"Yoga is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who you are."
Erich Schiffmann
Yoga for Healing
In the west we are not really used to the concept of using Yoga to specifically heal our ailments and problems, however this is very different in India where there are even Yoga Wards in hospitals.
The use of Yoga for Healing is becoming better known though, although it usually goes under the popular heading of Yoga Therapy. In the UK, the National Health Service has now started to take notice of the therapeutic application of Yoga. Rather than us telling you about it, please read what the NHS think about Yoga Therapy in their own words:
"Yoga therapy is the adaptation of yoga for people with health problems. Although ordinary yoga classes can improve general health and resolve mild complaints, they may be ineffective - or even harmful - for serious conditions. In such cases, yoga therapy can help people by tailoring yoga to their individual needs, taking into account their health problems, constitution and circumstances.
Yoga is a holistic system for promoting homoeostasis at physical, mental and emotional levels. When this balance is disturbed by illness, or the stress created by illness, yoga can help restore it, and help cure or manage the illness.
Yoga therapy practitioners are qualified yoga teachers with further training in medicine and applications of yoga to medical conditions. Yoga therapy utilises practices from India which date back thousands of years and are part of traditional Indian healthcare. Just as traditional herbalism contributed to pharmacology, so traditional yoga can contribute to behavioural and attitudinal practices in modern healthcare - as illustrated by the widespread adoption of relaxation techniques in clinical psychology.
Critical research trials show that yoga therapy practices are among the most effective known methods for managing the psychosomatic, stress-related conditions, which are so common today. This is because they bridge the gap between body and mind, ranging across the whole spectrum from physical to mental. Conditions treated include asthma and COPD, hypertension and heart conditions, back pain, arthritis, hyperacidity, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, migraine and headaches, multiple sclerosis, and cancer (coping with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, rehabilitation from surgery, and reducing anxiety).
Yoga therapy starts with a one-to-one consultation to ascertain the presenting condition, associated health problems and related lifestyle factors. This is followed by a series of one-to-one or specialised group classes teaching yoga regimens for different conditions. Yoga therapy consists primarily of postural, breathing and relaxation exercises. It starts with very simple exercises, so that clients can begin to practise and benefit right away, even if they have no prior experience of yoga. Yoga therapy is very safe, when taught by a qualified yoga therapist. In addition to helping manage the presenting condition, it often yields other health benefits.
Yoga therapy empowers people to look after their own health, thus leading to patient satisfaction and reducing NHS expenditure on consultations and drugs. "
NHS Trust Association - "The NHS Directory of Complementary and Alternative Practitioners"
Who can benefit from Yoga for Healing?
There is a saying in Yoga - "As long as there is breath, Yoga can help."
It should be re-iterated that Yoga does not offer a cure for many of the ailments that are common nowadays - but even where there is NO cure, a specific Yoga practice can help to manage the symptoms of many chronic illnesses in a way that medication or surgery cannot. This is not a slur on the wonders of modern medicine, it is simply a fact that the aggravating factors to these ailments are often a person's lifestyle, so it needs lifestyle changes in order to see some improvement in overall health.
Just to give you an idea of the kind of problems we have helped people deal with, here is a list of some of them - muscle and joint injuries, Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar Syndrome, Chronic Pain/Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue/ME, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn's Disease, Endometriosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Asthma, Heart Conditions and (as the saying goes) many, many more...
Where do I sign..?
Before you rush out to buy a Yoga mat at the prospect of getting healed, there is one definite prerequisite in Yoga for Healing that we must bring to your attention - Commitment.
Yoga is not a quick-fix effort-free approach to healing. It is not done to you by someone else, it is done by YOU. It requires a lot of effort (some physical, but mostly on the mental front), by YOU. The aim of Yoga is always to make the student independent of the healer.
The self-empowerment you will gain from this process is one of the key factors in the success of Yoga for Healing, and a major reason why it is often much more effective than other healing modalities. But it is essential that you realise from the outset that it is often a long, slow process requiring courage and determination - it is a long-term process to bring about long-term change.
Simply put, those looking for a no-effort quick fix would be wasting their time. If that's not you, then please read on...
Start the Healing
If you are committed to developing a Yoga practice to meet your needs over the long term, please get in touch with me in order to arrange an appointment to start the empowering process of Yoga.
Let the healing begin!
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Explore Yoga: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living