Yoga therapy

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I’ve been wondering about yoga therapy. I know the gist of what a yoga therapist does, but I’d like to know what kind of clients a yoga therapist tends to work with most often and what kind of classes they tend to lead. Regular class, injured people, sick or elderly people? I’m sure it varies by instructor, but some generalities would be great to start with. What is a day in the life of a yoga therapist?

Also, a training program I have looked into confers the acronynm PYT-500 to its graduates. Is that a helpful and relevant title to have (in addition to a regular yoga teacher certificate) for a person who expects to begin work as a yoga therapist? Or are other qualifications required, such as licensing or a background in physical therapy or physiology or whatnot?

#2

If you know the gist of what a yoga therapist does then you are likely very well informed or wise beyond your years. Most people haven’t a clue what it means.

Yoga therapist means one is able to design, convey, and implement a protocol that will assist a particular person with particular issues. That protocol draws upon all the tools of yoga rather than drawing only upon asana.

It means the teacher is able to provide safe ways for the student to experience the wonderful effects of a pose without sacrificing their safety. It means the teacher understands that yoga itself does not heal but rather that it supports the body’s own healing mechanisms, the body’s own systems.

In terms of clients the answer is as diverse as human beings themselves. Some are injured or ill and cannot move or breathe or function well enough to enjoy their living. Some are simply looking to deepen their practice through a more personalized approach.

I don’t teach yoga therapeutics in class settings unless it’s warranted or I’m in workshop. Ergo classes are a mixture of students, some of whom may have therapeutic issues. I direct them as best as I am able in a group setting while suggesting they attend to things more directly in a private.

I don’t know what the “P” stands for in PYT. I personally feel that the curriculum and construct of the training in conjunction with the person or people imparting it is far more important than the letters following your name. There are great trainings with no titles and poor ones with numerous ones. Look at the training, not the topsoil. When you are competent you are competent. It is relevant to note that becoming a sound yoga therapist takes about ten years of study - presuming the study is consistent, sound, and well designed in the first place.

gordon

#3

Thanks for the reply, Gordon. I gather there is little standardization in the field of yoga therapy, based on your response and what I have read about yoga therapists ranging from licensed physical therapists to general yoga teachers who also call themselves therapists.

Integrative Yoga Therapy has a training they call Professional Yoga Therapist Training (PYT-500). I am curious who has the right to bestow these acronyms and certificates. It’s hard for me to decide from the curriculum if it’s good since I don’t know what to look for yet. Having no experience in yoga therapy, it all looks interesting to me. But any opinions on that training or others would be appreciated! Thank you.

#4

Yes, our industry is so devoid of regulation that the title Yoga Teacher can be bestowed upon a person after 22-hour weekend training.

There are many people who claim to be yoga therapists. And without caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) there’s no real way to know other than to sample.

I cannot speak for the bestowing of acronyms other than to say that my training was 2,000-hours and I am certified by the State of Washington so there are actual vocational training requirements that must be met, over and above a registry requirement.

And after seven plus years of study with one of the real gems of yoga, a man deeply steeped from the time he was three years old, I am still learning about therapeutic applications. It truly does take a good ten years before one really “gets it”.

I’m not at all familiar with IYT, their teachers, or their curriculum. I personally believe that the student should find a practice that speaks to them, that works for them, and train there on an on-going basis in whatever way(s) they can. If you are not interested in their practice, in their style, in their mission, then it seems incongruous to have interest in their therapeutics.