Introduction to Yoga Therapy
Yoga therapy works on body-mind and spirit. Yoga therapy can be applied to both physical and psychological conditions, and can be used to remedy psycho-spiritual crises. It addresses the physical, mental and spiritual levels of our existence. Yoga therapy can work both on symptoms and on the deeper underlying cause.
The theory of yoga therapy derives mainly from Yoga, Ayurveda, Samkhya, Tantra and Vedanta. The yogic techniques used for healing are derived mainly from Hatha, Mantra and Raja Yoga and from Tantra. Modern sources, such as modern medicine and scientific research, help us to further complete our understanding of håow yoga therapy works and how it can be applied.
Yoga and Ayurveda
Yoga and Ayurveda are sister sciences and share a common background and language. Yoga does not have its own theory of disease causation or pathology and traditionally was not a therapeutic system. Rather, yoga was seen as preventative and health promoting. It is Ayurveda that provides the theoretical understanding of how disease is caused, the nature of the illness, and how it can be treated both by Ayurvedic and yogic means.
The tri-doshic theory of Ayurveda, for example, provides the means to understand how various yogic techniques will affect the body-mind in order to create a specific, desired outcome. For example, if we know that a certain disease is caused by excessive vata then yogic techniques, such as yoga nidra and a number of forms of asana and pranayama, can be applied to remove excess vata.
Samkhya and Tantra
Samkhya and tantra are powerful philosophies that, by describing the elements that make up the human being, form the basis of yogic physiology and psychology.
Both Samkhya and Tantra describe the influence of the maha-gunas: sattwa (luminous balance and intelligence), rajas (momentum, desire and dissipation) and tamas (inertia, darkness, ignorance and decay) on the body-mind.
Excessive tamas or rajas in the body-mind leads to disease, restlessness, ignorance, selfishness and various forms of pain, suffering and misery.
Yoga therapy teaches us how to increase sattwa so that it dominates rajas and tamas allowing us to cultivate health, happiness, knowledge and wisdom. To achieve this yoga therapy utilizes lifestyle and diet, asana, cleansing and breathing techniques, and various forms of meditation. These techniques increase the natural intelligence of the body and thereby aid recuperation and health.
Hatha yoga
The most practical theory in yoga therapy comes from hatha yoga which states that many illnesses are formed by imbalance or deficiency in prana and agni (the digestive fire). Many systems of yoga teach that most illnesses begin in the ‘stomach’. According to hatha yoga if we can correct this imbalance or deficiency and strengthen the digestive fire along with prana we can manage or cure illness and build inner strength.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika states (Ch. 1.17) that ‘postures (asana) give steadiness (firmness) of body and mind, lightness (flexibility) of the limbs and absence of disease.’ It further states that specific postures such as the Spinal Twist (Matsyendrasana) and the Forward Bend Pose (Paschimottanasana) can increase the digestive fire to such an extent that they can remove many forms of disease.
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