Yoga therapy - a key to holistic health
When yoga practice meets medical knowledge, it's called yoga therapy. This holistic healing method can help specific ailments and activate the body's self-healing powers.
What is yoga therapy?
Yoga therapy can be viewed as a path to health and a general lifestyle concept. It can be used preventively to maintain health and overall quality of life, but can also be used curatively. The treatments are performed by a specially trained therapist. The therapy concept combines the yogic way of life, philosophy, the practice, and medical knowledge. The patient is given a valuable key to self-responsibility. Instead of passively receiving a treatment on a therapist's couch, yoga therapy is a guide for helping the patient help themselves. This therapy concept can be combined with both conventional medicine and other naturopathic methods, as its primary goal is to strengthen vital energy. Both experienced yoga practitioners and newcomers at every stage of life can benefit from yoga therapy. Unlike traditional yoga classes, therapy takes place as individual sessions, rather than in a group setting. This allows all exercises to be tailored to the individual patient and allows for the exclusion of asanas that may not have a positive effect on the patient in cases of pre-existing medical conditions. In cases where conventional medicine is ineffective, this therapeutic approach has proven to be a valuable aid. It incorporates elements of classical yoga, such as
asanas ,
pranayama , and
meditation .
What can yoga therapy do?
Ancient yoga scriptures describe five levels that are essential for a harmonious human existence.
- Level of Bliss: In this state, supreme happiness and contentment are achieved.
- Level of the mind: This is where everything revolves around the intellect and what constitutes complex thinking and the mind.
- Level of emotions: This is where the world of emotions meets, but also simple, everyday thinking can be found here.
- Energy level: Without each person’s own energy system, no life is possible.
- Body level: This area concerns the body and all processes directly related to it.
These levels do not exist independently, but are interconnected. For example, a physical illness often cannot be cured because, for example, the intellectual level was not taken into account. Yoga therapy aims to bring these different levels back into resonance. This can increase the success of conventional medical treatments many times over. To optimize all levels, relaxation is necessary. The exercises in yoga therapy provide greater grounding and a return to inner balance. Many symptoms subside after a short time simply through this stress reduction. At the same time, yoga therapy raises the energy level, which can eliminate the energy imbalance that causes the illness.
Areas of application of yoga therapy
Anyone seeking to improve their quality of life or a method for managing stress will find what they're looking for in yoga therapy, as will anyone seeking to treat acute or chronic illnesses beyond conventional medicine. Due to its holistic approach, yoga therapy has a broad range of applications. During flu season, the therapy can help stabilize the immune system. Severe, recurring headaches for which doctors have found no organic cause often result from an unhealthy lifestyle and stress. In these cases, therapy can make a valuable contribution to eliminating the root causes of the pain. Restlessness also manifests itself in sleep problems, digestive disorders, or skin conditions. Yoga therapy then leads to a more balanced lifestyle and relaxation, which helps the body's self-healing powers unfold. This therapeutic approach is also a valuable aid after accidents and serious illnesses. The most common areas in which the therapy is used are:
- Headaches and migraines
- Sleep disorders
- Tinnitus
- Burnout
- Depression and panic attacks
- Joint problems
- high blood pressure
- Back problems and herniated discs
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