By Luna Kunst Yoga therapy often meets people at transitional moments—times when the body is relearning itself. One client with whom I worked, a senior who had recently...
By Antonio Sausys If you’ve ever awakened in the middle of the night with your mind already rehearsing tomorrow, you know how convincing anxiety can be. A conversation...
Research indicates that meditation and other aspects of yoga can support healthy aging, including for those concerned about dementia. June is Alzheimer's and Brain...
This past weekend, the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) held its 16th Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR) in Costa Mesa,...
How comfortable are you with death? If you're like many Westerners, you may not be very comfortable at all—or you may not give your own inevitable final rest much...
According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, approximately 90,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) each year, and the condition...
By Meredith Phipps “I got a job!” The excitement in the client’s voice was palpable even over Zoom. We had started yoga therapy sessions months before, when her life...
If you've ever wished you could do yoga but worried about being flexible enough, or being able to get on and off the floor, or having the right clothes, or...We have...
By Dani Wasson Many yoga teacher trainings excel at creating dedicated practitioners and offering powerful experiences of personal transformation. However, they are not...
By Stacey Loop Over more than 20 years as a yoga therapist, I have deepened my understanding of what this profession entails in co-creating healing spaces and practices...
Research recently published in IAYT's International Journal of Yoga Therapy found that 3 months of a specific yoga program significantly improved balance, strength, and...
By Kim Miller Imagine an approach to easing anxiety that doesn’t require a prescription, has largely only positive side-effects, is accessible from anywhere, and helps...
By Monica Le Baron When setting wellness goals, the clients I work with often overestimate what they can accomplish in an hour and underestimate what they can achieve...
By Denver Clark As a former yoga therapy school director, faculty member, and mentor, I have had the opportunity not only to build a thriving private practice, but also...
Open-heart surgery is a scary thing—a serious procedure with an intense, potentially lengthy, recovery. Some good news: A study recently published in the medical...
By Lorena Saavedra Smith Every December, my body reminds me that although time is moving, some parts of me remain rooted in the place I left behind. I didn’t have the...
By Cheryl Albright When people hear the words yoga therapy, they often picture stretching or deep breathing in a quiet room. What they don’t picture is the admin work,...
By Anneke Sips When I entered nursing school in 1998, I also stepped into psychiatry—and, almost simultaneously, into yoga. Those early years were a strange kind of...
By Monica Le Baron Ancient yogis understood what modern science is only now confirming: A regular gratitude practice can be a powerful “social glue,” helping to rewire...
With luck, most of us will experience old age. With lots of luck—and likely lots of purposeful health decisions—we'll experience a vibrant old age. According to the...
Chronic pain is a common reason people seek care with IAYT-certified yoga therapists. Affecting nearly 21% of U.S. adults, this kind of long-term pain is not just...
By Katie Hay Becoming a yoga therapist On my back, legs resting up the wall, blankets draped over me…“Breathe,” instructed my yoga teacher. Relief. I was grieving the...
By Cheryl Albright You’re sitting in your doctor’s office, having consulted with them for a chronic problem you’ve had for some time. Toward the end of the visit, they...
You may already know that yoga therapy is a safe way of working with the natural capacity of your body and mind to optimize well-being. But how can this one practice...
By Stephanie Singleton If you had told me 10 years ago that today I would be a wellness entrepreneur—and a yoga therapist!—I would have certainly laughed. I was an...
Global Yoga Therapy Day is almost here! Every year on August 14, the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) honors the field of yoga therapy in a worldwide...
By Mounia Moalla As healthcare providers, we often encounter patients whose needs extend beyond the realm that traditional medical interventions can touch. A few years...
By Michelle Arington Addiction of all kinds creates separation and suffering, disconnecting us from ourselves, our loved ones, our community, and our purpose. In my...
Yoga includes an array of techniques that can be tailored to literally anyone with the desire to practice. Can't move your arm or leg? No problem. Don't HAVE an arm or...
The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), which publishes yogatherapy.health, works to support yoga as a therapeutic option for physical health,...
Therapeutic yoga, including meditation, brings a range of benefits for those seeking to increase or preserve their neurological health. Here's a look at some of the...
Although they have gone on to receive additional specific training, all yoga therapists are also yoga teachers. And when you go to a yoga therapy session, you might...
When you think of getting older, do you automatically picture a life of less mobility and more pain? Maybe you remember grandma's perpetually sore back or Uncle Joe's...
By Beverly S. Price I’ve had a long career integrating yoga therapy into eating disorders recovery, a journey I outlined in “How Yoga Therapists Work: My Path to...
By Beverly S. Price I started my career as a registered dietitian in the mid-1980s, hoping to bring evidence-based nutrition to the public. After working at a small...
By Noriko de Guzman My role teaching yoga to military personnel in a mental health clinic on a U.S. base represents a unique opportunity that requires sound knowledge...
We've written about the U.S. Veterans Health Administration's approach to holistic, person-centered care on the yogatherapy.health blog previously. This model matters...
Although stress is unavoidable, it need not control your life! The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, part of the National Institutes of Health...
By Janus Tsai When someone suffers from chronic pain (persistent pain), why might yoga therapy be a worthwhile option to consider adding to their conventional...
As part of "an international campaign to raise public awareness of sleep health," the World Sleep Society has designated March 14, 2025, as World Sleep Day. This day of...
By Petra Fibrichova Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative condition with a wide range of symptoms that can vary from person to person and day to day....
Black History Month is drawing to a close, and although yogatherapy.health will continue to celebrate the contributions of people of the global majority* all year, now...
Yoga therapists offer practices in a range of styles. The way they work is often based on the yoga lineage they follow in their own personal practice, as well as the...
By Melissa Aguirre My work as a yoga therapist has taken many forms, shaped by my environment, the communities I serve, and the evolving needs of those who seek my...
By Kristine (Kaoverii) Weber Change is hard. Everyone knows that it takes time, practice, energy, and commitment to change your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and...
Yoga nidra is a powerful yet extremely accessible practice that promotes profound rest—and unless you frequent yoga spaces you've probably never heard of it! The...
Join yoga therapist Julie Shaw, MEd, LMT, C-IAYT, for an accessible yoga practice of alternate-nostril breathing in this 5-minute video. Julie explains how she used the...
Even when we focus on the physical aspects of yoga, which are really just a small part of the practice and philosophy of this "technology for living," we tend to notice...
As yoga therapist Denise Druce, C-IAYT, says on the website for her nonprofit, Yoga Forward, "In a prison setting, yoga can be a refuge inward, away from the external...
By Michelle A. Thielen One morning in 2009 while watching television, I heard a story about 5-year-old girls who “serviced” up to 20 men a day. I was horrified at this...
By Monica Le Baron In Part 1 of this post, we explored the stress cycle and how everyday pressures like traffic, receiving a phone call, and work can trigger it,...
By Monica Le Baron Rushing to take the kids to school, getting stuck in traffic, and wrangling a never-ending to-do list at work are all-too-common experiences today,...
October is celebrated internationally as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Beyond shining a spotlight on prevention and screening for this second most common of all...
Carol Krucoff is an IAYT-certified yoga therapist at Duke Integrative Medicine Center. She's quoted in What Is Yoga Therapy, and Should You Try It?, a recent post on...
By Anandra George My mother would say that I have been practicing sound yoga therapy since I was a small child. She used to hear me humming to myself and would ask me...
By Daniel Blackburn This past February, my wife Ann and I were taking a walk. It wasn’t strenuous, especially compared to the hiking and snorkeling we’d done in Costa...
By Cator Shachoy Did you know that headaches, broken teeth, sinus infections, root canals, tinnitus, and vertigo could all be related to clenching and grinding your...
As this blog has previously highlighted*, a conference that brings together yoga therapy professionals is an event like no other! The annual Symposium on Yoga Therapy...
August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day And the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) designates September as Recovery Month...
By Rebecca Quigley During my last term of graduate school, I started working at a large private psychiatric hospital as a yoga instructor, transitioning to yoga...
Every August 14, IAYT's Global Yoga Therapy Day (GYTD) brings together an international community to share about the practice and profession of yoga therapy as...
Dr. Catherine Justice is an integrative physical therapist, an IAYT-certified yoga therapist, and the program manager for the Division of Integrative Medicine at...
We've updated the yogatherapy.health Research page with new studies, which you can browse by area of concern. The list emphasizes good-quality reviews and randomized...
In June 2024, Melissa Shah (she/they), MPH, C-IAYT, was one of the accomplished speakers at IAYT's Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR), an annual gathering...
By Ainka J. Fulani I was initially drawn to movement for fun and to cope with my own sports injuries, then later to manage stress and heighten self-awareness. As I’ve...
Although all yoga is potentially therapeutic and healing, IAYT-certified yoga therapists specifically apply yoga tools to address an individual‘s physical, mental, and...
By Joanne Hader In 2023 I received a grant from the Seniors’ Secretariat in Prince Edward Island (PEI) to share an 8-week yoga for self-care program for hospice...
Yoga therapists understand that trauma is stored in the body and that healing trauma therefore necessitates working with the body, especially the nervous system. Yoga...
By Julia Romano A central tenet of yoga therapy as I share it is that awareness is healing in and of itself. New mothers, who make up the majority of my client work,...
Innovative researchers studied the relationship between practicing yoga and violence in a public housing community. Can practicing yoga change how violent societies...
By Deborah King Part of my yoga therapy practice is supporting survivors of intimate partner violence. Anyone who has experienced abuse is a survivor—whether they are...
Yoga teaches us over and over, in many different ways, to let go. For example, yoga postures can release tension from our muscles, breathing practices can help us to...
The term triggering has been widely used in recent years, partly because of our increasing understanding of how our nervous systems and bodies work with our psychology....
Yoga, often seen as supporting mental and physical health, is perhaps the best practice for delivering a spiritual dimension to health care. And a number of studies...
By Tonia Kulp Yoga therapy is fully integrated into the care model at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where I work. As a yoga therapist in the integrative...
By Erin Ehlers For 14 years, I owned a small yoga studio and cultivated my yoga therapy business from my long-term presence in my community. I taught small-group yoga...
People who suffer from insomnia struggle with sleep—and with the anxiety and fear cycle that can perpetuate the trouble of getting enough quality rest. Stress is a...
What touches our hearts—and how and why we love—at times seems mysterious. Research, however, is helping us to understand more clearly how to take care of our cardiac...
By Smitha Mallaiah When I arrived in the United States, I was astonished to find that yoga is perceived as a very physical practice, often stripped of its...
Many people think of yoga as an activity that helps them become more flexible in their bodies. More recently, yoga practices have been associated with the health...
This post, part of our “how yoga therapists work” series, is about how a physical therapist (PT) and current yoga therapy student recognized yoga’s healing potential...
Sound has been used therapeutically in both complementary and allopathic medicine for many years. For example, ultrasound technology, which is inaudible, is ubiquitous...
Yoga therapy is whole-person care, which is, in general, a different approach than Western medicine takes. As the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT)...
Today marks the solstice, a turning point in the amount of sunlight that reaches us. The solstice signifies a moment of change, which might be why we take stock of our...
By Karen Schwartz Our understanding of trauma has developed—and changed—significantly in the past 20 years, and so has our understanding of how to help people suffering...
By Gina M. Barrett In response to the ongoing immigration crisis at the border between the United States and Mexico, I founded Casa de Paz SLV in January 2019. This...
The effects of war, on those who survive it, can be horrific. In recent years we have learned a lot about trauma, and especially about how this condition deeply affects...
As the end-of-year holidays approach, many of us take stock. We’d like to encourage this reflection to include a perspective of gratitude. Gratitude is a recognition of...
By Ann Grace MacMullan In our yoga asana practice, we save one pose for the end of every session: savasana, or corpse pose. Lying still and resting, often on our backs,...
By Lois Ramondetta I’m a gynecological oncologist. Doctors in this specialty have long-lasting relationships with patients, and although many are cured, those who...
Do you ever want to stay snuggled in your warm bed or hunkered down by a fire on cold, rainy days? Do bright, sunny days inspire you to get outside? Of course the...
We can measure countless processes in our bodies to get a picture of our overall health. Heart rate variability (HRV), the very small fluctuations in the time between...
The World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) designates October 10 as World Mental Health Day. In honor of efforts like these to raise awareness, promote access to...
By Carrie Meyer Yoga therapy is mind-body medicine with a basic—if not always simple—understanding at its heart: True healing encompasses the mind, body, and spirit....
A recent article in The New York Times declared that yoga “really is as healthy as people say,” listing a convincing number of potential health benefits including...
By Gabriella Barnstone During a class I was teaching on scoliosis, one of the students—a vital, stylish woman in her 80s—mentioned that her friend was constantly...
Two IAYT-certified yoga therapists, Carol Krucoff and Kimberly Carson, have just published a paper in the medical journal Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation detailing...
We are always changing, but during our senior years the shifts may become more noticeable to us. Two prevalent physical changes are the loss of muscle mass and the...
Has your doctor mentioned whole health to you yet? The movement toward whole health, or whole-person health, is being led in the United States by the National Center...
By Robyn Lewis For more than 8 years I have provided group seated yoga practices in residential elder-care and day-respite as well as younger-onset dementia-care...
By Gabriella Barnstone Whenever I tell someone I am a yoga therapist I usually get one of several responses. “What is that?” “I need to do more yoga/get back to my yoga...
By Richelle Muscroft The foundational idea of mind-body therapies is that all parts of us—emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and physical—affect our health. The...
By Santiago Buompadre Lifestyle is now the main driver of mortality and morbidity in the world. In other words, our habits, activities, and how we treat ourselves have...
LoveYourBrain was founded by two brothers, one of whom, Kevin Pearce, was an elite snowboarder and sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a snowboarding crash....
By Asya Haikin Chronic and persistent pain is one of the main reasons people seek out a yoga therapist. When I talk to prospective clients with chronic pain, they often...
May is mental health awareness month, a designation made by Mental Health America starting back in 1949. Read on for a selection of yogatherapy.health posts about how...
By Caitlin Parsons My work as a yoga therapist started because I was seeking relief for my own chronic pain and injuries related to my career as a dental hygienist. I...
By Bren Ohta At the peak of a fulfilling career, my seemingly normal world fell into chaos initiated by a devastating cancer diagnosis and its aftermath. I turned to...
By Evi Dimitriadou Neurogenesis is the formation of new brain cells (neurons), an important process that continues throughout our entire lives and is part of the...
For more than 30 years, the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) has been committed to supporting research, a crucial component of establishing the field...
In this hour-long podcast, IAYT-Certified Yoga Therapist and IAYT Editorial Director Laurie Hyland Robertson discusses yoga as a system, a technology, and a roadmap for...
By Stacey Reynolds I met Bill 22 years ago as a student in my yoga class. The class was at a church, and Bill attended primarily to please his mother-in-law. All these...
By Molly Goforth The spiritual aspect of yoga therapy is unique among complementary therapies, and I have found in working with clients that it is important to its...
A foundational principle of yoga is that by becoming more self-aware we will heal, realize our essential wholeness, and live in ways that support that wholeness. Yoga...
With the internet—and particularly social media—any idea can become a trend in days or even hours. Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot about a yoga technique called box...
Safety, in relation to health, is usually about physical safety: Will I get hurt doing these movements? Will this medication or supplement cause harm? The work of Drs....
Treatments for cancer have advanced rapidly over the past 50 years, and people are surviving many cancers and surviving for longer. However, many of the treatments come...
Yoga philosophy understands healing and health somewhat differently than Western models do. A primary model for understanding the work of healing in yoga is the...
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide—AND the leading cause of morbidity (illness) and disability, according to the World Health Organization....
Yoga therapy is an emerging profession in the West, so perhaps the most common question yoga therapists receive is "What IS yoga therapy, anyway?" (yogatherapy.health...
By Kat Robinson You may be surprised to learn that the internally focused practice of yoga and the externally oriented art of circus have a lot in common: Both include...
By Monica Le Baron In 2018, I was honored to do a practicum in yoga therapy and integrated positional therapy at La Casa de las Abuelitas, a women’s shelter in El Paso,...
Have you made resolutions for the new year? In the United States 38% to 65% of people make them, yet 45% to 92% don’t stick to their resolve. If you don’t make...
Holidays! This time of year can feel restless. The noticeable shift in so many people’s energy and attention affects even those who aren’t particularly...
IAYT-certified yoga therapist Sonja Rzepski specializes in yoga for cardiac care. Partnering with cardiologists at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, she designed a...
Western science and medicine professionals are increasingly researching yoga. Robust research not only helps yoga practices to be accepted in Western healthcare (and...
Research shows that yoga can significantly improve cognitive functioning in people with dementia. These studies primarily used yoga as a movement practice. New research...
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology has given us tremendous insight into ourselves by producing images of how our brains change in response to how...
When you think of yoga, what comes to mind? Most people in Western cultures think of yoga as a kind of exercise practiced at gyms and yoga studios. Yoga therapy, on the...
Major Adhana McCarthy, PA-C, C-IAYT, has served 18 years in the U.S. Army, 11 of those years as a physician assistant. She is also an IAYT-certified yoga therapist and...
New research shows that yoga is equally as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety in older adults. Participants showed lasting improvement in...
By Anne-Laure Peaucelle People choosing helping professions often do so to make a difference and to support others—and for a purpose bigger than themselves. This desire...
By Donna Mueller The overall perception of the COVID-19 pandemic being “over” has negatively impacted an already-marginalized group of people in the disability...
Research shows that yoga can help improve the pain and symptoms that accompany osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. But how does yoga work, and what techniques...
For many families, September marks the start of a new school year—and a call to adjust to different schedules and needs. Transitions can bring excitement, stress, and a...
Yoga is widely known to support overall health and well-being—but what about creativity? “Yoga and meditation tap into our psyche and our consciousness, those parts of...
By Sarah Garden Yoga is uniquely positioned to help people suffering from chronic pain. As a yoga therapist whose primary role is treating chronic pain—in both clinical...
By Alicia Barmon Breathing is one of the fastest ways to mitigate stress in the autonomic nervous system. It gives us direct access to a system that is involuntary and...
In the Summer 2022 issue of Yoga Therapy Today, a team of yoga professionals summarized the latest Cochrane Review on stroke rehabilitation and yoga, assessing yoga’s...
Maj. Adhana McCarthy is an active-duty physician assistant in the U.S. Army and an IAYT-certified yoga therapist. In this video, she shares more about what yoga therapy...
Research shows increased symptoms of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; doctors say yoga and meditation can...
By Sowmya Ayyar In the West, yoga therapy is often an adjunct treatment for chronic conditions. In India, however, there is a different understanding of yoga as...
Research shows that yoga can have a wide range of benefits for those living with and recovering from cancer. These include improvements in sleep, digestion, fatigue,...
Yoga therapy seeks to understand the individual holistically and support them in a path toward health and well-being. One of the ways yoga therapists lend support is...
Last week the International Association of Yoga Therapists, with the support of Give Back Yoga Foundation, recognized Regina Barrett, C-IAYT, for her work in bringing...
What is the “stress reset button” and how can we access it? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently updated their resource page for health information and...
By Megan DeRosa, with IAYT What does it mean to reclaim ease in everyday life, and how can we use yoga therapy techniques to do so? The International Association of...
Yoga research has grown exponentially in recent years, and with it a more complete understanding of why yoga is beneficial for both clinical and healthy populations. ...
May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States, and we’re sharing this short video in which counseling psychologist and yoga professional Michael de...
“From an early age, I was fascinated by the human body in motion—all the shapes, feelings, and emotions that could be explored and expressed without words and the...
Warmer weather often prompts a natural desire to get outside and move. For those in the northern hemisphere, spring has sprung—and that means coaxing the body into more...
By Anca Amariei, with IAYT Where does yoga therapy fit in the corporate world, and how can it bring widespread benefits there? The International Association of Yoga...
Is yoga just a form of exercise? Is it a religion? What lies beyond the physical postures? “The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means union, or to...
By Cheryl Albright Limited language can be caused by a variety of disabilities—including developmental disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy;...
By Maureen Grosse When most people think of yoga, they think of physical flexibility: the foot behind your head or handstand postures you see in magazines. Those poses...
Interest in yoga for seniors is growing, and understanding what this population needs to stay safe and engaged on the mat is crucial to their well-being. Since 2007,...
By Monica Le Baron Sleeping is important—more important than we can imagine. But it can be disrupted by anxious thoughts, physical pain, or those tedious trips to empty...
The Cleveland Clinic recently announced the launch of a new study that will investigate the effect of multiple lifestyle interventions on seizures in adults with...
“We know yoga is a 5,000 plus-year-old tradition,” says Dr. Manjunath N. K., director of research at S-VYASA University in Bengaluru, India. “How do you make it as a...
By Skylar Haven Research has consistently demonstrated the importance of culturally competent healthcare for LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer...
When a cascade of puzzling and debilitating health issues started interfering with her life, Robyn Tiger, MD, RYT-500, C-IAYT, started looking outside the box. She...
As a psychotherapist and yoga therapist, Kathryn Templeton, MA, LPC, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, has a wealth of insight into the links between yoga, health, and genetics. In...
By Denyse Le Fever When COVID-19 first appeared, many organizations and healthcare providers quickly adapted in-person programs to an online setting. Life with Cancer,...
By Joann Lutz Our mood and thoughts are intricately connected to our physiological state, and shifting our physiology is one of the most powerful ways to positively...
By Rachel Manetti When a client shows up in my office and they’re struggling with rumination about circumstances over which they have no control, they're often dealing...
By Beth Hughes I worked in an adult day health care program for years teaching daily yoga classes and iRest yoga nidra meditation. All clients had some sort of...
By Nicole DeAvilla Many people who have contracted COVID-19 report symptoms that linger beyond the normal recovery time or develop new symptoms over time. This is...
From August through November of 2021, we saw yoga therapy and research presented at conferences focused on COVID-19 challenges, integrative medicine, accessibility, and...
Each year yoga research contributes to holistic, innovative ways of approaching health and well-being. Research conferences throughout the year showcase progress in the...
As the 2021 calendar year draws to a close, many might be taking a step back to contemplate where they’ve been, what they’ve been through, and what hopes they might...
Yoga can support individuals with MS through decreasing fatigue, improving muscle strength, and improving quality of life. In this article Mindy Eisenberg, MHSA, E-RYT...
More than 1 billion people today live with some form of disability. Increasing access to education, healthcare, employment, and supportive activities like yoga is...
"When our days feel overly busy or stressful it can be nice to slow down and find moments of stillness," writes Alison M. Whitehead, MPH, C-IAYT, in a blog post for...
By Kira Wiggins November is American Diabetes Month honoring Sir Frederick Banting, a partner in the discovery of the vital hormone insulin. His November 14 birthday is...
According to a recent report by the American Psychological Association, stress levels remain elevated for U.S. adults since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. One yoga...
In a recent interview with Kerala Ayurveda, Steven Inghram, MS, C-IAYT, shared how holistic medicine and complementary therapies like yoga therapy can—and should—lead...
How do yoga researchers report on yoga interventions? Why does this matter for students, clients, and patients? In a recently published article, yoga researchers share...
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we’re sharing an in-depth look into how one yoga therapist worked with a client undergoing treatment for breast cancer. ...
By Caren Baginski Over the years I've compiled a list of reasons why people have told me they don't want to practice Restorative Yoga. As a Restorative Yoga teacher,...
Yoga nidra can support people in reducing stress, soothing pain, and promoting a deep sense of well-being—it can also help ease anxiety and improve sleep. In an...
Yoga therapy can inform care across a range of disciplines—from rehabilitation to diabetes care to learning self-care through the yogic map of mind. Here are nine books...
By Ellen G. Horovitz When blending yoga therapy and art therapy, you clear the space for artistic expression—making room for expansion, acceptance, creativity, and...
September is Pain Awareness Month, and we’re sharing a guided practice that can be done anytime, anywhere to encourage movement and even potentially bring relief from...
By Nathalie de Meyenburg As a yoga therapist, I have been with clients through good times, difficult and bewildering times, and yes, the process of dying. This...
By Shirley Telles Yoga contributes to stress reduction, life satisfaction, and overall well-being. It can also foster a sense of stability when we are faced with...
When recent events in Afghanistan prompted some veterans to reach out to Veterans Yoga Project for support, founder and executive director Dan Libby, PhD, responded....
Yoga therapy is the specific application of yogic tools like breathwork (pranayama), posture (asana), and meditation to boost whole-person health. While a yoga therapy...
By Kimberly A. Searl Yoga therapy tools that facilitate mindfulness, grounding, compassion, and stress regulation can give teachers and students the gift of full...
By Sadie Grossman I represent The Wellness and Integrative Oncology Program at Hillman Cancer Center—part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center—as their...
By Caroline Giles You may have heard about or attended a group yoga class, known to have a generalized effect on your body, breath, emotions, and mind. The class may...
Each year the International Association of Yoga Therapists celebrates selfless service through its Seva Award, which recognizes individuals bringing yoga therapy to...
By Maryam Ovissi Both ayurveda and yoga view that we as humans share universal building blocks: We are all made of the same elements. Yet our nature is expressed in...
Last month the International Association of Yoga Therapists hosted its annual Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research. Known as SYTAR, the 3-day event was held online...
Millions of people experience chronic pain worldwide, and yoga therapy can help. In this article, yoga therapist Marlysa Sullivan, DPT, PT, C-IAYT, discusses how yoga...
By Robin Rothenberg The breath is our greatest inner resource, and breathing skillfully can support immune and respiratory health. Breathwork, or pranayama, is a key...
Research shows that yoga interventions yield a wide range of benefits for health and well-being. But what specific components of these interventions facilitate such...
Review by Kathryn Shafer Whether you are new to yoga or a seasoned yogi, Amy Weintraub’s Yoga for Your Mood Deck: 52 Ways to Shift Depression and Anxiety will be an...
By Addie deHilster Mindfulness practice can be an effective method for reducing stress, improving sleep, enhancing quality of life, and even changing one’s relationship...
By Beth Gibbs Times are tough right now. COVID-19 is having a serious impact on mental health—an impact expected to be with us long after the pandemic is over. In...
By Evon Stone Rubenstein Some say that stress is at the root of all disease. What if you could change how you feel about stress? We have always been told that stress...
Yoga therapist and International Institute of Yoga Therapy (IIYT) founder Veronica Zador knows the landscape of yoga therapy for well-being. In this article, Zador...
Yoga therapy can help relieve stiffness and pain for individuals with arthritis. In this short guided practice video, Steffany Moonaz, PhD, C-IAYT, teaches yogic...
By Kimberly A. Searl Introducing youth who have high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to yoga therapy is an especially fulfilling part of my job. I think...
By Ingrid Yang, with Laurie Hyland Robertson Give Back Yoga University and the International Association of Yoga Therapists have partnered on an initiative to support...
By Asya Haikin Mental health professionals increasingly appreciate the benefits yoga can bring to clients, and yoga and meditation are becoming more popular as an...
By A. G. Kozak No matter what you call the force behind the pandemic—COVID-19, the ‘Rona, or SARS-CoV-2— almost everyone now knows and practices the self-care trifecta:...
"Yoga in rehab does not look like the yoga that happens in trendy studios with bendy instructors," says IAYT-certified yoga therapist and licensed clinical social...
By Denyse LeFever, with Sherry Zak Morris A year into our collective COVID experience, bright spots may seem few and far between. As pandemic casualties mount, worry...
Robyn Tiger, MD, C-IAYT, is a radiologist and an IAYT-certified yoga therapist. In "The Rx we were never taught to write," she describes how serious burnout led her to...
This 30-minute video from Jana Long, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, is thought-provoking education for Black History Month and beyond! Did you know that Eartha Kitt and John and...
By Tracey Soghrati At the heart of yoga therapy is the complementary adoption of yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and other techniques for an experience of improved...
By Beth Gibbs Working with the panchamaya kosha model, also referred to as the five layers of self-awareness, can be an effective way of beginning a healing journey. We...
Curious about how yoga can help in your everyday life? In this short video from a few years back, Abbii explains how yoga therapy helped her to leave the hospital and...
Here on the yogatherapy.health blog, we love to showcase the stories of clients who have experienced the effects of therapeutic yoga. Garth McLean, C-IAYT, is one such...
Therapeutic yoga can be a healthful way of building resilience. Many of us have learned the value of this trait in new ways in 2020, and as the year draws to a close we...
By Amy Gaster Jessica* is navigating life in her 20s, including the changes that can come in this sometimes-tumultuous decade. She is sweet and speaks softly; her...
By Judi Bar Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, when I considered offering yoga therapy sessions online rather than face to face, I felt sure something would be missing....
Did you know you can do yoga therapy from anywhere? All that's required is an intention to practice! No fancy clothes, no special equipment, and DEFINITELY no...
By Karina Menali Notice what you feel in your body when you contemplate “transition.” Perhaps a moment of pause, maybe a sense of bracing that shows up as held breath...
Therapeutic yoga is part of the active self-care toolkit for World Spine Care (WSC), a nonprofit organization that aims to offer sustainable solutions for...
Tina Walter is an IAYT-certified yoga therapist who works in the St. Elizabeth Cancer Center Mind-Body Studio and for other healthcare organizations. She provides...
Roughly half of those who practice yoga say they do so for health reasons. And although yoga is not a cure-all for physical or mental problems, research is beginning to...
By Michael Lee In 1971, astronaut Edgar Mitchell was on his way home after becoming the sixth person to walk on the moon's surface. Weightless in his capsule, he gazed...
By Mary Duryea As a retired medical doctor, I often muse about how my patients could have been helped by having a yoga therapist contribute to their care....
By Ingrid Yang Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that affects more than 1 million people in North America alone. After Alzheimer’s...
By Annie Jones Offerings like “Yoga for Back Pain” and “Yoga for Stress Relief” are common, and seemingly increasing every day. But the truth is that no one set of...
Watch Steffany Moonaz, PhD, C-IAYT, explain how yoga therapy can support wellness regardless of physical condition—and even in the face of significant health...
Review by Petra Fibrichova Sometimes we find ourselves at a crossroads. We may feel unwell, unhappy, or stuck—or maybe we have a vague feeling that something is...
yogatherapy.health recently talked with Gail Parker, PhD, C-IAYT, about ideas from her book Restorative Yoga for Ethnic and Race-Based Stress and Trauma. Restorative...
By Rachel Krentzman Affecting 4 out of 100 teenagers, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is the most common form of scoliosis. Idiopathic means we don’t know exactly...
By Kelly A. Hurley A therapeutic yoga practice really only requires the intention to show up. No fancy equipment or special yoga clothing required! That said, your...
By Caroline McCarter As a yoga therapist, I’ve worked with many clients who suffer from an overbearing perfectionistic voice that makes them falsely believe they can’t...
By Dharma Singh Khalsa Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease characterized by memory loss and impaired cognition, a decline in ability to...
By Nazaahah Amin This is the second in a two-part 2 series. Part 1 touches on the healing benefits of breath and awareness. “I’m still just so mad about my brother’s...
Meet the 2020 finalists for IAYT’s Seva Award Seva (selfless service) is recognized in yogic traditions as a key to personal and spiritual transformation. As an act...
Although devastating, the opioid crisis is only one symptom of the urgent need for a better approach to pain care. And while yoga therapy is not a cure-all for pain, it...
By Nazaahah Amin I have practiced yoga therapy in my hometown of Baltimore City for nearly 10 years. Within that time span the city has seen over 2,700 homicides, most...
Because therapeutic yoga is a practice you undertake for yourself, to improve your own health and well-being, it can be a powerful part of self-care during the age of...
By Shirley Telles The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed our social and work environments. Most people are increasingly spending time online to get in touch...
By Antonio Sausys We are living in unprecedented times as a result of the coronavirus/COVID-19 and associated restrictions. Although we all know—on at least some...
As reported in this CNN article, a new study shows that yoga may decrease symptoms of depression: "The results showed that yoga moderately eased depressive symptoms...
By Michelle Andrie In my yoga therapy practice when a client is struggling with a negative physical or mental samskara (deeply embedded pattern), I often ask about...
Review by Pamela Stokes Eggleston As a yoga therapist, I work with clients who have chronic conditions such as MS, diabetes, and PTSD. All of these issues can...
Progressive muscle relaxation is a meditative technique you might find in a yoga therapy session. This randomized controlled trial showed reduced anxiety and improved...
By Robyn Tiger Dial 911! You or a loved one is in need of emergent care. There is a life-threatening situation. Within minutes, trained “first responders” are there to...
By Kim Searl Imagine yourself as a child, not feeling safe at school. Being a kid in the modern world can be tough, with challenges ranging from bullying—cyber and...
The online channel HealthFlix offers easy access to powerful ideas to help us all manage the stress of living through a pandemic: "Can we take this crisis—this pause in...
By Ann Swanson A yoga therapist can help you tailor an individual routine to soothe your nervous system, promoting, among other benefits, a good night’s sleep. They...
By Maggie McCuiston As a self-employed person, I could easily work around the clock—especially if I don’t monitor myself!—and I have to specifically schedule time for...
The Harvard Health Blog has listed yoga, meditation, and controlled breathing (which we might call pranayama) as helpful strategies for coping with anxiety related to...
By Ann Swanson During challenging times, stress takes a toll on the mind and the body. Stress can lead to compromised immunity, increased inflammation, poor sleep, and...
By Roshini Ranjit Deepa,* a software consultant in her mid-20s, had been suffering from wheezing and breathlessness while climbing the stairs for more than a year. She...
Pause and connect to stillness in this 5-minute guided meditation with IAYT-certified yoga therapist Jennie Lee. This short practice encourages the release of tension...
By Elaine Oyang Brittany* is a cheerful, attractive woman in her late 20s with thoughtfully curled blond hair tinged fairy-tale pink. From the outside, she looks like...
By Patience Kaltenbach A lack of mobility is often a barrier to receiving healthcare. Decreased mobility may be caused by aging, injury, or chronic conditions such as...
Pranayama, or yogic breathing exercise, is a tool for working with the energies of the body-mind-spirit. As described in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and other historical...
In this quick video, hear from psychiatrist Gregory Scott Brown on some of the recent research into yoga's therapeutic potential in mental health. As Dr. Brown says,...
By Robyn Tiger As a physician, I spent many years in diagnostic radiology. My job was to help clinicians identify what was causing their patients’ symptoms, and...
By Ann Swanson So you think you might like to become a yoga therapist? Great! The world needs more professionals who have effective ways of addressing suffering,...
The yogatherapy.health blog is geared toward yoga therapy clients, the healthcare providers who recommend the practices to their patients, and those who might simply be...
As psychologist Michael de Manincor, PhD, explains in this video (he starts at around minute 2), four of the main components of yogic practice are working with the...
By Michael Kuang As in so many conditions, the progressive degenerative disease multiple sclerosis (MS) shows up differently in each individual case, partly because it...
By Smitha Mallaiah I work in a cancer hospital, supporting both patients with life-threatening illnesses and their caregivers with therapeutic yoga practices. I’ve seen...
As the yogatherapy.health blog regularly describes, yoga's practices are not confined to the physical work of postures (asana)—in fact, asana is just the beginning of...
By Jennifer Kreatsoulas Eating disorders are serious but treatable mental illnesses caused by a range of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors, and they...
"[G]roup support is one of four key components of the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease. The other three components are diet, exercise, and stress...
Researchers believe that improved self-regulation is one of the reasons people experience a wide range of health and well-being benefits from yogic practices. Children...
This season is an opportune time to pause and be grateful, whether it's for friends, family, shelter, or some other facet of our lives. Tempted to write off gratitude...
Holistic medicine, alternative medicine, complementary health...What these fields encompass has shifted over time along with the terms used to describe them. Today, the...
By Jennie Lee Just about everyone I know is feeling stressed and overwhelmed—too much on their plates, too many crises to contend with, too much frightening news to...
By Gina De Roma My mother passed away recently. The loss brought back many memories, including that of my very first experience with grief and the therapeutic benefits...
By Claire Whittleston Merging yoga and healthcare: A long-time dream Offering yoga therapy for those with pulmonary issues is close to my heart because my own...
Yoga therapy can be practiced individually—one client to one yoga therapist—or in small groups of people with a shared condition or similar life situation. Either way,...
As yoga researcher Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, PhD, C-IAYT, explains in this short video, peace begins with each of us as individuals. This idea may ring true intuitively,...
Following are just a few of the great books recently authored by IAYT-certified yoga therapists and other yoga professionals to support the use of yogic practices for a...
Although many people today are first drawn to practice yoga or seek yoga therapy for physical reasons, they may be surprised by effects in seemingly unrelated areas of...
By Vasanthi Srinivasan Next year, I’ll reach the half-century mark—the Big 5-0—and I can probably look forward to plenty of “over the hill” messages to mark the...
Clients often arrive at yoga therapy after they've tried seemingly everything to alleviate their pain and suffering. As yoga therapist Cheryl Gordon, C-IAYT, notes in...
Could yoga therapy really save money for hospitals and health systems? Research is beginning to indicate that the answer is "maybe so!" but a better question from the...
By Jennifer Brilliant Just a few sessions of yoga therapy can have an enormous impact on clients, sometimes initiating a path toward getting needed help. In the case of...
By Ali Popivchak I often think about how much easier my own teen years would have been if I’d had yoga to help me. I wonder whether I would have felt more comfortable...
Did you know there's a yogic technique in which you don't actually DO anything? Although it's referred to as "yogic sleep" or "conscious sleep," in yoga nidra you're...
During the first Global Yoga Therapy Day on August 14, 2019, professionals on six continents shared their work. Check out a few of the practices offered by...
By Tracey Sondik More and more mental health professionals are incorporating mindfulness and body-based modalities, including meditation and yoga, into their practices....
Yoga is practiced in most settings in a completely secular way. However, for many, yoga is spiritual. Others use yoga alongside their religious practices without...
By Sherri Koehler This past winter, when I told Vickie* she could participate in therapeutic yoga classes, she was a little dubious at first. I met Vickie in the lobby...
Check out this short video on yoga therapy, shot at the annual Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research this June in Newport Beach, California. The yoga therapists...
By Jennie Lee Two things are certain: You were born, and you will die. Not so certain is whether or not, somewhere in between, you will determine who you are....
As members of an emerging healthcare profession, many yoga therapists are determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past as we integrate into sometimes-challenging...
By Kelsey Underwood “Yoga has taught me that I can acknowledge my fear, and then begin to understand and transform it.” —Cancer Patient at IU Health Simon Cancer Center...
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is incorporating complementary healthcare, including yoga therapy, into programs for both patients and medical students: “There...
By Jeff Kaminski Do you race and bounce daily between destination points? Home, work, carpooling kids, grocery shopping, last-minute errands...Factor in flipping...
IAYT-certified yoga therapist Veronica Zador, featured in this video, puts it like this: “When we relax our body, oftentimes we find it’s easier to relax the way we...
By Kristine Weber “Low back pain? Neck and shoulder issues?? Come try some yoga therapy!” I’m standing in a white marble hallway on the second floor of the Rayburn...
By Michelle Andrie “I don’t want to die on the toilet,” said a new yoga therapy client, a vibrant 90-year-old we’ll call Karen. My mind flashed to Elvis...
By Laura Edoff It’s estimated that around 12% of U.S. women struggle with infertility.* A diagnosis of infertility is typically given after a year of trying to conceive...
As this article notes, "Yoga is one of the most sought after and used forms of complementary medicine." "[P]eople who seek the use of yoga to address back pain report...
By Tina Paul Globally, one in five people is impacted by chronic pain, and the number increases with age. That’s 1.5 billion of us—meaning you, me, and someone we love...
Back in the 1930s, endocrinologist Hans Selye first used the term stress as we know it today—basically to indicate the way the body-mind system responds to any...
In case you need some encouragement to get started with yoga therapy, here are a few reminders of what the practices are all about. This article from the American...
By Cheryl Hurst Patients taking psychotropic medications—prescription drugs like antidepressants and antipsychotics—shouldn’t suddenly stop taking them because of their...
By Anne Platt I noticed “Mark” the moment he walked into my class. Heavy beard, baseball cap pulled down over his eyes, silent, wary, and very much disconnected from...
Ann Swanson, MS, LMT, C-IAYT, adapted these recommendations from “Yoga as a holistic treatment for chronic illnesses: Minimizing adverse events and safety concerns,” by...
By Ganesh Mohan A combined neurobiology and yoga perspective offers an innovative way of addressing chronic pain, which affects an estimated 50 million U.S. adults....
Yoga therapists are a prolific bunch, partly because we often have been so changed by the practices ourselves that we want to find ways to share them with as many...
By Tyla Arnason Imagine hearing, “It’s cancer,” come across a desk at you. Now imagine that the doctor is speaking about your child. Although it may be impossible to...
It can be difficult to give ourselves permission to undertake the work of self-care, especially in the face of tremendous global suffering. But taking time to look...
By Nya Patrinos I began experiencing chronic knee pain in the late 90s, but it wasn’t until after I had knee surgery in 2000 that my pain became unbearable. My...
One aspect of an illness usually takes center stage in our awareness, so it can be easy to forget that physical conditions have mental/emotional components and vice...
Review by Karla Helbert The second edition of Heather Stang’s Mindfulness & Grief is a beautiful companion for those who may wish to test the capacity for the...
By Neil Pearson We don’t know why, but sometimes when pain persists—becomes chronic—helping people feel the sensations of their bodies and spending time each day doing...
By Anne Platt I teach yoga therapy, the therapeutic application of yoga developed specifically to help heal damaged bodies, minds, and spirits. My “students” at the Los...
By Robyn Tiger Did you ever stop to wonder how the cells in your body get their energy? Just like you, your cells need food—for them, that comes in the form of a sugar...
Certified yoga therapist Steffany Moonaz, PhD, C-IAYT, discusses the distinctions between yoga therapy and accessible yoga, both of which can help a range of people...
This beautifully written account explains how the pranayama of "bee breath" is used in one hospital. "Despite feeling dizzy, you listen to [the] teacher’s instructions...
Yoga therapy encourages listening deeply to the body—its complaints, requests, wisdom...Fine-tuning the ability to receive these messages, and to integrate their...
By Laura Kupperman Ample scientific literature supports the benefits of yoga for cancer care, pointing toward improvements in quality of life, well-being, sleep,...
A friendly reminder: Yoga isn't a workout, and it's definitely not about achieving ever more "advanced" physical postures. If we remember the wide-ranging philosophical...
By Sundar Balasubramanian Saliva is a basic fluid found in organisms ranging from insects to humans, and it contains several molecules needed for normal physiological...
By Diane Finlayson The yoga philosophy that informs the way yoga therapists view the individual comes from a text called the Taittiriya Upanishad. Its second chapter...
By Annette Watson If you're not familiar with the Yoga Sutras, this Sanskrit text is believed to have been written more than 2,000 years ago by the sage Patanjali, who...
Mantra—put simply, a sound we've imbued with meaning—is one among many possible elements of a yoga practice. A mantra can be repeated aloud or silently. The scholar...
Even with conditions as serious as stroke and brain injury, yoga therapy can be a helpful complement to regular medical care when practiced under the guidance of a...
In a first for both professions, physical therapists and yoga therapists Neil Pearson, Diana Perez, and Shelly Prosko presented a session on integrating the two fields...
Yoga nidra, or "yogic sleep," is one tool your yoga therapist might recommend to help with restlessness, repatterning of unhelpful thought habits, insomnia, and more....
BOOK REVIEW: A Journey into Yin Yoga, by Travis Eliot Review by Michelle Pietrzak-Wegner This new addition to the Yin Yoga literature is a well-designed manual for...
By Marsha T. Danzig Yoga philosophy views every student as whole and complete. A well-designed yoga practice is a specific invitation to re-remember our essential...
By Morton Kissen Marriage is difficult, and my yoga practice has turned out to be a different kind of therapy I’ve taught an Adelphi University class in couples...
By Luciano Bernardi and Nicolò Francesco Bernardi Yoga helps us discover the golden thread that connects the apparently separate dimensions of our lives—exercise,...
By Judi Bar Before I answer why yoga therapy is at the Cleveland Clinic, I need to tell you why it’s in my own life: At the age of 45, I was diagnosed with a chronic...
BOOK REVIEW: Restore and Rebalance: Yoga for Deep Relaxation, by Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, PT Review by Molly McManus Once again, Judith Hanson Lasater has provided...
By J. J. Gormley Pranayama, or breathwork, may seem really strange to beginning yogis, but it’s such a powerful tool—one of the key practices in yoga therapy, in...
By Lori Rubenstein Fazzio Over the past 50 years, medicine has been shifting from a biomedical approach—one that focuses primarily on treatments to address physical...
By Nathalie de Meyenburg Living with a lifelong neurological condition is a daily effort, both mentally and physically. This reality makes yoga therapy, with its...
By Shelley Goldman In light of increasing awareness around trauma and resilience, a groundbreaking study from 1998 is getting renewed attention. The Centers for Disease...
By Allie Middleton Even if it’s your first time, yoga or other mind-body practices can shift how you feel, maybe even helping you tap into your creativity! In addition,...
VIDEO REVIEW: Creating Pelvic Floor Health, with Shelly Prosko Review by Tianna Meriage-Reiter I’ve experienced pelvic and back pain, along with continence and...
By Lynne Valdes You might be surprised to learn that the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) has been at the forefront of integrating complementary modalities into...
By Lee Majewski As I recognized from my own cancer experience, there is a huge gap in medical cancer care—a gap yoga therapy can fill nicely. (Read more about how yoga...
By Lee Majewski My friends often ask me, “What is yoga therapy?” Initially, I struggled to find the words to explain this emerging healthcare field. From years of...
By Jennifer Lenders Although patients new to intensive cardiac rehab (ICR) often arrive thinking of yoga as a stretching class for flexible people, they soon find that...
By Shelley Goldman There’s a cutting-edge technique emerging to ease the suffering caused by mental health problems in young people: Yoga therapy scientifically applies...
Matthew Taylor, a past president of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, offers a brief history of contemporary yoga therapy as part of 30 Years of Social...
BOOK REVIEW: Healing Our Backs with Yoga: An Essential Guide to Back Pain Relief, by Lillah A. Schwartz Review by Steven Weiss In her comprehensive book,...
By Laurie Hyland Robertson The Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research is coming up in mid-June, so here’s a peek inside yoga therapy’s largest...
By Tina Paul Although a yoga class can be therapeutic, there are some differences between attending a general yoga class and receiving yoga therapy. To add to the...
By Ann Swanson When I tell people I am a yoga therapist, they inevitably ask, “Wait, what is yoga therapy?” They want to know how it differs from other yoga classes....
