"Yoga therapy is the adaptation of yoga practices for people with health challenges. Yoga therapists prescribe specific regimens of postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques to suit individual needs. Medical research shows that Yoga therapy is among the most effective complementary therapies for several common aliments. The challenges may be an illness, a temporary condition like pregnancy or childbirth, or a chronic condition associated with old age or infirmity." ~Robin Monro, Yoga Biomedical Trust (England)

"Yoga therapy is that facet of the ancient science of Yoga that focuses on health and wellness at all levels of the person: physical, psychological, and spiritual. Yoga therapy focuses on the path of Yoga as a healing journey that brings balance to the body and mind through an experiential understanding of the primary intention of Yoga: awakening of Spirit, our essential nature."  ~Joseph LePage, Integrative Yoga Therapy (U.S.A.)

"Yoga comprises a wide range of mind/body practices, from postural and breathing exercises to deep relaxation and meditation. Yoga therapy tailors these to the health needs of the individual. It helps to promote all-round positive health, as well as assisting particular medical conditions. The therapy is particularly appropriate for many chronic conditions that persist despite conventional medical treatment." ~Marie Quail -Yoga Therapy and Training Center (Ireland)

 

Integrative Yoga Therapy
Integrative Yoga Therapy works with all 5 levels of our being (the Five Koshas) or 5 bodies; Physical, Energetic, Emotional (or Psychological ), Wisdom (or Intellectual) and Spiritual. The idea is to bring awareness to any separations at each of these levels and heal through connection and integration of all these levels that make up a whole person.

Chronic Conditions: Digestive problems, Heart conditions, High BP, Asthma, Anxiety, Depression, Headaches and Migraines, Insomnia, Women's issues, Pain-management, Stress, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Cancer.

Structural Issues: Lower Back and Spine Issues, Arthritis, Scoliosis, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Sciatica.

What is Yoga Therapy?
The applications of Yoga Therapy range anywhere from maintaining health, to recovering from illness - in some cases, even those considered incurable.  The first stage of healing involves the movement of vital forces in the system.  Many Asian holistic modailites believe that every illness involves a certain level of energy blockage.  By promoting the flow of prana, or vital force, yoga combats those blockages, restoring the basic condition for health.  Common applications for Yoga Therapy also serve structural problems such as spine misalignments or joint function.  Deeper applications may even aid more intractable problems such as AIDS and cancer.

By combining different techniques, yoga promotes specific changes in muscles, joints and organs altering the vital functions of the body. On a psychological level, the introspection promoted by yoga is essential to the self-knowledge process that fuels psychic transformation. The different relaxation techniques allow the troubled mind to calm and decrease its activity while promoting stability. 

The integration of mind and body is very important for the healing process, but perhaps the main area where yoga comes in handy is the inclusion of the 'spiritual' realm into the equation. Even if the student or patient does not acknowledge the existence of spirit, the practice of some of these techniques can eventually integrate this aspect of the self.

Modern yoga therapy can be traced back to the yoga master T. Krishnamacharya, who produced students that became the West’s most influential teachers of therapeutic yoga, including his son TKV Desikachar and BKS Iyengar. Many have since used yoga for managing high blood pressure, coping with the effects of cancer treatments, or treating symptoms of HIV, depression or anxiety. But lately it’s become especially popular for musculoskeletal issues like lower and upper back pain, sciatica, and shoulder, neck and hip pain.

Even though different Yoga Therapists follow different procedures to establish the sadhana, a routine that addresses the given condition, a pretty general scheme would first determine the condition to be treated, and then an evaluation of person's general abilities. Then the appropriate techniques can be chosen from the various disciplines which best serve the therapeutic process. At last, the logistical aspects of the execution of the sadhana should be determined, such as order of practice and number of repetitions.  The person then can practice this sadhana on his or her own, or receive the expert guidance of a Yoga Therapist. The sadhana is then updated according to the progress that the student accomplishes.