YOGA THERAPY
“Yoga therapy is the professional application of the principles and practices of yoga to promote health and well-being within a therapeutic relationship that includes personalized assessment, goal setting, lifestyle management, and yoga practices for individuals or small groups.”
WHAT IS YOGA THERAPY?
Yoga therapy applies yoga techniques, such as movement, breathing exercises and meditation, via an individualized plan that addresses chronic or acute physical, physiological, psychological and/or emotional imbalances. Through these techniques and lifestyle guidance, we will work towards restoring balance and strengthening the mind-body connection.
Furthering Your Practice, Exploring, Gaining Insight
Yoga therapy may also be beneficial if you are interested in furthering your yoga practice beyond the physical aspect, exploring yourself on a deeper level and looking to gain more insight and awareness into your habits and patterns as a means to improve your overall health and well-being.
How is yoga therapy different than a yoga class or private yoga session?
A standard yoga class typically provides a set of postures and breathing exercises that everyone in the class will practice. While a private yoga session is individualized in nature, these sessions tend to focus on improving an individual’s personal yoga practice in some way. Yoga therapy takes this a step further and focuses on an individualized approach to aid in healing the body, whether chronic or acute, establishing a deeper connection to self and improving overall health and wellness through yoga-based practices.
Are you living with a chronic condition?
Did you know that six out of 10 people in the U.S. are living with at least one chronic illness?1 As we live longer, chronic illness becomes more prevalent. If you are interested in alleviating, managing and/or improving a specific chronic condition in a more holistic way, such as a complementary or alternative treatment to medication, yoga therapy may be a great way to get you back to feeling your best. Common chronic conditions may include:
- High blood pressure
- Low back pain
- Shoulder & knee injuries
- Arthritis
- Autoimmune disease
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
Your First Yoga Therapy Session
Your first yoga therapy session will be 90 minutes. An intake form is sent prior to your first session to fill out.
We spend some time getting to know each other and determining your specific needs. This includes discussion pertaining to your intake form and current conditions (if any) and the implementation of a postural, muscular and breath assessment. With your input, attainable goals to work towards are created.
Based on this initial assessment, a 50-minute yoga practice designed for your specific needs will be practiced, which could include movement, breathing exercises, meditation/mindfulness and yoga philosophy. Each practice starts with helping you ground into the present moment.
The last 10 minutes are to address any questions that didn’t come up during the practice and to discuss home practice. Post session, a home plan of care will be emailed to you that you may practice between sessions.
Follow-up Sessions
Recognizing that needs change is part of a yoga therapy regimen. Follow-up sessions will begin with chatting about what may be or may not be working for you. We will aim to meet you where you are on that day.
We will continue working towards your goals. Practice may include what you have been working on and additional techniques based on our conversation. The session will end with questions that didn’t come up during the practice and to discuss home practice.
Post session, a home plan of care will be emailed to you that you may practice between sessions. Continual sessions will result in updating goals and changing course as needed.