Moonlit Phoenix
Certified Yoga Therapist, Certified Holistic Wellness Coach
A Holistic, Body-Mind approach to Wellness. The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) defines Yoga Therapy as “the professional application of the principles and practices of yoga to promote health and well-being within a therapeutic relationship that includes personalized assessment, goal setting, lifestyle management, and yoga practices for individuals or small groups.” What is Somatic Yoga Therapy? From a Western perspective, it is a therapeutic modality consisting of practices aimed at facilitating a gradual healing of the nervous system through trauma-sensitive, polyvagal-informed, natural vagus nerve stimulation techniques and embodiment practices to promote self-regulation, vagal tone, and resilience, while balancing the overall physiology, thereby helping to set the conditions in the body and mind that are most conducive to healing. The principles of Yoga Therapy are rooted in Ayurveda and classical yoga philosophy. All practices used are evidence-based and backed by research in contemporary scientific branches, such as neuroscience, psychoneuroimmunology, and all fields backing up modern mind-body medicine. How does a yoga therapy session work? A typical session consists of an initial assessment, followed by appropriate practices to bring the client to a state of balance. We often begin with a guided relaxation and gentle, somatic movement sequences that are very specific to the client’s present needs and overall intention. The tools used include breath, restorative, therapeutic movement and poses, sound, and various somatic embodiment practices, all highly prescriptive and skillfully applied based on individual needs. Who Needs Yoga Therapy? - Yoga Therapy is an excellent stress reduction modality that offers us tools to move from survival mechanisms to a state of regulation by consciously initiating the Relaxation Response. Each individual has a personal way to respond to stress, so a personalized approach through a nervous system assessment can provide the right practices to achieve balance. What is medicine for one person can be detrimental for another. - Thanks to its somatic, “bottom-up” approach, Yoga Therapy can be an effective complementary modality for people affected by PTSD and common mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression. It is also optimal for working with the somatic aspect of intense, difficult emotions, making it an ideal modality when dealing with the storms of life, such as a tough diagnosis, the aftermath of trauma, grief and loss of any kind, and, in general, difficult life transitions. - As an integrative healing modality, Yoga Therapy has been proved effective in supporting with chronic pain, physical ailments, and chronic or acute health conditions. This service is offered as an available choice in a range of resilience-building lifestyle and behavioral practices within an optional multidisciplinary approach to preventing or managing chronic and acute conditions, facilitating emotional regulation, and fostering spiritual growth.
