What is Yoga Therapy?
Yoga therapy involves making intentional changes to the way individuals relate to themselves, and to others, to achieve mental and physical well-being.
Yoga therapy is a systematic and individualized approach to achieving well-being, by way of yoga. The ultimate goal of yoga therapy is a healthy body and an integrated mind, which is achieved by correcting imbalances in the body and mind, through the practice of yoga.
Correcting imbalances in the body usually involves the physical movement practice of yoga, also referred to as “postures” or “asanas”, and is what most people in the U.S. understand to be “yoga”. Imbalances in the mind are usually corrected by regulation of the breath (pranayama) combined with meditation (focus). From the perspective of yoga, the body and mind are very much influenced by our behaviors, such as our thoughts and actions. Therefore, correcting imbalances in the body and mind also involves making changes to our behavior towards ourselves and others.
In other words, yoga therapy involves making intentional changes to the way individuals relate to themselves, and to others, to achieve mental and physical well-being.
How is Yoga Therapy Applied to Mental Health?
The word “therapy” can be a bit confusing, particularly when yoga therapy is used in the context of mental health treatment. Yoga therapy is not yoga plus psychotherapy; it is therapeutic through the transformative process of restoring balance to the body and mind, through the practice of yoga.
In this context of yoga therapy for mental health, the purpose of the physical movement practice is to increase the quality of the breath, and to prepare the body to be in a state of meditation. For most people, this requires correcting imbalances in the body that create discomfort, pain or restlessness in the body or mind when attempting to engage in breathing practices or meditation.
From the perspective of yoga therapy, the state of the body, breath and mind are interdependent and always affecting each other, and they are always capable of changing. Yoga therapy is a vehicle for change that works by addressing the imbalances in the body, breath, and mind that may result in illness, and offers a path towards long-lasting health and well-being.
Where Can You Learn More About Yoga Therapy?
Here are a few resources that I recommend to anyone who is interested in learning more about yoga therapy:
“Yoga Therapy: A Guide to the Therapeutic use of Yoga and Ayurveda for Health and Fitness.” A.G.Mohan and Indra Mohan
“Yoga for Body, Breath, and Mind: A Guide to Personal Reintegration.” A.G.Mohan
What is Integrative Psychiatry?
Integrative psychiatry offers patients something medication alone cannot, which is the opportunity to create long-lasting positive changes to their lives…
Integrative psychiatry is an approach to mental health treatment that combines psychotropic medications with non-medication alternatives. These non-medication treatment options are numerous, and can include psychotherapy, nutritional or herbal supplementation, mindfulness-based interventions, meditation, yoga, lifestyle changes, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, etc. The intention behind choosing an integrative approach may vary based on the psychiatrist, however, in my experience, most of us who identify as integrative are interested in prevention, understand both the usefulness and the limitations of medications, and want to offer our patients more choices on their path towards well-being. Usually this requires additional education, training, and experience beyond our medical school and residency or fellowship training, in one or more complementary modality. In my clinical practice, I rely heavily on experiential mind-body practices, based on the principles of classical hatha yoga, due to my training in yoga therapy, pranayama and meditation. This is not instead of, but in addition to medications, the evidence-based use of nutritional supplements and life-style optimization strategies.
Why Integrative Psychiatry?
Medications play an important role in most moderate to severe mental health challenges, however not all patients respond to medications, some patients respond only partially, and others cannot tolerate medications due to their side effects. Integrative modalities are used to augment medications, meaning that they can fill the gap in treatment that medications cannot achieve, helping patients to move closer towards their well-being goals. The integrative psychiatry approach also offers patients something medication alone cannot, which is the opportunity to create long-lasting positive changes to their lives through building new habits, new ways of interacting with themselves and others, and a new relationship to their bodies and minds. One way to think of this is that integrative approaches involve learning life skills that are free to use, do not have side effects, and do not depend on anyone except the individual, and their choices. The goal of integrative psychiatry is whole-person well-being, and this usually requires more than medication alone.