Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra are respected as a text that maps out the fundamental principles of yoga, identifies the goal of yoga as a spiritual quest for liberation from the narrow identifications through which we all navigate our lives and sets out the practical steps we can take to reach this goal. It doesn’t however make specific mention of yoga therapy.

Nonetheless, yoga therapy is not a modern invention but forms an integral part of the intelligent application of yoga to suit different life phases, circumstances and developmental stages as well as the personal aspirations and goals of the practitioner. Life and human existence are not static but characterised by constant change and the way yoga is practiced reflects this. Yoga offers an immensely adaptable, flexible response through a broad system of six krama, or application categories, three of which reflect different states of health: yoga śikṣana, rakṣaṇa and cikῑtsa.

Śikṣana implies that the practitioner is strong, flexible and healthy and thus yoga can be ‘taught with no limitations’, meaning that the person’s health can sustain practising postures in their intense forms. Emphasis is placed on perfection and discipline to further strengthen the body.

The term rakṣaṇa describes the application of yoga when the aim is to protect and to preserve health. This often becomes a need during the mid-life phase when people have to juggle many commitments and responsibilities and time for yoga practice is limited. The practice then focuses on maintaining reasonable health and preventing deterioration.

Once health becomes compromised yoga can, and needs to be adapted yet again to serve the purpose of restoring health. The term cikītsa describes this gentle but purposeful application of yoga which aims to enable the person to manage their day-to-day life without too much compromise, to reduce debilitating symptoms, to perhaps restore health altogether, and to encourage a mental and emotional attitude that embraces a difficult situation gracefully. Our English interpretation of the cikītsa application of yoga is yoga therapy.

It is important to remember that the ultimate goal of yoga as stated in the Yoga Sutra is kaivālya, liberation. Liberation from the confines of our identification with our physical body, our thoughts and emotions as well as the various roles we play in our lives. As  such physical health, whilst promoted as a favourable condition for spiritual development, ultimately takes second place to mental clarity.

Yoga takes the individual from a state of confusion, where the mind is clouded and misapprehends the overall nature of our existence, to a state of clarity in which it is possible to assess a situation from multiple perspectives and to make appropriate choices which will serve an individual in the best possible way at any given point in their lives. Clarity of thought leads to conscious, purposeful words and actions, both of which contribute to an overall improvement of quality of life.

Yoga Therapy represents one of several ‘appropriate applications of yoga’ and along with all the other applications is embedded solidly in the philosophy and psychology outlined in the Yoga Sutra and other texts such as Sāmkhya Kārikā, the Upaniṣads and the Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā. The understanding of our world as a synthesis of the material and spiritual aspects of our existence, the basic acknowledgement that suffering is part of our existence, that there are causes for this suffering and that it can be ended, the systematic analysis of our multidimensional beings via the panca maya, the understanding of the pathways of energy that sustain our physiological functions, all offer a basic framework through which to understand the suffering we are faced with and how we might apply the tools of yoga to alleviate it.

Ayurveda offers another lens through which we can attempt to understand the intricate web of someone else’s being and how their well-being may be compromised. It is through such compassionate observation that we can begin to find the place in each person where an impulse can stimulate their inherent ability to heal.

The Yoga Sutra puts our mind at the centre of our practice, as such it regards the mind as the source and the solution to the issues we face as human beings. The text explains in detail the workings of our minds, the inherent drives we are all subject to, the many pitfalls we encounter but it also offers viewpoints and practices to enable us to move our minds from a place of confusion to a place of clarity. Current developments in psychology and other schools of science build their own ‘models’ through which to interpret and potentially alleviate the suffering within our human condition. Using different frameworks and terminology they fundamentally reflect the ancient teachings of yoga. Whilst many of these ‘models’ remain in the sphere of cognition, yoga therapy is all encompassing as it provides cognitive context as well as physical and emotional experience.

Yoga therapy is also highly practical as it requires each person to act. Much as the yoga therapist can use their sensitivity, skill and experience to guide the care-seeker towards the tools of yoga that may open their specific pathways to healing, ultimately it is the care-seekers themselves that need to practice, to engage and to actively take charge of their own health and well-being. They create their own experience through their practice.

This integrated vision of the philosophy, psychology, practical experience and the person-centred, appropriate application of yoga within the therapeutic context brings a holistic quality to yoga therapy that meets each individual in a way that is  accessible, comprehensive, meaningful and effective. An ancient healing modality that is of immense value and relevance today.

Sabine Dahn