How Yoga Therapy Could Help You Find Wellness For Your Mind And Body

You’re probably aware that many people practice yoga in order to improve their physical fitness, find relaxation, and engage with their personal spirituality. But some health professionals are also adopting techniques from yoga to enhance the treatment of psychological and physiological conditions. These methods can be a helpful complementary treatment alongside traditional psychotherapy and medication. In this article, we’ll explain how yoga therapy works and how it might benefit you.

In simple terms, yoga therapy involves using practices such as hatha yoga and meditation to treat both mental and physical ailments, under the guidance of a trained professional. Yoga therapists are often trained in psychotherapy in addition to yoga-based practices, and they will typically incorporate both types of care into sessions with clients. This approach treats body and mind as a unified system and works to improve the well-being of both.

What does yoga therapy involve?

According to the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), yoga therapy is “the process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and well-being through the application of the teachings and practices of Yoga.” Of course, yoga encompasses a wide variety of physical and mental techniques, as well as a philosophical framework derived from the Ayurvedic tradition of India. That means that “applying the teachings and practices of yoga” can look different for different practitioners and clients.

What most of them have in common is an understanding that the body and mind are fundamentally interconnected. Based on this framework, yoga therapists guide clients through exercises that engage both their physical and mental capacities, such as:

• Poses, stretches, and movements from hatha yoga
• Breathing exercises (sometimes referred to as “breathwork”)
• Guided imagery
• Meditative practices
• Relaxation exercises
• Reflections on the interplay of sensations, emotions, and thoughts

Many yoga therapists also have formal training and licensure in mental health counseling, enabling them to combine both practices. 

A yoga therapy session might involve a conversation about your emotional difficulties, followed by hatha yoga movements meant to release distressing feelings. Another therapist might instruct you to engage in rhythmic breathing to reduce your reflexive responses to traumatic memories. Some therapists might share concepts from yogic philosophy to help you come to terms with painful experiences or reframe troubling patterns of thought. 

In other words, yoga therapy tends to be highly individualized. The wide variety of techniques involved allows practitioners to tailor each treatment plan to a client’s particular needs. There’s often an emphasis on self-empowerment, with participants learning techniques they can apply in their everyday lives.

How is yoga therapy different from yoga classes?

A typical yoga class seeks to give students broad, well-rounded instruction in various yogic techniques and principles. Some place more emphasis on physical exercise and fitness, others on gaining a sense of inner peace and spiritual fulfillment. Regardless, these classes tend to be aimed either at the general public or at dedicated yoga students interested in mastering the practice.

In contrast, yoga therapy treatment plans tend to be much more focused on treating particular symptoms or conditions. Sessions are often conducted one-on-one, and rather than trying to impart a broad suite of yoga techniques, therapists frequently stick to the exercises they think will be most relevant to the client’s recovery. 

Some people will come to yoga classes regularly for years as a form of exercise, spiritual practice, or recreation. But a yoga therapist will generally structure their treatments with a specific goal and endpoint in mind. Many clients do choose to continue yoga practice after treatment, and some people may manage chronic conditions using ongoing yoga therapy. In general, though, it’s not intended to be a lifelong process.

Many yoga therapists also have specific certifications over and above their credentials as a yoga instructors. Requirements tend to include the completion of in-depth training programs, a substantial number of supervised work hours, and passing examinations designed to test their knowledge. 

However, it’s worth noting that these certifications don’t have the same kinds of legal oversight as those governing doctors and nurses. Instead, they’re monitored and enforced by professional associations like the IAYT.

What are the benefits of yoga therapy?

Yoga therapy can be helpful for many different kinds of mental and physiological conditions. Its potential benefits include:

Reducing depression

Certain types of physical exercise are known to help relieve the symptoms of depression. Researchers have found evidence that yoga may be effective for this purpose too, and the physical aspects of the practice may work even better when combined with psychotherapy and meditation. Many yoga therapists are experienced in combining these approaches to help alleviate depression and other emotional disturbances.

Relieving anxiety

Feelings of anxiety often have a strong bodily component, involving sensations of nausea, shaking, sweating, shortness of breath, and a racing heartbeat. This may be due to the involvement of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the body’s “fight-or-flight reflex” and may be overly sensitized in people with anxiety disorders. There’s emerging evidence that yoga therapy techniques, by helping participants relax their minds and bodies, may help decrease anxiety. 

Managing chronic pain

Decreasing stress

Because stress is a known risk factor for many psychological disorders and physical diseases, reducing it can have wide-ranging health benefits. Yoga has shown promise in reducing the physiological markers of stress. This may be one way that yoga therapy acts on the mind-body connection that plays such a significant role in many illnesses. 

Assisting with addiction recovery

Some studies have also found that yoga could play a beneficial role in helping people reduce their reliance on intoxicating substances like alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs. This may be partly due to the ability of yoga to provide a healthy outlet for the stress and troubling emotions which might otherwise prompt relapses. However, some studies have also found that yoga therapy may actually reduce cravings for substances, especially nicotine.

Reducing inflammation

Many negative health conditions, including diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, and cancer, have been linked to excessive activity of the human body’s inflammatory response. Though inflammation can sometimes be important in fighting off disease, it may become overactive in response to things like:

• Poor diet
• Chronic stress
• Lingering, untreated infections
• Exposure to harmful chemicals
• Obesity
• Excessive alcohol use
• Disrupted sleep patterns

Some researchers have found evidence that yoga therapy can help lower the inflammatory response, potentially leading to improvements in many different areas of physical and mental health.

Boosting cardiac health

Experimental studies have demonstrated that yoga practice may improve the health of your heart and circulatory system. It seems to be helpful both in direct way such as easing hypertension and reducing arterial plaque, and in indirect ways such as fighting obesity. There’s also evidence that yoga therapy might improve a patient’s recovery after a heart attack.

Are there any risks of yoga therapy?

Like just about any effective treatment, yoga therapy comes with some potential side effects. Around 10% of participants reported some muscle pain or soreness, and 21% of those with existing injuries felt that yoga practice had exacerbated them. If you have long-term injuries or soreness, it may be important to choose a yoga therapist with training in physical therapy or a similar field.

The practice of intensive meditation techniques may also sometimes provoke adverse effects. A small percentage of participants find that it increases feelings of anxiety, paranoia, or detachment. There are also case reports of more serious psychiatric disturbances arising in long-term meditators, though many of these individuals had a previous history of serious mental illness. It might be a good idea to discuss potential risks with your yoga therapist.

Consider yoga therapy alongside online therapy

Yoga therapy has not yet been studied in as much depth as some other mental health treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Though the early research is promising, there’s not yet enough evidence to recommend it as a primary treatment for major mental health challenges like depression or generalized anxiety disorder.

Instead, it may be best to use yoga therapy as a way to enhance the benefits of traditional psychotherapy. Online therapy offers a fast and convenient way to connect with a licensed mental health provider. Internet-enabled counseling is often easier to schedule and attend, since you can participate from anywhere that you can get online.

There’s a substantial evidence base showing the effectiveness of online therapy. One meta-analysis reviewed published studies including more than 9700 participants and concluded that therapy was just as effective over the Internet as it was in person. Clients experience improvements in a wide range of mental health measures from online therapy.