Benefits of yogatherapy
It's well known: regular practice of yoga as a sport or a hobby brings good things for the body and allows you to relax deeply. However, the effects of yoga cannot be compared to its therapeutic deepening. Yogatherapy, a discipline that allows us to treat ailments of the body and mind.
From meditation to postures to intense relaxation, yogatherapy is an art that mixes yoga principles (such as Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga or Iyengar Yoga) with a particular philosophy of life. As a result, practitioners are strengthened by it with each yoga session.
Yoga therapy: how does it work?
Yogatherapy is a therapeutic discipline invented in 1970 by Dr. Bernard Auriol. Dr. Auriol sought to treat psychiatric patients through the practice of the ancient Indian art of yoga. In the course of his thesis, he carried out a concrete background study through which he demonstrated the benefits of therapeutic yoga.
Yogatherapy is the specific use of the tools of yoga applied to the field of health. Both for prevention and for the management of patients suffering from disorders.
It should be considered as a complement to modern medical treatment because it is not a miracle cure in itself. However, its importance for the physical and mental condition should not be underestimated. Practicing yoga greatly improves the health of the practitioner.
Yogatherapy is done in several ways during and outside of yoga sessions:
• Asanas (yoga postures),
• Pranayama (breathing),
• Mudras (symbolic practices),
• Stretching,
• Relaxation (Savasana),
• Meditation.
By practicing these activities regularly with or without a yoga teacher, it is possible to relax the nervous system, to relieve aches and pains and to obtain a muscular strengthening of the body. Moreover, yogatherapy is accessible to all, without contraindication, from children to the elderly.
In fact, yogatherapy is adapted to the "patient" and not the other way around. Each yogatherapy treatment is personalized according to the objectives of the practitioner: to cure an illness, to relax, to maintain the body, etc. The discipline is therefore based on about fifty basic exercises that are then adapted to the needs of each individual.
The benefits of yogatherapy on physical health
This quote fits perfectly into the framework of yogatherapy. Indeed, therapeutic yoga proposes exercises accessible to all without restriction. Thus, each sequence remains very simple for a gentle practice of yoga. The objective is not necessarily to build muscle, but rather to regenerate the body by the sun salutation for example.
If you go to a yoga center, whether it is during group classes or individual classes, you can practice a physical activity during the yoga exercises. In this way, you will slowly but surely strengthen your body parts. It can also allow you to soften your body through the stretching of the discipline.
Yogatherapy is mostly directed towards people suffering from physical ailments. For example, back pain can be cured through the practice of yogatherapy, but so can respiratory diseases, spinal alignment problems or heart problems. Thus, yogatherapy can help treat :
• High blood pressure,
• Back pain,
• Internal organ problems,
• Sciatica,
• Heart disease,
• Chronic pain.
It also helps to strengthen the abdominal muscles in order to feel good about yourself. The physical strengthening of the body is only one of the many beneficial effects of yogatherapy practiced regularly!
Learn to relax with yogatherapy
Yogatherapy is a great way to let go of the stresses of everyday life. This is the reason why yoga is very popular today. On the yoga mat, the yogi meditates or practices breathing exercises to achieve full consciousness. Breathing is actually a central part of yogatherapy treatment:
" When the breath is restless, the mind is restless. When the breath is still, the mind is still. The yogi attains fixity. That is why one must stop the breath " - Tra Hatha Yoga Pradipika II
Yogatherapy makes great use of this stress management function during the sessions: the therapist tries to combine the body and the emotions so that the whole organism benefits. In this way, it develops the patient's serenity and helps him or her to feel better. It also seeks to help the patient draw on his or her own resources to strengthen himself or herself internally!
Yogatherapy is used in the treatment of psychological illnesses from the mildest to the most serious mental disorders. Yogatherapy can also be used to treat sleep disorders and thus to restore sleep quality in order to better deal with insomnia or sleep paralysis.
Among the mental disorders that can be treated by yogatherapy are chronic or transient migraine, Parkinson's disease, hyperactivity or recurrent anxiety attacks. It works at any age: you don't have to be young and flexible to start, nor do you have to be an elderly person to practice meditation!
Overall, then, yogatherapy works on the nervous system, whether it is to cure chronic illnesses or crises or to prevent these problems before they occur. Once again, the yogatherapy treatment is adapted to the patient according to his or her pathology: there is no ready-made model.
Yoga and meditation are therefore central to the teaching of therapeutic yoga: they allow one to focus on the present moment, to regain or maintain energy, and the use of relaxation techniques prevents many patients from having seizures or relapsing. Again, it is complementary to a treatment but not a replacement!
Adopt a healthy lifestyle with yogatherapy
Yogatherapy would be nothing without a thorough work that takes into account all aspects of the practitioner's life. In order to balance one's life, it is necessary to impose rules on oneself concerning several points: rhythm of life, food, social relations, physical activity and mental balance. Yogatherapy allows you to learn these life rules.
Whatever the goal of the practitioner, the yogatherapist will give him/her advice on how to live a healthier life and prevent health problems before going to conventional medicine. Physical exercises, ways to fight against stress or good management of the digestive system are part of it!
In short, yogatherapy allows for positive physical development on all levels. Following sessions with a yogatherapist allows you to live better in your body and to treat your health better by consuming better, practicing sports and having healthy relationships with other individuals. It is a holistic discipline that takes into account all aspects of the patient's life.
The benefits of yogatherapy therefore require homework (homework) on an individual basis in order for the treatment to have a real effect. This homework can be meditative, dietary, athletic or simply to take a moment to refocus on oneself.
Finally, you should know that if you practice yogatherapy, your teacher will adapt the exercises for you so that you can benefit from the treatment. Changes may take time to appear, but it is necessary to go through this process to heal yourself or maintain your body!
