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What is Yoga Therapy?
Yoga therapy is a mind-body practice that focuses on integrating physical, emotional, and mental health to bring harmony back to the body, heart, and mind. It draws on yogic principles and practices to enhance overall well-being. While yoga has been around for over 4,000 years, yoga therapy is a relatively new method of healing credited to Tirumalai Krishnamacharya.
Yoga therapy is a type of therapy that combines various techniques from yoga to improve mental and physical health. Unlike a typical yoga class, yoga therapy is usually conducted on a one-on-one basis with a therapist.
We can think of yoga therapy the same way we might think of other healing arts. We have systems that help us identify various imbalances in a person and then we offer specific techniques to bring those conditions into balance. A Yoga Therapist uses various techniques to help a person achieve balance and begin to heal through movement (asana), breath work (pranayama), chanting or mantra, philosophy or perspective, and meditation, to name a few. Yoga therapy might be a newer modality but it is a very complimentary approach to healing and research continues to support the efficacy of this work.