Overview

Yoga Therapy stems from yoga. Yoga has been used in traditional Indian medicine for thousands of years. However, Yoga therapy in its present form is a new discipline, created by the marriage of traditional Yoga with modern medicine. Yoga therapy is rooted in the ancient practice of yoga, which originated thousands of years ago in India.

Early period

The earliest references to Yoga come from four shastras known as the Vedas. The Vedas are historically recognized as the earliest existing form of scriptures of humankind. The shastras explained and regulated aspects of life from supreme reality to life on earth, and were orally passed from guru to disciple for thousands of years before being written down.

1800s

Through many centuries, the art of Yoga, a relaxing, yet energizing technique of stretching the physical body and enhancing spiritual awareness, has evolved into a combination of a Yoga techniques and passive treatments, including medicinal treatments, we call Yoga therapy.

Yoga was introduced in the United States in 1893 when Swami Vivekananda of India spoke at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago.  The goal of the Parliament was to integrate the religions and sciences of East and West cultures.

At that time, Yoga would grow with the creation of the Vedanta society. Early North American Yoga was guided by the Vedanta society, but would be nurtured for the most part by female gurus.

1900s

In the 1980s, Yoga therapy was reintroduced to North America in a publication by Dr. Dean Ornish concerning the study of the effects of lifestyle intervention on heart disease.

The study demonstrated heart disease could be reversed through lifestyle changes which included therapeutic Yoga, meditation, and diet.

By the 1990s, the Program for Reversing Heart Disease was approved for health insurance coverage, making Yoga therapy a part of medical procedures.

Since the introduction of Dr. Ornish’s enlightening program for reversing heart disease, research for many other conditions has been explored and developed.

Research has proven Yoga breathing exercises (pranayama) used in a therapeutic context helps manage symptoms of disease and often makes ailing patients feel better.

Yoga therapy

Some of the many conditions Yoga therapy has relieved are: Depression, insomnia, breathing difficulties, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, mourning, sciatica and muscle tension, autoimmune illnesses, nervousness, perfectionism, and many other ailments.

Yoga therapy, also known as restorative Yoga therapy, helps individuals loosen joints, ease sore muscles, and tone internal organs with a combination of passive, or assisted, Yoga, acupressure, reflexology, energy work and massage techniques.

During the Yoga therapy session, the energy lines (sen) and energy centers (marma points) are activated to create vital energy (prana) which alleviates symptoms of discomfort on physical, mental, and emotional levels.

Yoga Therapy Training

In ancient times gurus passed their knowledge to disciples. Currently many schools and online Yoga teacher training programs offer generalized and specialized Yoga therapy training.

Generally therapy training enables therapists to treat a wide range of conditions and specialized therapy training focuses on one specific condition, such as depression, back pain, insomnia, and many others.

Programs are a combination of healthcare, anatomy, yoga, and business management classes, lasting from 200 to 500 credit hours for certification.