But Isn’t All Yoga Therapeutic?
Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash
You might’ve heard the term yoga therapy or therapeutic yoga and wondered what the heck it means. “But isn’t all yoga therapeutic?”, you might be asking.
In a nutshell, yes. I think all yoga can be therapeutic in the same way that getting out in nature is therapeutic, or having a good belly laugh can feel great for your heart and soul.
But there are several key but subtle differences between a group yoga class and a yoga therapy session.
Yoga therapy addresses a specific issue. Yoga therapy uses the tools of yoga, including breathing, movement (asana), relaxation, meditation, and yoga philosophy to support you with your specific health or wellness issue. All certified yoga therapists are yoga teachers who have an additional training (at least 800 - 1,000 hours), in addition to their foundational teacher training.
Yoga therapists assess clients through listening, observing, and asking generative questions (i.e., questions that are productive!) And they are trained to choose, with intention, yogic tools and practices they think will best serve their clients.
I find my private clients are more interested in feeling better than in learning specific yoga poses. Most of the women I’ve worked with have never practiced yoga before, or have only tried it a few times. You don’t have to wear special yoga pants, have any yoga experience, have a certain level of fitness, or be able to do anything in order to work with me. My clients have come to see me for issues like:
Managing and reducing chronic pain
Building shoulder strength
Strengthening their deep core muscles
Feeding confident moving again after a hip operation
Reconnecting with their body is a gentle way after trauma
These issues can certainly be addressed in group classes, but in yoga therapy sessions you’ll get individualized attention and everything will be custom-built to your goals, lifestyle, body and preferences. It’s kind of like personal training, except it’s yoga! Fun, right?
Yoga therapy is usually offered in private sessions. Instead of big group classes, yoga therapy is usually offered in 1-1 settings (or sometimes in small groups) so that you get individualized attention. If you work with me it means you:
Get 100% of my attention
Can ask as many questions as you like
Can spend as long as you like on a particular pose, breath technique, or practice
Get my help to figure out how to practice yoga at home in a way that supports your lifestyle, goals and schedule.
A yoga therapy session will look completely different than a group yoga class. In a regular group yoga class, the teacher leads the students through a sequence. There might a great music playlist, and the teacher will offer adjustments (verbal or touch) and pose variations, but isn’t able to spend a lot of time with each student.
A yoga therapy session doesn’t follow a set sequence, but rather takes its own form. Usually there’s a few minutes of chatting to check in and see how you’re doing, and if there’s anything you’d like to focus on in the session. (For example if you have a raging headache, we’ll do something that will help your head feel better). Private sessions are so fun because they also look a bit different and the best part is, we co-create them together. We keep things casual and fun, and explore what works best for you, in this moment.
I’m in year two of my certified yoga therapy training and love this path. Because of all my own health issues I would’ve given up on yoga (and probably fitness too) if my only options were group classes. And I know there are lots of people who feel this way too.
For personalized support to help you feel better in your body, you’ll definitely want to check out my Private Yoga Package. I only work with a few women at a time so that you can get as much of my attention and care as possible!