You’ve heard it a thousand times: “Yoga
is my therapy.” When life is feeling hectic and it seems as though responsibilities are endlessly stacking up, taking a moment to focus on your breath in Child’s Pose can quiet your mind and flood your body with a sense of ease. But over the past four decades, a specific type of yoga has been gaining ground in the Western world as a legitimate form of holistic health care yoga therapy.
What is yoga therapy?
The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) defines yoga therapy as “the process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and well-being through the application of the teachings and practices of yoga.” So what is the difference between yoga and yoga therapy? The central distinctions lie within the credentials of the yogi directing the student, the personal goals of the student, and the breadth of knowledge and resources used by the yoga teacher. All yoga therapists are yoga teachers, but not al