"There is great meaning in life for those who are willing to journey."
- Jim England
Healing Path Yoga Therapy
Yoga Therapy
Yoga practice is like life.
Each circumstance in which we find ourselves is like a pose.
Some poses are hard to hold, others are pleasant.
It is how we hold the pose that determines whether or not we will suffer or grow,
and whether or not we will listen to the drama of the ego or the wisdom of the spirit.
What is Yoga Therapy?
Yoga means "to join", and therapy means to "relieve". Accordingly, yoga therapy is the joining of the mind, body, and spirit, to relieve mental, emotional, and/or physical distress. As this process is explored, awareness creates space for future growth and insight, allowing healing, either physical or emotional, to take place.
Emotional & Mental Experience
Often times when we experience injury, trauma, or emotional distress, we become attached to expectations that we can no longer meet, resulting in anxiety, depression, or other mental health ailments. Yoga therapy at Healing Path is about re-evaluating your expectations in a realistic way, and letting go of unmet expectations in effort to create space for new ones. This awareness and insight lies within each of us, but often becomes "blocked" when injury, stress, or life challenges arise. Yoga therapy can provide a safe and relaxing approach that gently realigns the mind, body, and spirit, and restores them back to their balanced state.
Physical Experience
When an individual experiences physical chronic pain, disease, or illness, he/she often becomes angry, discouraged, disappointed, and scared, because the body is not functioning in the way that it used to. These feelings occasionally lead to resentment, low self- esteem, and poor body image. Yoga therapy guides you on your journey of healing by teaching you how to move towards self-acceptance. This is achieved by focusing on the strengths the body still has, and all of the good that it is still capable of doing.
How is Yoga Therapy Different from a Yoga Class?
Yoga therapy is different from a yoga class in that each session is typically conducted one-on-one, or in small groups, in an effort to meet the needs of the individual(s). During these sessions, there is ample time to explore your abilities, and limitations, either emotional or physical, in a safe way, with the guidance of your therapist. What sets this healing modality apart from others is the focus on linking movement with mind-body awareness. The continuous dialogue between you and your therapist results in a deepening of the poses and an enhanced awareness of the mind-body connection.
How is Yoga Therapy Different from Talk Therapy?
Yoga therapy uses relaxation to connect the individual to their body and bring awareness to the emotions that have been stored there. This is done by activating the right side of the brain through breath and movement. This is the side of our brain responsible for creativity, relaxation, and imagination. Talk therapy, or counseling, tends to focus on the psychological components of therapy by highlighting patterns of thinking and analyzing that come from past trauma or behaviors. This type of therapy usually taps into the left side of the brain, which is responsible for logic and thought. The two types of therapy are not mutually exclusive. In fact, more often than not, they are used in conjunction with one-another. Often times, when talk therapy is not effective, yoga therapy can provide healing.
