My certification will be in yoga therapy and I get asked all the time exactly what that means.
Don't worry, it doesn't mean I will ask you to tell me about your mother when you are in down dog. :-)
First things first. Yoga, while amazing and healing and powerful in many ways, is not a replacement for medical treatment for serious or chronic issues. You can't yoga away a broken bone or torn ligament or irritable bowel syndrome or MS.
What you can do is use yoga to promote healing in the areas you need it, decrease your stress level, help you sleep better and increase your mobility and circulation.
So if you have MS, for example, you can come to me and together we can design a yoga regimen that will allow for greater circulation and feeling in your muscles and joints, decrease your stress level through linking breath with movement (because dealing with a chronic issue is nothing if not stressful), help with pain management and improve immune function. The yoga routine will not cure MS but you may find your symptoms to be more manageable and your spirits to be balanced by incorporating yoga into your life.
And while I will never say that any one treatment or therapy is a cure all, I do think that yoga can be used as an alternative treatment for many of the more 'minor' issues we tend to get. A fellow teacher trainee cured her sciatica problems with yoga. I know other people who have significantly improved their issues with plantar fasciitis, back pain, minor joint issues, headaches and so much more.
For myself, yoga has been a lifesaver regarding mood issues and imbalances. It's hard to stay moody when your brain is all oxygenated from doing down dog. :-)
I'm so excited that I get to share this knowledge with people. You may already notice some changes to this blog (like the header, for example) and while this post isn't an advertisement for my services, it is the start of how I'm growing in my new role and what I will offer and share with you all.
until next time-
5 comments:
I love absolutely everything about this post.
that sounds fabulous. I cant wait to see all the new things you are going to do with this! :)
xo
Yoga therapy is something I've considered doing myself (as a treatment, not a practitioner). I believe it is so healing, just like acupuncture, as an addition to any conventional treatment.
I get the same reaction from people when I tell them I have my degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology. Sometimes I will forgo the transpersonal if I don't feel like explaining it. Everyone gets the counseling part.
I have practiced off and on for half my life and intensely for a couple of years. It helps me with my anxiety levels but not my depression plus I get extremely angry with myself when i fall out of practice.
Any advice?
Melissa and Susie...thanks ladies!!
Melissa (the second one)...I'd love to hear more about transpersonal counseling...I've given your profession alot of my money and I've never heard of this!
Carrie...my honest opinion is that yoga is not a cure-all and while it can help and supplement traditional methods of dealing with depression, it may not be something that can address everything you are dealing with. Again, I'm not a medical professional but I would say that if you feel your depression still has a grip on you and alternative therapies aren't adequately addressing it, please consider seeing a professional. I've been to many therapists, a life coach and been on anti-depressants and I can absolutely say that they have been so helpful and healing at those times in my life.
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