Yoga Therapy
- Donna Davies
- Aug 8
- 2 min read
What is Yoga Therapy?
Yoga therapy is a personalized, client lead approach to healing that uses the principles and techniques of yoga to address specific health concerns. It is a therapeutic process where we work on a 1-2-1 basis to design a tailored practice that can support recovery, alleviate pain, and promote overall well-being.
Yoga therapy works by addressing the root causes of issues, not just the symptoms, and can therefore help you to restore balance and improve quality of life. It can often be used as a complementary therapy alongside conventional medical treatments, enhancing the healing process in a safe, supportive environment. It is designed to support healing and recovery on a deeper level.
Why choose yoga therapy?
Yoga therapy can be used to manage a variety of chronic conditions and symptoms, including:
Chronic pain
Stress, anxiety, overwhelm
Mild depression
Arthritis
Injury recovery
Digestive issues such as IBS, IBD
Insomnia
Postural imbalances
Back pain
Chronic Fatigue / ME
Headaches
PTSD
and more
It is often used alongside traditional medical treatments and is designed to support healing and recovery on a deeper level.
How is yoga therapy different from yoga?
In essence, while yoga is a practice for overall well-being, yoga therapy is a targeted, personalized approach to using yoga to address specific health concerns.
Yoga classes typically follow a general structure, often combining physical postures (asanas), breathwork (pranayama), meditation, relaxation (nidra), sound (mantra), visualisation and philosophy to promote and enhance overall health and well-being. They can be accessible to individuals of all ages and fitness levels and focus on building strength, flexibility, and mental clarity.
Yoga therapy on the other hand, is a more specialized and individualized approach. In yoga therapy sessions, we use the same techniques, applied with a therapeutic and client focused approach to design a tailored practice to address specific physical, mental, and emotional health issues. You might choose to think of it as a holistic approach to alleviate chronic health challenges.
What to expect during a yoga therapy programme?
Before our first session you will generally need to complete a client form, which includes questions about your general health and medical history.
We then meet for an initial session of around 90 mins in which we discuss your health, lifestyle and aspirations for yoga therapy. I will also assess your body's structural alignment, range of movement, breathing pattern and energetic flow.
You will typically leave our first session with some practices to complete at home before we meet again.
Follow-up sessions commonly take place in one-hour sessions over a period of 4 – 8 weeks, depending upon your health needs and goals. During these sessions, we work together to focus on what you feel is most important at that time and will typically have some simple practices to learn and practise at home.
At the end of the programme, you will have a series of simple tools and techniques to self-manage your health and wellbeing.
Still want to know more?
Please get in touch by email or phone.
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