Yoga Therapy

I hold an 815 hour IAYT certification as a yoga therapist having completed my in depth training with The Minded Institute . I am now a member of the Minded team as a senior supervisor of therapy students.

I am currently able to work with clients in person at my consulting room in central Grantham, online via ZOOM, and sometimes in your own home .

What is Yoga Therapy?

Essentially, yoga therapy is the application of specific yoga practices to help alleviate physical and mental health conditions. I often describe this as the merging between old science and new science.

Yoga therapy can also offer opportunities to take a deeper dive into yourself and your experience of life. Perhaps you would like to make changes to support yourself in living well. Through yoga therapy self-care and well-being is supported. Work is informed by:

• Anatomical, physiological and neuroscientific knowledge. – the ‘new science’
• Psychotherapeutic principles
• Yoga philosophy – the ‘old science’

How Yoga Therapy Differs from Yoga

• General yoga aims to cultivate harmonious balance in the body and mind and has the potential for therapeutic effects
• Yoga therapy goes much further, diving deeper and supporting enquiry into each persons individual experience
• Using specific yoga practices with their known benefits (often supported by research), yoga therapy seeks to address each persons global wellbeing and identify solutions to help address specific mental and physical health conditions.
• Therapist and client work proactively together which supports education and empowerment for each person in the understanding of the situation

How is Yoga Therapy Used?

Yoga therapy aligns the unique and precise health needs of the client with yoga practices which the yoga tradition and also medical science find to have particular curative effects. The yoga therapist is able to work in a precise and ‘in the moment’ way with each individual client, offering personalised interventions. As a therapist, my aim is always to create a space of safety as you explore your experience of yourself and your life.

Here are just a few examples of where and how yoga therapy can be helpful:

Example 1 – with lower back pain, there are very specific yoga positions and postures which can strengthen and support the back and help soothe and address the symptoms of a herniated disc.

Example 2 – with cancer – individualised practices can be gentle to alleviate side effects of treatment, promote relaxation, improve sleep and support pain relief … or strengthening if appropriate post cancer and pre or post-surgery

Example 3 – in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), there are gentle, specialised ways of regulating the nervous system and fostering the return of an awareness of the body.

Example 4 – with anxiety, erratic moods, sleep difficulties, targeted movement, specific breathing and relaxation techniques can be used to affect the body’s stress system and help build emotional resilience

Session Details

What will a yoga therapy session with me include?

• 60 – 90 minute one to one work – in person or online via Zoom
• Initial information gathering and assessment of your individual needs – possibly breathing, range of motion and postural assessments

Any of the following:

• Breathing techniques
• Postures – yoga/somatics/ movement enquiry
• Meditation /mindfulness
• Relaxation techniques/ Yoga Nidra
• Lifestyle discussion
• Education and information sharing

These are just some of the conditions for which i can offer Yoga Therapy :

• Cancer – side effects management, pre or post-surgery support
• Stress
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Back Pain and musculoskeletal problems
• High Blood Pressure
• Parkinson’s
• Asthma and COPD
• IBS and digestive issues
• Arthritis
• Osteoporosis

Yoga Therapy Sessions

To enquire further or book an initial session please contact me.