Yoga as Therapy

Reap the therapeutic effects of yoga

All forms of yoga have therapeutic properties. Yoga therapy is a powerful technique that restores health to all parts of the body - from the inside, out.

Therapeutic yoga is considered a safe way to increase physical, emotional and cognitive functioning. As a therapy, yoga works more effectively than a regular yoga class that you'd take at a gym or yoga studio. In a sense, therapeutic yoga is a combination of traditional exercise and practical medicine.

When a person's health is unbalanced, soreness or illness occurs. Examples of this include depression, anxiety, headaches, hypertension, arthritis, heart conditions, lower back pain, diabetes and even cancer. More and more doctors have found that yoga therapy can help to build up the body's inner harmony and restore natural balance. In addition to healing illnesses, yoga therapy also has positive effects for pregnant women, young children and the elderly.

Yoga therapy is taught by experienced yoga instructors in a series of sessions, specific to a person's illness or weakness. Unlike normal yoga teachers, instructors who teach yoga therapy must have completed a 2-year Yoga Therapy Diploma course. This particular course educates instructors on up-to-date medical knowledge, as well as the proper use of yoga for certain medical conditions. Once you learn the correct postures to soothe your pain or to relieve your nervous condition, you will be able to practice them at home, on your own as part of your therapy.

On the part of the student, yoga therapy requires no prior yoga experience before starting therapy. Yoga therapy can be practiced in combination with other complementary therapies, so you won't need to discontinue any medical treatments that you've already received.