Yoga Teacher, Yoga Therapist, what's the difference?
- Training, a lot more training in Anatomy, pathophysiology, kinesiology, energy work, koshas, western medicine (general), and deeper yogic practices.
- Start with one specific goal (knee rehab, post-traumatic growth...) and see where the journey takes you.
- You get homework; just like a physical therapist, there will be practices for you to do independently.
- A yoga therapist has a deeper understanding and vocabulary in Western medicine to work with other health care providers.
- Ability to see and sense "other" things happening. Where energy may be blocked (posture, body language, breath patterns...).
- Forms and notes we document everything to track progress and to watch for specific events that may cause the issue or regression.
Yoga Therapy
What is Yoga Therapy?
While the practice of yoga itself is inherently therapeutic, yoga therapy applies select yoga techniques and principles to individuals’ specific – usually health-related - concerns.
Most people consider yoga’s physical practices its main value. These practices are very effective at promoting, maintaining, and restoring vibrant physical health. Yet there’s much more to yoga’s holistic model of health including physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual aspects of our being. In yoga therapy, we work with the body, breath, and mind in response to assessing how these are habitually patterned as we go about our lives. (definition from Spanda Yoga Movement Therapy)
In therapeutic yoga sessions, we take yogic practices and adapt them to the specific needs of the individual. The needs range from physical to mental and emotional conditions, post-surgery/injury rehab, knee/hip replacements, amputations, cancer, arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraines, PTSD, anxiety, depression, burnout, and the list goes on.
