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Yoga

Therapy

What is Yoga Therapy?

Therapeutic Yoga takes a holistic approach, working on the body, mind, and spirit through yoga poses.  The yoga poses used for therapeutic benefits can range from restorative supported resting poses to more strength based standing static poses. Variety in your yoga practice can systematically strengthen different systems in the body, including the cardiovascular, respiratory, muscle and nervous systems. Yoga practices may improve function of the digestive system, foster psychological well-being, and improve oxygen delivery to tissues while more efficiently removing waste products, carcinogens, and cellular toxins.

How does Yoga Therapy work?

Yoga therapy connects the body awareness, emotional awareness, and pain through breathing, meditation and movement. It is believed to help reduce stress hormone response which can have a strong effect on pain experience and improving quality of life.

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What can Yoga Therapy be used to treat?

Yoga Therapy can be used for chronic and acute injuries. With acute injuries used if you have an injury but want to get back to your yoga practice in a safe and modified way while you heal from acute or chronic injuries or illnesses. If you want to learn a new practice or start transitioning your standing practice to a chair practice for changing mobility needs, Yoga Therapy with qualified instruction will lead you safely in the right direction.

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Stress has been linked to a wide variety of medical problems, from migraine headaches and irritable bowel syndrome to potentially life-threatening conditions such as diabetes, osteoporosis, and heart disease. Stress is a common issue treated by Yoga therapy in conjunction with other complementary therapies, such as, Physical therapy, Acupuncture and Massage Therapy. Since persistently high levels of stress hormones, particularly cortisol, can undermine function of the immune system, here too yoga and allied healthcare treatment can help.

What does the research say on Yoga Therapy?

Chronic pain is one area in which Yoga Therapy can be used effectively. Chronic Pain affects 1 in every 5 people in Canada and is one of the leading reasons that people seek out yoga. Therapeutic yoga will help you examine the mental, emotional, and physical contributors to the cycle of chronic pain, through a one-on-one guided yoga practice for pain management. Yoga can help you explore and learn to move in a healthy healing way even when it feels like everything hurts. Your Yoga Therapist has a strong foundation in alignment, how the body moves and pain science.  Pain science is the foundation of learning how pain works and how the autonomic nervous system (the fight or flight or rest and relax systems) work along with the neuroplasticity of pain.

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Medical research is just beginning to understand how yogic practices influence brain structure and function and how it affects conditions like includes depression, anxiety, pain, and happiness. Studies suggest that yoga therapy may lessen the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatments for people with cancer and facilitate faster recovery after bypass surgery. In clinical trials, many patients with asthma, type II diabetes (formerly known as adult-onset diabetes), or high blood pressure who began a regular practice of yoga were able to either lower their drug dosage, or eliminate some pills entirely.

Yoga Therapy Options:

  • individual one on one private session with a Yoga Instructor

  • small group options with a private instructor

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