Yoga Therapy: Cultivate a Healthier Mind and Body with the Wisdom of Yogic Tools and Teachings
Thank you for visiting. You are most likely here to learn more about yoga therapy for yourself or a loved one. I specialize in yoga therapy for mental health. If you still have questions after reading these pages, please contact me.
What is Yoga Therapy: A form of therapy that uses yogic teachings and related modern findings for healing and greater physical and mental well-being, Yogic teachings include yogic philosophy & anatomy, yoga postures, breath and meditation techniques. The various modalities incorporate elements from both physical and psychotherapy.
That means yoga therapy can be used as stand-alone therapy for certain mental and physical health issues or as therapy in combination with other treatments.
If you are reading this, you may have already exhausted much of what is offered by western allopathic medicine. If you are looking for help or something to supplement your current treatment, read on. Here are several ways to apply yoga therapy, along with a case study below:
Yoga Therapy for:
Take a moment to explore the list below. Which 5 words catch your eye first? Notice what stands out to you: vitality · professionalism · sensibility · perfectionism · procrastination · perseverance · impatience · regret · manifestation · stuckness · apathy · lovelessness · toxic dynamics · separation · character · loss · misunderstanding · disconnectedness · emptiness · sadness · ennui · melancholy · heartbreak · powerlessness · depression · alienation · anguish · intimacy · jealousy · rootlessness · purposelessness · neurosis · longing · neediness · insecurities · brokenness · interiority · grief · misanthropy · incompatibility · partnerships · collaborations · work relationships · lgbtq+ · affairs · interdependence · sexual matters · abuse · work & personal · unhealthy dynamics · confusion · hopelessness · aloneness · frustration · anxiety · fear · identity issues · burnout · disorganization · distress · estrangement · impasse · lack of satisfaction · superficiality · inner conflict · suffering · polarity · disharmony · instability · fear · anxiousness · nervousness · angst · unease · stress · restlessness · dread · insecurity · grief · heartbreak · anger · pessimism · phobias · boredom · hopelessness · paranoia · unhappiness · cynicism · egocentricity · melancholia · smugness · kinks · perversions · malignity · egotism · perversity · condescension · overthinking · overactive mind · pretentiousness · sentimentality · fatalism · eccentricity · romanticism · sentimentalism · moralizing · existentialism · joylessness · disillusionment · marginalization · deprivation · abandonment · soul issues · helplessness · demoralization · hostility · victimization · disappointment · irritation · resentment · bitterness · desperation · outrage · despair · disagreement · failure · blocks · repression · spite · unease · sadness · discomfort · embarrassment · disgruntlement · grudges · disdain · distrust · friendship · affection · romance · devotion · passion · desires · fulfillment · attachments · memories · trauma · incessant thinking · spirituality · faith · meditation · religion · transcendence · sexuality · vocation · stress
RESEARCH STUDY: “Results showed that Yoga contributed to improving self-compassion, extrinsic affect improving, and personal and communal spiritual well-being, in comparison to the control groups.” Brandão, T., Martins, I., Torres, A., & Remondes-Costa, S. (2024). Effect of online Kundalini Yoga on the mental health of university students during the Covid-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Health Psychology, 29(2), 227-240. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053231220710
There is a growing body of research highlighting the mental and physical health benefits of yoga, particularly Kundalini Yoga. Explore hundreds of research studies and dissertations here: https://kundaliniresearchinstitute.org/en/yoga-research/
Fear & Worry
Overthinking & Focus
Depression & Unhappiness
Identity & Spirituality
Relationships & Love (Individuals & Couples)
Isolation & Loneliness
Work & Creativity
Stress & Vitality
Support for Ongoing Treatments & Recovery
One-on-one Introduction to Yoga & Meditation
Case Study:
To help you understand better what yoga therapy can do for you, please see the example of a patient I will call Billie.
Billie and I started working together when she wanted to explore alternatives for treating her depression, which was getting worse and more frequently accompanied by anxiety. She was baffled by her depression because she thought the quality of her life was high enough to foster contentment and even happiness—she had a good job and income in the city in project management, loving parents who lived close by, had been in a relationship for two years, and her health was good overall. Yet, what she felt was a great emptiness and a sense that something essential in her life was false or missing, as if her life had no solid core on which she could lean, and instead her energy just drained into a deep void.
Moreover, the state of the world in general looked more grim to her all the time, and this alarmed her because she was losing trust in herself, feeling that she might not have enough grit and resourcefulness if things progressed on a dark path in and around her. Billie had already talked to her doctor about antidepressants but was hesitant and worried about side effects. She had worked with a psychotherapist in the past and understood how her parents had influenced her sense of self, and that her relentless emptiness was related to her father’s aggressive personality and narcissism.
In our work together, Billie and I reviewed her intellectual understanding of her family’s dynamics and their effect on her from the yogic perspective of a person as a multidimensional being. We explored how Billie’s energy was not just influenced by the obvious connections to her parents, but also by other dynamics in nature, the self, and the activity of her human spirit. This expanded her view of her own capabilities and opened her up to connecting to sources of energy that she had not considered and had not felt real to her before, such as the concept of prana (life force) through the breath.
Through specific controlled breathing exercises (called pranayama) and specific meditations, Billie developed not just greater calmness and relaxation, but also a sense of nourishment and care from a universal source that she could access without the need for other people. As she experienced and accepted this new reality and learned to access it at any time through her breath and focus, she developed trust in that process and in herself, greater independence and self-reliance, and much more inner peace.
In addition, we integrated a personalized practice of yogic movements and sequences for Billie, designed to remove the energies and effects of fear and anxiety from her body and strengthen her nervous system. We also incorporated specific meditation practices to break behavioral patterns she described as self-sabotaging.
Yoga means “union” (from the Sanskrit word yoke), and the main goal of a yoga practice is to understand and experience this union—in other words, the reality of a human being as connected to absolutely everyone and everything else in the universe—and then work with it autonomously and creatively for a better life and world.