Guide To Yoga Therapy: Realign Your Mind, Body, and Spirit
Guide to Yoga Therapy: Realign Your Mind, Body, and Spirit
Therapy is an extremely important aspect of your mental health
Therapy is an effective tool for managing and improving your overall mental health. You may think of therapy as working one-on-one with a therapist, or in some type of group setting with other people who share similar worries or problems. These are extremely useful therapeutic methods and can help you achieve your mental health goals. There are other therapeutic interventions proven to be effective as well. Everyone is familiar with Yoga as a physical activity and relaxation method, but it comes as a surprise to many others that Yoga therapy is beneficial in the treatment of many physical and psychological challenges.
Yoga Therapy is an effective therapeutic modality for many people
Like any other treatment modality, it is crucial to understand just what Yoga therapy is, how it works, and when can it be the right choice for you. First off, let us look at some of the issues that yoga therapy can help with. Harvard Health Publishing reports that Yoga therapy can benefit people with depression, anxiety, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)*. With a significant amount of people across the globe who suffer from these disorders, it is an important thing to have an additional tool such as yoga therapy for treatment. While yoga therapy may not fully address all your needs, it is something that can be coupled with other types of therapies or medication. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the most common intervention used to treat anxiety, but research has shown that Yoga therapy offers a promising alternative and/or complimentary treatment method.
The focus of yoga therapy is learning how to focus on yourself
Yoga therapy focuses on understanding yourself. It takes the tools of yoga practice such as movement of the body (asana), breath work (pranayama), meditation, and counseling expertise and tailors them to you. Yoga therapy is a whole person perspective where you consider your mind, body, and spirit at once. For example, with the assistance of yoga therapy, instead of just focusing on the sensation of physical pain, you can start to be curious and see if there is a reason you are constantly getting migraines.
Yoga Therapists are more than just yoga instructors
Yoga therapists take traditional yoga poses and modify them to meet the mental health needs of those using them. Specific poses and breathing exercises are given to maximize relaxation and stress relief. Remember that yoga therapists are required to train for hundreds of hours before becoming certified. While yoga instructors are great at what they do, yoga therapists have expertise in utilizing yoga techniques specifically for mental health purposes.
Yoga is about balance, not just physical balance, but emotional and psychological as well. One goal of yoga therapy is to empower you to regain that psychological balance that has been knocked off course or missing. There is a strong two-way partnership between therapist and patient in yoga therapy. It is ideal for patients who are invested in taking an active role in their treatment.
There are several important benefits of yoga therapy. The more people learn about it, the more it will be utilized in treatment. Here are a few of the most notable benefits:
Learning relaxation techniques and calming methods
Being educated on how to adapt to changing or demanding situations
Understanding how to keep your focus and balance
How Yoga Therapy can become an important part of your life
Yoga therapy can improve your mental health as discussed in this article. There is still a lot of research being conducted on just how effective yoga therapy is, but most signs point to it having some comparable results as anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications. Many people want to avoid medication as much as possible, and yoga therapy is a good way to see if that is possible. The highly skilled team at Obsidian Counseling and Wellness can help you figure out if Yoga therapy is right for you, and to help you get started with a customized program that meets your needs. Contact Obsidian at https://www.obsidiancounseling.com/contact or 224.255.4411.
* https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/yoga-for-better-mental-health