from degenerative diseases.
Yoga, as a form of therapy, is based on the ancient principles of therapeutic management, which derive partly from Ayurvedic system of health. It is founded on the recognition that our physical condition, emotional states, attitudes, diet, behavioural patterns, lifestyle and the environment in which we live and work, are all intimately linked to each other and to the state of our health. Considering that traces of the origin of yoga have been dated to 7000 BC, it would seem that the ancient yoga practitioners appear to have understood the underlying principles of epidemiology and its value with therapy management.

What is a session like?

As a practice, yoga can consist of asana (physical postures), pranayama (breath control), meditation and ritual/prayer. Any one, or any combination of these can be used for therapy. Generally there are two means of attaining therapy; ie, in a group setting or on a one-to-one basis. In the UK, you may come across group classes for asthma, low back pain, HIV etc. While these classes have much to offer, not least in the sense of social support, and are certainly helpful in ongoing management of the disease/illness, personal tuition is where maximum therapeutic value can be gained.