3 Common misconceptions about yoga therapy

yoga therapy

Aug 19

Over the past months there are some common misconceptions about yoga therapy that I have regularly run into when talking to friends and clients exploring their options. These often lead to a gut reaction that “yoga therapy isn’t for me” before knowing what yoga therapy actually is. As a result, I thought it might be helpful to address a few of these misconceptions to support the decision making process.

Depending on the country you live in, yoga therapy may still be relatively unknown and it may or may not be recognised by health insurance, doctors, physical therapist and other healthcare professionals. In The Netherlands, where I live and offer yoga therapy in person and remotely, the only frame of reference clients often have for yoga therapy is the yoga classes they’ve seen at studios or gyms. This along with the many misconceptions around yoga or even poor experiences with yoga classes create additional hurdles for clients considering yoga therapy.

Misconception #1: I can’t do yoga

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve heard, “Oh, I can’t do yoga because…”
I’m still in physical therapy, I’m too tired, I’m not flexible enough, etc.

Unfortunately, while this may match many people’s experience of a group yoga class, yoga therapy is different.

First, yoga therapy is accessible for everyone.

Second, it’s tailored to you.

The last time my back went out and I could barely move, I discovered the joy of being able to lay on the ground and gently move my arms and breathe followed by a relaxation practice. It might not look like “real yoga” to many people, but it was enjoyable, therapeutic, empowering and helped to speed recovery.

Yoga therapy is accessible for everyone and tailored to you

The people I come in contact with have often experienced yoga classes as a place for twisting the body into extreme positions, self-centered self-absorption, and putting in a lot of effort to achieve and look good. They often walk out of yoga class (or never enter it in the first place) thinking they need to be flexible, energetic and ready for pain to do yoga. In fact, many clients I have come to yoga therapy without any interest or desire in “doing yoga”, they just want results.

The truth is that the yogic toolkit is incredibly diverse. It includes movement, breathing, rest, relaxation, sound making, self-reflection, visualisations, meditations and so much more. These practices range from incredibly gentle to more intense. As a result, if what you need is a good strong workout, yoga can support you. If however, what you need is a practice that can adapt to the realities of life in our diverse bodies with their limitations throughout any season of life, yoga has something for you. The ability to customise the sessions to you and your body, needs and limitations is the reason why a yoga therapist goes to school for hundreds of hours. After working with a yoga therapist, many clients will report that they have found a yoga or mindfulness that works for them.

Yoga therapy is an enjoyable gift to yourself

More than just customised, I want sessions to feel like an enjoyable and valuable gift to yourself, not something you have to do. While every session is different, you can expect that we work in ways that feel good to you in your body, without added pain. We make plenty of space to chat, to have fun, be inspired, rest and/or relax. Here’s a few examples:

Are you exhausted?
Your session might be an invitation to lay down and enjoy soothing guided rest and relaxation practices.

Are you feeling sore and achy?
Your session might invite you to move gently in ways that are fun, pleasant and feel good in your body. Along the way, we might look to ease tense muscles and strengthen supporting muscles that will help reduce pain in the future as well.

Are you stressed or anxious?
We might chat and move in ways that release tension from the body and help you to feel calm and grounded. Maybe we’ll end with a guided practice of deep relaxation.

At the end of sessions I often hear comments like:

That was just what I needed.
My body feels happy and at ease.
I feel so much calmer.
I didn’t know how much I needed a moment like this for myself.
I had no idea yoga could be like this.

Misconception #2: Yoga therapy is like a 1-on-1 yoga class

Yoga can offer therapeutic benefits to many even when it is not tailored for the person. Unfortunately, it can also cause injury. Not all practices and ways of practicing are useful to all people. Depending on what is happening in your body and life, it may be time for a rigorous exercise class or it may be time to lay down and rest. Maybe you need strength or maybe flexibility is more important. Maybe it’s learning to handle a racing mind with meditation or maybe it’s time to get out of your head and go volunteer for a cause you care about.

A professional yoga therapist often starts as a yoga teacher or healthcare provider and will have also completed hundreds of hours of training in understanding not just yoga but also the body’s systems, trauma sensitivity, different health conditions and illnesses and ways to best support wellness while drawing from the toolkit of therapeutic yoga practices. This is different from a yoga teacher who is trained to teach yoga in public group settings and is not trained to offer customisation based on medical and psychological knowledge. You can work with a yoga therapist 1-on-1 or in a small group.

A yoga therapist adapts practices to your body, ability and needs in order to support your overall physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing. They should not be concerned with fitting you into a predefined posture or yogic lineage. Instead, they are tailoring everything to you as they draw from a toolkit of therapeutic yoga based practices and any other therapeutic practices for which they have been trained.

It’s important to know that in spite of this training and knowledge, a yoga therapist is not a medical doctor or physical therapist and is not able to offer diagnosis. Instead, they may follow the advice of your existing medical professionals, support you in asking questions of your care providers and recommend referrals when needed.

Misconception #3: Yoga therapy can’t help me now

Yoga therapy is the science and art of supporting wellbeing no matter what the circumstances in your life and body currently are. While it cannot claim to cure all ailments, it is a wonderful tool for both preventative care and managing any conditions that may arise.

Yoga therapy works with systems in our body and mind that are critical for physical and mental health, personal growth and recovery.

Research shows that yoga can support positive emotions, better sleep, and reduced stress. It reduces inflammation, increases resilience and the body's natural healing abilities. It can support increased mobility, bone and muscle strength and lower blood pressure. Yoga also can support reductions in anxiety and depression while offering a greater sense of meaning, self-acceptance and self-compassion. It fosters positive social relationships and can develop mindfulness, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and emotional regulation. It also supports with changing thoughts, beliefs and automatic behaviours. These are just a few examples.

Conclusion

In short, yoga therapy is accessible for everyone, can feel like a pleasurable gift to yourself while offering desired support of critical healing capacities and relief from and new relationships with unwanted symptoms.

As a result, people go to yoga therapy for a wide variety of reasons from wanting to relax and feel good to navigating serious physical, mental and spiritual complaints. It can also be combined with coaching to provide effective personal and professional development support.

Yoga therapy is used as a complementary therapy for a wide range of physical, mental and spiritual complaints and conditions. For example, it is used in cancer care, chronic pain, chronic illness, burnout recovery, anxiety, depression, muscle pains, digestive complaints, trauma recovery and more.