Author: Jane W Young
Publisher: Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram
Year: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 80
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8187847263
Description
Today, the term, Yoga therapy, is common parlance among yoga teachers, in yoga publications, and on internet sites numbering in the thousands. Yoga teachers debate the definition and implications of yoga therapy. They address these and other questions: How is the Yoga therapy different from any other yoga that supports health and healing? Does the term suggest separating the physical techniques of yoga from its spiritual aspects? And more pragmatic for individuals in the business of teaching, does holism in yoga therapy preclude its acceptance as a reimbursable treatment?
While yoga teachers in the west, at least, struggle with the meanings and the economics of yoga therapy, much of the general public has developed quite an appetite for the health giving and healing capacities of yoga. Health professionals today, unlike a generation ago, are not reticent about encouraging their patients to take up yoga to reduce stress and alleviate various aches and pains. The increasingly visible field of integrative medicine supports mind-body therapies such as yoga, but at the same time, emphasizes the need to accumulate empirical evidence of their efficacy.
Yoga teachers aspiring to do yoga therapy, whatever their understanding of the term, feel pressure to validate claims that yoga can heal. The need to produce evidence of yoga effectiveness and safety as therapy is indeed real. But it is difficult to evaluate what has no operational definition. Just what it is that we do when we ay we are doing yoga therapy? Why do particular yoga techniques appear to work for some individuals but not for others?
Can Yoga heal, and, if so, how can we prove it? This study does not address the efficacy of yoga therapy, or what asana work for what problem. Rather, this study examines the practice of teaching yoga for purposes of therapy,. Its focus is on the processes that constitute this encounter between yoga teacher and the student, rather than on the results of a particular intervention.
In the last few years, the concept of yoga therapy is gaining popularity all over the world. From being a last resort option to be used only when all other modern systems of medicine have failed, yoga is today well established as a highly effective and practical system of healing and therapy. The reason is its unique, holistic approach that addresses not the problem but the causes of the problem. Sadly today, health is understood merely as a workout for physical fitness and the practice of yoga is limited to achieving the perfect posture. This limited understanding of fails to consider the holistic effect of yoga on the human system.
Contents
1. “It’s a miracle”
The study site
2. Tailoring the teaching to the individual student
The Initial Consultation
Working one-to-one
Start where to student is
Focus and Simplicity in the Practice
3. Aiming at the Mind while dealing with the body
Using the Breath for Mental Focus
Using Sound
Creating the Mental Attitude
4. Commitment to the Lineage of T. Krishnamacharya
Training in the Tradition : The Diploma Program
Teacher’s Personal Practice
Studying the Yoga Sutra
Faith and Commitment to the Lineage
Personal Development/Intrinsic Rewards
5. Healing Through Relationship
The Student’s Faith
The Teacher’s Attitude toward the Student
Empathic Listening
Fostering Independence
6. Summary and Supporting Evidence
Summary
Limitations of the Study
Supporting Evidence form Observation of Classes
Supporting Evidence from a case report
7. Reflections
Appendix : Methodology
Study Participants
Data Collections
Data Analysis
Ensuring the Trustworthiness of the Study
References
Glossary