How Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapists Assess & Develop Practices For Mental Health

Welcome to episode 20 of The Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy and Meditation podcast.

In today’s episode, Joe Simek, Breathing Deeply assistant teacher, sits down with Breathing Deeply founder Brandt Passalacqua to talk about yoga therapy and mental health.

At Breathing Deeply, we teach our students how to create individualized practices that empower their clients to take their health into their own hands!

Listen in as Brandt shares with us how the yoga therapy approach to mental health is different from mainstream western medicine. Find out what the process is for assessing someone’s mental health as a yoga therapist and developing specific yoga practices that work the best for an individual.

Each person lands at their mental state depending on their own personal journey and their specific imbalances. Therefore, two people who are both suffering from anxiety may be given completely different practices from a yoga therapist.

Brandt discusses the multiple assessment models taught at Breathing Deeply. These are used to come up with an individualized practice that unfolds in relationship with each client. He then walks us through his process for assessing & developing a yoga practice for a client with anxiety.

Breathing Deeply’s goal is to bring balance back to the entire system of all of our clients to lessen their suffering. 

Om Shanthi

This episode covers:

• The difference between yoga therapy’s approach to mental health & the traditional standard of care given in western medicine
• What does the assessment of someone’s mental health look like in yoga therapy?
• The difference between going to a yoga class for mental health benefits and seeing a yoga therapist
• The most important distinction between Breathing Deeply and other yoga therapy schools
• Seeing our yoga therapy clients as people, not conditions
• The models we use to teach our students to individualize yoga therapy practices for their clients
• The process for a new yoga therapy client who comes in with anxiety

Breathing Deeply is a Yoga Therapy and Meditation School, founded by lead teacher Brand Passalacqua in 2014. We hold online and in-person Yoga Therapy Foundations and IAYT accredited Advanced Programs and retreats along with Meditation Programs, including online meditation teacher training and certification and holistic weight loss with Being At Peace with Food.

Breathing Deeply is made up of an active and thriving community of yogis, caregivers, therapists, teachers, medical professionals, parents & children with the same intention—to serve others, lessen suffering, and co-create a new paradigm in wellness.