Almost unknown, yoga therapy can be a powerful ally on the path to well-being. Here’s everything you wanted to know about the practice but never dared to ask.
While yoga is well known in the West, yoga therapy is a very new complementary practice that only a few insiders know about. So, let’s get started and lift the veil.
To understand the origins of yoga therapy, you have to go to the West Coast of the United States and look at one person in particular: Larry Payne. A Californian, athletic, he was an advertising executive in Los Angeles and made a lot of money. On the surface, life was good. But in 1978, at 35, his body spoke out under the weight of stress. Payne saw his blood pressure rise and suffered from chronic back pain. Physiotherapy, medication… nothing worked. Until one day, a friend took him to a yoga class. It was a revelation. For the first time in two years, his back pain disappeared. Payne felt reborn. He continued practicing yoga and left his advertising career to devote himself to the practice.
One of the founders of the International Association of Yoga Therapists
After a stint in India, he returned to Los Angeles and worked tirelessly to make yoga known as a complementary practice. He taught yoga, wrote several books, released videos, appeared on radio and TV shows, and in 1989, he became one of the founders of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT).
What really worked in yoga and why
The association truly found its footing in the early 2000s. It aimed to make the profession of yoga therapist more professional. To do this, it was necessary to determine what really worked in yoga and why. This meant relying on science. That’s what the IAYT did. The association cataloged the scientific studies—more and more numerous—conducted on yoga therapy and certain chronic diseases. A milestone was reached in 2004 when the IAYT brought in conventional medicine professionals for the first time on its advisory board. In 2007, the first yoga therapy symposium was held in Los Angeles. The association published standards for yoga therapist training in 2012. Today, the IAYT has 5,600 members from around fifty countries and 150 training schools. It’s the start of adulthood.
So, what’s yoga therapy?
Many people think that yoga is a physical activity made up of stretching and movements. But that’s not the case. Yogis have known for millennia that the body and mind are one. Yoga therapy therefore harnesses the natural abilities of your body and mind to optimize your well-being. Specifically, the practitioner uses the tools of yoga—meditation, yogic breathing, postures, etc.—as well as psycho-emotional support through verbal communication and active listening to help you feel better.
Yoga therapy, for whom?
I often hear, “I’m too stiff,” “too big”… to do yoga. But yoga therapy is for everyone! In fact, the practice, taught in private lessons or small groups, can help high-level athletes as well as people who can barely move. To give you an idea, I had a therapeutic yoga teacher who was paraplegic!
Yoga therapy, for what?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the world is facing an unprecedented mental health crisis. Yoga therapy is an approach that can be an effective ally in cases of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and insomnia, among others. While yoga isn’t a magic potion, more and more scientific studies show that the practice can relieve certain conditions, particularly chronic pain (lower back pain, arthritis) and those associated with fibromyalgia, for example. It also has a place in the care of people suffering from complications following a stroke, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. Similarly, it perfectly complements conventional medical treatments in the cases of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
But be careful, you don’t need to be suffering to benefit from yoga therapy. It can be a valuable aid to living better. And that, in itself, is already a lot.
Sources :
– International Association of Yoga Therapists
– Yoga Therapy Health\
– The Science of Yoga by William J. Broad (2012)