Embodied Health

The rapid growth of yoga in recent years is a response to the overwhelming increase in anxiety and chronic health conditions. It seems that everyone and their neighbor is now attending yoga teacher training with the desire to integrate the practices of yoga into their daily life and find work that is fulfilling and purposeful.

But more recently, the term “Yoga Therapy” has begin to circulate amongst the masses. So what is the difference between Yoga Therapy and the Yoga we have perhaps experienced in our local gym or studio and why should the two be differentiated?

Traditional yoga is based on the integration of mind, body and soul as well as the use of ethical philosophy to live a more balanced life in harmony with others and nature. When we learn about the “8 limbs of yoga” we learn that the first two elements the traditional student was taught are Yama and Niyama which are ethical observances for interacting with others in the world and with ourselves. We are taught to understand and practice these concepts such as Ahimsa (do no harm) well before we even learn how to execute downward facing dog on our mat. One main benefit of this is to ensure that we understand how to approach the rest of our practice without struggle. For example, if I truly understood and practiced doing no harm, then I wouldn’t injure my shoulder in my yoga class because I would thoroughly understand when to stop if a pose was too difficult or inappropriate for my body that day. Once we’ve integrated these ethical observances, only then can we begin looking at ourselves and our actions thorough Satya (truthfulness) and the real practice of yoga begins.

This leads to the exploration into the 5 layers of increasingly subtle selves, or as we call them in Yoga the panchamaya koshas (pancha means 5 in Sanskrit).

The first of these is Annamaya Kosha or the physical body. If I suffer from chronic shoulder pain for example, this is an experience in my physical body. Many people would expect to go to a yoga teacher and receive postures and exercises to alleviate this pain or rehabilitate their shoulder, much like they might with a physical therapist and this is partially true, but yoga therapy goes much deeper than this.

In Yoga Therapy, we would consider how the physical pain creates an energetic shift in the body. This happens in the second of the 5 layers or Pranamaya Kosha. This might be apparent in the nagging tingling sensation the client feels when waking up after sleeping on that shoulder. Maybe that area feels hot with inflammation or perhaps an even more subtle energy shift is happening that we can’t feel or explain. Perhaps this shoulder pain is attached to a deep heartache and the Yoga Therapist explores with the client the elements and meaning of the Heart chakra to support their healing.

The mental distress of chronic pain and discomfort is also something a Yoga Therapist addresses. Living in a state of constant nagging pain would make many people irritable or anxious or frustrated and maybe even angry at the events or person they feel may have cause that discomfort. This is present in the 3rd layer of Manomaya Kosha or the mind layer. Here is where our personal perception lives. Where we feel our triggers, fears, aversions, likes and dislikes and memories. And while these feelings and memories are valid and real, they are still only our personal interpretation. A Yoga Therapist can help open the door to the philosophical aspects of yoga that allow us to explore our relationship to these feelings. They can also recommend meditation exercises to help us process these emotions and memories so we feel lighter and more at peace and in many cases, a chronic physical pain will diminish once we have reframed our mental relationship to our body, the pain or the events that caused it.

This practice of exploring the connection between body, energy and thought brings us to a state of insight awareness. We call this the 4th layer or Vijnanamaya Kosha. This is the place we reach when we can see the big picture, truthfully of how we interact with the world and ourselves and how we are often the cause of our own suffering. Svadhyaya (self study), Satya (truthfulness) and the practice of all the rest of the yamas and niyamas helps us reach this awareness more often and this leads to accessing of the 5th layer or bliss body, Anandamaya Kosha.

A Yoga Therapist guides a client through connecting the dots of these 5 layers with physical practices, breathwork, meditation, philosophy and knowledge of Ayurveda and the 5 great elements to inform which practices they recommend for the individual. This is why one on one yoga therapy sessions can be so much more powerful than a general yoga class with many students. The experience and treatment plan are designed specifically to the needs and temperament of the individual, taking into account the history of that person’s experience.

If you’re interested in how Yoga Therapy might benefit you, you can visit the International Association of Yoga Therapists at iayt.org to search for a certified Yoga Therapist near you. These individuals have received over 1,000 hours of training in yoga and yoga therapy and often hold additional certifications such as mental health counselors, massage therapists or physical therapists. You might also consider enrolling in one of the 68 accredited yoga therapy schools around the world if you too would like to support others as a certified yoga therapist.