What Is Yoga Therapy?

Most people have heard of yoga before. But what is yoga therapy? And how is yoga therapy different from yoga?
Yoga has been around for over 1,000 years. Yoga therapy is a relatively new method of healing born out of this ancient tradition. Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who died in 1981 at the age of 100, is credited with this idea, which involves using yoga in a therapeutic context.
What Is Yoga Therapy?
Yoga therapy uses the same techniques that yogis use at home and yoga instructors teach in group classes. These include movement and postures (asana), breathwork (pranayama), chanting, philosophy or point of view, meditation, and visualization.
What makes yoga therapy different is that it applies yoga techniques therapeutically. Yoga therapists intentionally use yoga practices to address the physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual needs of an individual. This requires specialized training in anatomy and certain aspects of Western healthcare, as well as yoga philosophies, techniques, and their therapeutic application.
You can think of yoga therapy the same way we might think of other healing systems such as Chinese medicine. We have a system that helps us identify various imbalances in a person and then we offer techniques to bring those aspects into balance and promote healing.
Yoga therapy can be an excellent complement to other forms of treatment, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, or mental health professionals. To be clear, yoga therapists are not psychotherapists. While we do support our clients’ mental health, psychotherapy is a different healthcare modality.
(Return to top)What Can Yoga Therapy Treat?
Yoga therapy is useful for a wide range of health issues, from physical pain to mental health conditions. It can be used as treatment method for a plethora of conditions, including (but not limited to):
Physical Conditions
- Back pain
- Shoulder injuries
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Asthma
- COPD
- Parkinson’s
- HIV
- Brain injuries
- Autoimmune disorders
- Chronic pain
- Multiple sclerosis
- Sciatica
- Pelvic floor dysfunction
- Plantar fasciitis
Mental Health Conditions
- Anxiety disorders
- Trauma and PTSD
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Addiction
- Schizophrenia
- ADHD
- Eating disorders
- Postpartum depression
Yoga therapy can act as a useful adjunct to the Western medical model or as a standalone therapy depending on the condition and/or the skill and experience of the yoga therapist.
The biggest difference between a yoga class and a yoga therapy session is that yoga therapy is a therapeutic practice tailored to suit each individual’s needs.
(Return to top)What Makes a Yoga Therapist Different from a Yoga Teacher?
A yoga teacher or yoga instructor is trained to guide students through classes and sequences to better their health and wellbeing in a general way. A yoga class will stretch a person’s muscles, ease everyday aches, and help boost their mood.
Yoga therapy, on the other hand, is much more specialized. A yoga therapist has been trained to work with the system of yoga to treat specific conditions. As yoga therapists, we incorporate different yoga techniques to form a treatment unique to the individual depending on their condition and desires.
For a deeper dive into these differences, read our dedicated page about yoga therapists vs. yoga teachers.
(Return to top)What Happens at a Yoga Therapy Session?
Because they are conducted one-on-one, yoga therapy sessions are held in a private setting, either in person or online. Typically, a yoga therapist will do a thorough intake to get to know a client and their concerns. Depending on the nature of the issue, there may be a physical evaluation as well to determine the best course of action for treatment.
Once the yoga therapist has decided on a course of action, they will begin the process of teaching their client practices to help with their condition. The relationship between a yoga therapist and their client is an important one.
Usually, a client will be given practices or exercises to work on outside of the session and will have follow-up appointments to make sure things are improving for them. This could be practicing a certain pose at home to relieve stress and muscle tension, breathing exercises to calm the mind, or combination of other yoga practices to promote healing.
At Breathing Deeply, we provide private yoga therapy sessions with clients over Zoom at their convenience. Learn more and contact us if you are interested in scheduling a session here.
(Return to top)Become a Yoga Therapist with Breathing Deeply
The first step to becoming a yoga therapist—whether you train with us or another school—is completing your 200-hour yoga therapy training. Unlike other schools, Breathing Deeply offers a 200-hour program specifically designed for students who want to become yoga therapists, rather than yoga instructors. You can complete this prerequisite course at your own pace in as little as 2 months.
Once you have your 200-hour training, you simply need your yoga therapy training! We offer a Foundations Program that allows you to become a yoga therapist on your own schedule in as little as 1 year. Breathing Deeply yoga therapists are trained to work with a wide variety of conditions using a model that can easily integrate other healing modalities.
For those who wish to earn their C-IAYT, the highest level of yoga therapy certification, we also offer an Advanced Program. This combines the teachings of our Foundations Program with an additional year’s worth of in-depth retreat modules and a 215-hour supervised practicum.
Looking for More Information?
Check out these pages on our website:
- Program Overview
- Foundations Program
- Advanced Program
- Retreats
- Tuition
- FAQs
- Watch Session with Our Founder
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