What is yoga therapy?
Yoga therapy uses yoga practices to alleviate mental and physical illnesses.
General yoga practice uses therapeutic practices to cultivate and educate the body and mind. In yoga therapy, however, we use specific yoga practices and their proven benefits to help alleviate mental and physical health conditions.
Yoga therapy is now widely accepted in the medical community, and much evidence-based research has shown the multiple benefits of a regular yoga practice.
Each yoga therapy client will be introduced to specific yoga practices shown to have curative effects for their to particular health needs. These may include asana (postures), breathing practices (pranayama), relaxation techniques (yoga nidra) and meditation.
Yoga therapy can be used to treat mental health conditions such as anxiety, stress, depression and ptsd, and physical problems such as arthritis, heart conditions, circulatory problems, high blood pressure, obesity, osteoporosis, musculoskeletal issues, insomnia and alzheimers.
A typical yoga therapy session will commence with us discussing your needs in detail and devising a daily plan of practice which you can do at home - the therapy is constructed around giving you the specific tools you need, empowering you with the skills to heal yourself.
What happens in an initial session?
The first session is an initial consultation to find out more about the practice you need and discuss what I can offer. This session lasts 75 to 90 minutes. Prior to the session, I provide a client intake form for completion. At the end of the session, I give you a short practice to follow at home at your own pace. We would discuss whether you as the client would like to continue with further sessions. In the second session, if you decide to continue, we establish a more personal practice adapted to your requirements, set achievable goals for your practice, and put a plan in place.
All sessions take 60 to 90 minutes after the initial session, depending on what you prefer.
What is a yoga therapist?
A yoga therapist is an experienced professional with specialised knowledge and skills, who has undertaken a comprehensive training, besides the yoga teacher certification, trained to high standards as outlined by the British Council for Yoga Therapy (BCYT) and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). A yoga therapist must annually participate in professional development relevant to the field of yoga therapy to maintain high quality assurance standards and update their knowledge, skills and techniques. This includes attending seminars, conferences and/or training courses or undertaking recognised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training appropriate to yoga therapy, as outlined in the BCYT policy.
I qualified with the Minded Institute in 2023 as a yoga therapist, having completed the 600 hour diploma in yoga therapy for yoga professionals, accredited by the British Council of Yoga Therapy (BCYT) and the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists (NCIP).
Please contact me directly for further information.