What is the difference between yoga and yoga therapy?

Yoga: Self-awareness and Inner Stability

Yoga is a coherent system of practices, philosophy, and ethics that encompasses a wide variety of paths, forms, and traditions. What connects all these paths is a common core: the experience of who you truly are, and freedom from the suffering and conditioning that stand in the way of that experience. The path to that goal varies. Yoga can include physical postures (asanas), but also pranayama, meditation, ethical guidelines, philosophy, and psychological insights. Which elements take center stage depends on the tradition and what suits you. Yoga brings self-insight and supports the balance between body and mind.

Yoga is a personal practice. In keeping with tradition, instruction is tailored to who you are, your stage of life, and your goals. Good guidance helps you develop a practice that truly suits you and supports you in developing and experiencing (more) self-reliance, resilience, and inner stability.

Yoga therapy: targeted guidance based on a specific need

Yoga therapy is a targeted application of the entire yoga system, and takes a holistic view of the human being: body, mind, breath, and senses, as well as habits, lifestyle, relationships, and external influences. All of these areas can contribute to health, and all of them can also play a role in how someone gets stuck or loses balance.

In yoga therapy, there is a specific need for help. Something requires attention; something is no longer functioning the way you would like it to. This could be a physical complaint such as back pain or chronic tension, but it could also be persistent stress, sleep problems, anxiety, burnout, or the feeling of having lost touch with yourself.

We’ll take a close look at what’s going on, your physical and mental health, and which lifestyle factors are having an impact. We’ll also determine what kind of support you need. A treatment plan is created that fits your personal situation. You alleviate physical symptoms and support recovery. You develop self-regulation, resilience, and a greater sense of inner security. In yoga therapy—and in our approach to yoga—yoga and Ayurveda come together: Ayurvedic knowledge about how a person is constituted, about rhythm, lifestyle, and the interaction between body and mind, deepens and refines the therapeutic application of yoga. Modern science and psychology align with this and support an approach that is both rooted in a rich tradition and consistent with what research shows about movement, breathing, mindfulness, and behavioral change.

Specializing in Yoga and Ayurveda

At The Land of Now, we offer both yoga guidance and yoga therapy, in individual sessions and longer programs, drawing on a deep understanding of classical yoga traditions, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda, integrated with modern science and psychology.

Want to learn more about yoga therapy at The Land of Now? Read more here or make an appointment.