Yoga Therapy is a type of therapy that uses yoga postures, breathing exercises, sounds, meditation and guided visualization, diet and lifestyle changes to improve the mental and physical health of the individual. Yoga therapy encourages the holistic focus on the integration of mind body and spirit.
Yoga therapy, derived from the yoga philosophy of Patanjali and the ayurvedic system of healthcare refers to the adaptation and application of yoga techniques and practices to help individuals facing health challenges at any level, manage their condition, reduce symptoms, restore, increase vitality and improve attitude.
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 level) Yoga therapy focusses on the path of yoga as a healing journey that brings balance to the body and mind.
Yoga therapy is the adaptation of yoga practices for people with health challenges. Yoga therapists prescribe specific asanas (physical postures), breathing exercises and relaxation techniques to suit the need 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. Medical research shows that yoga therapy is among the most effective complementary therapies for several common ailments
Yoga therapy consists of the application of yogic principles, methods and techniques to specific human ailments. In its ideal application, yoga therapy is preventive in nature, as is yoga itself, but it is also restorative and curative.
Yoga therapy believes in the constitution of the person. The person is being looked at as an individual. Their body constitution, physical breathing and mental level are carefully observed to find out what causes the problem (disease). After making a complete analysis the treatment or practices are designed. Yoga therapy is more preventive rather than treating diseases. If yoga is practiced properly combined with a proper diet, proper way of life, proper lifestyle modifications there is no need for yoga therapy because you will not become ill or develop a disease.
It is widely known that yoga can enhance your physical and emotional wellbeing, but when yoga is practiced with a therapeutic intention in the form of yoga therapy, it can help prevent and aid recovery from physical and mental ailments. Yoga has long been practiced with therapeutic intentions as a way of transforming both the body and mind. According to classical texts most of the health problems come from a state of ignorance of who and what we are. Yoga and yoga therapy offer us self-awareness. The knowledge to understand and know our self that will enable us to change that what we consider dysfunctional.
The applications of yoga therapy range anywhere from maintaining health to recovering from illness. In some cases even those illnesses considered incurable. The first stage of healing involves the movement of the vital forces (prana) in the system. Illness occurs if vital energy is blocked. By promoting the flow of vital energy (prana) yoga combats those blockages, restoring the basic condition for health. As yoga asanas are all about the movements of the joints, structural problems such as spinal misalignments or stiffness and pain of the joints can be solved through the practice of yoga if guided by a professional yoga therapist. The different relaxation techniques allow the troubled mind to calm down and decrease its activity while promoting stability.
The history of yoga therapy.
Yoga therapy is as old as yoga. According to ancient classical texts (in yoga vashishta) diseases take place at the physical level (anamaya kosha/our physical body), but may be influenced by the mind. The mind is the most powerful tool to create a lot of physical problems (diseases). You have to develop the skill to calm down the mind. That is the manomaya kosha treatment or manomaya cikitsa. In yoga rahasyam yoga therapy for pregnant women is described. In garandha samhita the use of yogic kriyas like dhouti, neti, basti, trataka and kapalabhati are described to cleanse your body and balance vata pita and kapha. Pranayama to create lightness in your body was also described. In yoga hatha pradipika the positivity and negativity are described. Qualities the yoga teacher and student should have to carry out certain things. In the yoga sutras of Patanjali (mano cikitsa) the kleshas and ashtanga yoga is described.
These therapies were all being used on people with constitutional imbalances, but if the body is balanced there is no need for these therapies because there is no disease. The need for yoga therapy is there only if the manas (mind) and the breath are not in balance.
All of the references mentioned above were not being used in earlier times because the people were having a very healthy lifestyle following the rules of nature and had less chance to develop any disease. Nowadays because the modern society causes a lot of stress we need to find solutions how to deal with all the stress that keeps on building up to have a healthy and balanced body and state of mind. In this modern society we have to work for progress and prosperity. At the cost of health and relaxation people are working and have no time to rest and relax. They barely sleep and are not eating at the right time. The mind can not rest. They forget themselves and ignore all the signs their body gives them. That is one of the main causative factors for chronic stress and the breakdown of your body at all 3 levels (physical, physiological and psychological/mental). The solution is yoga therapy. It is necessary. Yoga therapy will unite (relink) these 3 levels. It is a combined overall therapy with a holistic approach where you cannot deny the existence of the mind the breath and the body. You need your breath to coordinate your mind and body and you need a healthy physical body to carry out your personal-, family-, social- and professional obligations. You need to be healthy, fit and balanced to carry out your work.
Important qualities of the mind.
The mind is very powerful. It can reflect all 3 levels (physical, physiological and psychological), but these 3 levels don’t have the power to reflect the mind.
The mind has the power to become positive and negative. It can build or construct, but it can also destroy your entire life. It has the power of the law of attraction. The way you think that way you will be. Negative thoughts can destroy and cause a lot of problems, but positive thoughts can heal and cause progress and prosperity.
All diseases are in the mind and the state of mind can create a lot of diseases. No one can harm you. Only you can harm yourself by negative thinking (poisoning the mind) and ignoring your own body. Yoga and yoga therapy can help you to know and understand yourself better by teaching you the correct way of breathing and guiding you through meditation. It is necessary to develop the skills to control and calm the mind and bring the mind within yourself (bring it back home). First you need to bring your body to your body (with asanas/physical exercises), then your breath to your breath (with pranayama/breathing exercises) and at last your mind to your mind (with meditation).
About the breath.
Yoga therapy can be divided in the 5 levels of the pranic aspects, which is the body itself having its own function on different levels. Apana (the area below the navel), samana (the abdominal area below the diaphragm and above the navel) and prana (the area from the diaphragm to the neck). The maximum of the problems occur when prana (life force/vital energy) goes into the reverse direction and breathing becomes short. With pranic force you can reverse this unnatural process of breathing and the mind can slowly come back to the process learned from birth. The first principle of yoga therapy is to open the prana and remove stagnation in the chest region where the heart and the anahata or heart chakra are located. This is the area where all the emotions are hidden. The yoga therapist can work on the emotions by teaching the person/individual how to breathe in and out, how to increase the length of the breath (deep breathing) and how to exhale as long as possible. The person should try to relax the breath through inhalation and exhalation (effortless breathing). The natural way of breathing as we have learned from the birth should be taught. The abdominal region should be loose and the abdomen should come out when breathing in. When breathing out the abdominal region should go in. The body, breath, and mind are developed according to natural principles. During and after the birth the body develops itself first, secondly the breath and at last the mind. If you don’t work on your physical body you can’t realize your breathing, and if you can’t realize your breathing you can’t connect with your mind. You must do yogic asanas (physical movements of the body) to understand the breathing. The asanas to open the chest region combined with the deep breathing will remove the stagnation of prana in the chest region and heal you in all aspects. When you breathe in the pelvic bone should tilt forward and the abdomen should bulge out (abdominal breathing), secondly the chest should be filled with the air and should expand/open (chest breathing), and third the air should reach the clavicular region (clavicular breathing) where the top of your lungs are located. This is called the complete yogic breath. When you do the complete yogic breath 75 % of your breathing is increased. When you breathe out the breath should be in the reverse order. Empty the clavicular area first, then the chest area (chest goes in) and at last the abdominal area (abdomen goes in, pelvic bone should tilt backwards). Include the breathing exercise with the movement of the hands (in and out, up and down), twisting, forward and backward bending. If you are not able to do the exercises while standing, you can do them when lying down. It is easier. Use chair relaxation as well (lying down in supine position/on the back with the legs slightly apart rested on a chair).Do the breath style modifications together with asanas .When the abdomen is pressed and when you twist, exhale. When you bend backward, inhale and when you bend forward and stretch exhale. The aim for doing this is to open the chest in all 6 directions (sidewise, up and down, forward and backward) to increase the breathing naturally.
Lifestyle modifications to stay healthy and balanced.
1. Make the right choice of food, eat according to the season.
2. Eat at the right time
3. When eating fill half of the stomach with food, one third with water and leave the rest (one fourth) left empty for air. This is the yogic concept of eating.
4. Go to sleep and wake up at the right time
5. Do regular exercise (yoga, tai qi, qi gong or any kind of physical exercise like swimming, jogging fitness, etcetera)
6. Do regular breathing exercises
7. Perform your sandhya vandana (morning and evening prayers). Thank God and nature for everything that is provided for you.
Don’t neglect the lifestyle modifications and respect the nature and your own body. Nature is like a godfather to you. If you don’t respect nature and your own body it will punish you and slowly your body will start to develop certain diseases.
Aisa Malmberg