Yoga Info

What is Yoga Therapy?

The demand (or, more accurately, need) for yoga therapists has been developing in recent years. Yoga therapists tend to be older and more experienced instructors who have observed the therapeutic benefits of yoga firsthand – for themselves or for their students. Some are nurses, physical therapists, psychologists or other health-care providers.
"They start to help their students in specialized applications, like back care, and then begin to be interested in more training and simply exploring a whole new dimension," said John Kepner, executive director of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT).
Common ailments that send people to a yoga therapist are structural in nature, such as chronic pain in the lower back, neck or shoulders. But yoga also can boost stamina and alleviate pain for cancer survivors, and reduce stress in some patients to the point of reversing heart disease.
Yoga therapy is not something to replace physical therapy or a doctor's visit. Instead, it picks up after the doctor or physical therapy visits. It teaches body intelligence. And, of course, it could prevent a health crisis.
"Many yoga therapists will encourage students to see a physician first, for a diagnosis to help guide the practice and to rule out situations where yoga might not be appropriate," said Mr. Kepner of IAYT.
There are no formal standards for the training of yoga therapists. Some highly regarded methods (such as Iyengar Yoga) do not offer certification for yoga therapists, yet advanced teachers in those systems are grounded in therapeutic applications.
An experienced yoga teacher often will opt for additional, specialized training as a yoga therapist.  As we begin to wake up to the limitations and impersonality of allopathic medicine, only time will tell how significant the work of Yoga therapy is and how valuable it will be to humanity.