Yoga Therapy Whole Person Healing

Yoga Therapy for Individuals • Yoga Therapy Training • Sharing Yoga's Wisdom

Tag: exploring health

  • Listening Carefully: When an Existing Condition can Mask Something New

    Following our recent Red Flags Guide, we wanted to explore another important aspect of supporting people with their health: what happens when someone already lives with a chronic or complex health condition.

    For someone with a long-term condition, it can be surprisingly difficult to recognise when something has genuinely changed. Fatigue may already be part of everyday life. Pain may come and go. Brain fog, poor sleep, digestive problems, dizziness or changes in mood may all be familiar experiences.

    So, when a new symptom appears, it can be very easy to think, “That’s probably just part of my existing condition.” Sometimes it is. But sometimes it isn’t.

    Conditions such as ME/CFS, Long COVID, fibromyalgia and life stages such as menopause can affect many different parts of the body and mind. Symptoms can fluctuate, overlap and change over time. Living with this uncertainty can be exhausting. People can become skilled at managing their symptoms and understanding their own patterns but sometimes symptoms are unpredictable and it’s a challenge to get through the days. But many will know what a good day feels like, what a flare feels like and what they can realistically manage.

    That familiarity can also make a new symptom harder to spot. Someone may have lived with fatigue for years and therefore not immediately recognise that their fatigue has changed. Someone with longstanding digestive problems may assume that new bloating is simply another part of their condition. A person experiencing a flare may understandably attribute every new symptom to that flare.

    This is where masking, sometimes called diagnostic overshadowing, can occur. An existing diagnosis can unintentionally become the explanation for symptoms that may actually have a separate or co-existing cause. But an existing diagnosis does not automatically explain every new symptom.

    Knowing someone’s usual pattern

    For yoga teachers and therapists, this is where our regular contact with students can be so valuable. We may become familiar with their usual energy, movement, breathing, concentration and their participation. That means we may notice a change or something that is unusual.

    Perhaps a student who normally manages a particular practice is suddenly struggling in a way that seems different. Perhaps they have started to need significantly more rest, or mention a symptom they haven’t talked about before. These observations don’t mean that something is seriously wrong. They simply give us a reason to become curious.

    A useful question is:

    “Is this typical for you, or has something changed?”

    That question invites a moment of self-reflection to compare what they are experiencing now with their own baseline, rather than with someone else’s idea of what their condition should look like.

    Listening beneath the words

    People don’t always describe their symptoms fully. Someone may minimise what they are experiencing because they have become accustomed to feeling unwell. They may be worried about being dismissed, feel embarrassed discussing certain symptoms, or simply assume that what they are experiencing is part of their existing diagnosis. Someone saying, “I’m just tired” may also realise that they are experiencing breathlessness or another symptom that is unusual for them.

    This doesn’t mean that we should investigate further or try to work out what is causing it, however it can mean that we can listen carefully and give the person an opportunity to say more. Sometimes the conversation will provide reassurance that the person knows what is happening and has already sought appropriate advice. Sometimes it may prompt them to realise that something new needs to be checked.

    When someone has a complex health condition, if we are teaching them yoga, it can be helpful to pause before automatically connecting a new symptom to their existing diagnosis. Has something changed in character, severity or duration? Does the person themselves feel that something has changed? If it is different, encouraging appropriate medical advice can be a sensible next step. This isn’t about creating a sense of fear. It is about making space for the possibility that there may be more than one thing going on.

    Some patterns deserve extra curiosity

    Our Red Flags Guide covers symptoms that should prompt medical attention. There are also some common presentations where it can be helpful to pause rather than make assumptions.

    Cautionary Patterns:

    • New or unusual headaches, particularly where there is no previous history or where visual symptoms are present.
    • Persistent abdominal pain or bloating, particularly when it is different from the person’s usual experience.
    • Fatigue accompanied by breathlessness, bleeding, weight changes or significant changes in mental or emotional wellbeing.
    • A cough that persists, particularly when accompanied by weight loss or blood in sputum or mucus.

    These are prompts to stay curious and consider whether medical advice may be appropriate.

    Our role and responsibility as yoga teachers and therapists isn’t to work out what is wrong. It is to create a space where people feel comfortable talking about what they are experiencing, while recognising the boundaries of our role. We can listen without trying to solve the problem. We can notice changes without interpreting them. We can ask questions without turning the conversation into a medical assessment, where we feel that we know the answers.

    And when something doesn’t seem right, we can encourage the person to seek appropriate medical advice using a calm and supportive approach. It doesn’t suggest that we know what is happening, and it doesn’t unnecessarily alarm the person.

    Perhaps the most important message is that people are complex and health is layered.

    A person can have ME/CFS and another health condition. They can experience menopause and develop an unrelated health problem. They can have Long COVID and later experience something new that needs investigating. One diagnosis does not necessarily explain everything that happens afterwards.

    For people living with chronic illness, this isn’t about becoming anxious about every new symptom. It is about becoming confident in recognising what is usual for them and what isn’t.

    For yoga teachers and therapists, it is about supporting that awareness without stepping outside our scope of practice.

    We can help someone reconnect with their own experience and encourage them to seek professional advice when appropriate. That small conversation could make a meaningful difference. Be curious. Listen carefully. Don’t assume. And when something doesn’t feel right, encourage appropriate medical advice.

  • Sound – A Healing Vibration

    Each person brings sound out of silence
    And coaxes the invisible to become visible.

    ‘Anam Cara’, John O’Donahue

    According to the Samkhya Karika, which explains the evolution of our universe, sound is linked to the most subtle of all elements, space. All other elements, such as air, water, fire and earth exist in space and it is also the element in which we as humans exist.
    Hence, sound is an energetic vibration we are surrounded by every moment.
    Hearing is our first sense of perception when our bodies are still being shaped in our mother’s womb and it is the last sense we lose at the threshold to death. During our lifetime we naturally develop associations, heightened sensitivities and
    preferences to various sounds. The source as well as the frequency, or pitch and energy of the sound, greatly determine the effect sounds have on the nervous systems of our
    bodies. Sound quite literally shapes the way we experience our world.
    We perceive sound primarily through our ears, but as as sound vibrates in space it is also felt and recognized by the whole of our being. The vagus nerve which originates in the
    brain, attaches to the inner and outer eardrum, both of which resonate with the vibrations of sound they pick up. They convey these vibrations all along the vagus nerve and thus transmit them to each and every cell of our bodies.
    Ancient cultures from around the world knew about the soothing and therapeutic aspects of sound and harmonic frequencies. In the Indian tradition, it is the Rig Veda that points out the use of sound as a companion to the Ayurvedic system of health.
    Harmonic overtone singing as practised by the Tibetans, has been used in ceremony, ritual, and shamanic practice for centuries. Native American Shamans use voice in healing rituals, and singing to oneself when overcome by illness to facilitate healing.
    During the Covid pandemic the Royal Opera House conducted ‘voice’ webinars as part of recovery programs for those affected by the illness. Listening to lullabies was part of soothing their nervous system.
    Sound can be used to positively influence both our physical well-being as well as the state of our minds. Our voice is the most accessible of instruments, and inevitably reveals something about ourselves. When we sing with happiness our voice
    undoubtedly has a different quality to when we are poorly and low in spirits.
    Sounds have varying effects, they can be stimulating or calming but they invariably focus our minds and as such support our quest for the goal of yoga: a stable, clear mind.
    Through our voice, specific sounds, or meaningful words we can direct our minds to a chosen ‘intention’ and invite qualities into our being that we wish to cultivate.

    Gradually, over time and with many repetitions, these qualities and intentions become part of our being.


    Yoga, and more specifically yoga therapy, makes creative use of the qualities of sound, vibration and our personal instrument, our voices, to move each individual towards the state of body and mind they wish to cultivate. Using our voice entails working with our breath, the most precious source of energy and health we have, combining it with movement, ritual and meditation gives the therapist a rich source of tools and the practitioner a highly personalised experience of their inner and outer world.


    To look further at these tools and have experience of them, sign up to our Saturday morning workshop, on 9th May, 9.30-1pm

    Find out about the Workshop on Sound and Chant

  • Ayurveda: Imbalance as the Root of Illness

    Maintaining a balanced lifestyle is an ongoing adventure — or perhaps more honestly, a challenge. You may remember the old Mars bar slogan: “A Mars a day helps you Work, Rest, and Play.” We know a daily chocolate bar isn’t actually the path to well-being, but the idea behind the slogan does reflect a deeper truth: when the essential rhythms of life — work, rest, and play — are nourished equally, we thrive.

    From an Ayurvedic lens, this balance is essential. Ayurveda teaches that health exists when we find balance in our constitutional type (the combination of the doshas Vata, Pitta and Kapha that is our own), in good digestion and removal of waste products from the body-mind. When these are functioning harmoniously, sustained by a steady mind and joyful spirit then we feel and act in line with our highest purpose. When lifestyle factors cause us to drift out of balance over time, we experience depletion, stagnation, irritability, anxiety or any kind of illness. Restoring balance is the foundation of healing.

    Yoga therapy shares this view beautifully with this Ayurvedic: it recognises that health is dynamic, personal, and deeply influenced by how we live each day.

    Ayurveda: Imbalance as the Root of Illness

    According to Ayurveda, imbalance begins long before diagnosable symptoms appear. It starts subtly — in the food we eat, in digestion, sleep, energy, or mood — and only later moves into more tangible issues. Understanding imbalances requires awareness, at least from time to time, not occasional crisis management.

    This is why individual assessment is essential. Ayurveda encourages multiple forms of daily self-observation, such as:

    • Tracking sleep quality and dreaming
    • Observing digestion, appetite, and elimination
    • Noticing energy peaks and dips
    • Monitoring emotional tone or irritability
    • Reflecting on mental clarity, agitation or stagnation
    • Checking for physical signs like dryness, heaviness, heat, stiffness, or restlessness
    • Observing responses to food, movement, and environment

    These simple check-ins help identify imbalance early — when it’s most easily corrected — and guide personalised choices for restoring harmony.

    Food as Medicine

    In Ayurveda, food is not only fuel but a primary tool for re-balancing the body-mind.  Rather than one universal diet, Ayurveda encourages eating based on one’s individual constitution and to support the digestive processes allowing for optimum nourishment. Where there are any current imbalances, choosing foods carefully can restore health balance.

    Sleep: The Ultimate Restorative

    Ayurveda calls sleep “one of the three pillars of life”. The three pillars (traya upastambha) are sleep, diet and balanced lifestyle. Quality sleep rests the body, rebuilds tissues, clears the mind, and stabilises emotions. The aim is for consistent sleep routines, that support all aspects of health and wellbeing.

    Cultivating Clarity and Calm

    Ayurveda and yoga agree on the importance of the mind – steadying the mind when there is unsteadiness, reducing stress and promoting emotional stability. Honouring emotional well-being requires awareness, acknowledgement, and skilled responses. When the mind is calm and there is clarity, we can better integrate all levels of being;  feeling open and connected — to nature, to others, to our authentic self.

    Physical Health: The Foundation of Balance

    Physical health supports all other layers of well-being and persona and spiritual development. The body is often the first place where an individual will notice imbalance. It is also the most accessible place to initiate healing through a suitably designed yoga practice.

    Ayurveda recognises the fundamental principle that health is not a fixed state — it is in a state of dynamic balance and when imbalance arises, we can restore our own rhythm and rest through awareness and adjustment.
    Ayurveda reminds us that illness is a message: something has drifted out of harmony. With mindful living, assessment and personalised choices, especially in the early stages of imbalance, we can choose adjustments to gently guide ourselves back into balance.

  • Rethinking Health: From Illness to Wholeness

    Exploring Approaches to Understanding and Maintaining Health

    Walk in nature with friends

    Health is often viewed in a linear way  – something we possess until it falters, prompting us to seek a remedy for our ailment. However, our understanding of health can be, and arguably should be, far more nuanced.

    Is health simply the absence of illness, or should it be seen as a dynamic, wholistic state of well-being? How do these differing perspectives on health shape our health? The traditional approach centred on illness and treatment, and a broader, wholistic view that emphasises prevention, balance, and the optimisation of health for a healthy life.

    Health as the Absence of Disease

    For many, health becomes a concern only when something goes wrong. This reactive perspective dominates clinical medicine and much of Western healthcare, where the focus is on diagnosing, treating, and managing specific ailments. When we experience symptoms, we seek professional help, undergo tests, and often receive medication or perhaps another intervention, such as physiotherapy. Here, health is defined in negative terms – as the absence of pain, dysfunction, or disease.

    This approach is primarily our current model for managing our health. Modern medicine has an impressive ability to identify and treat acute illnesses, offer a level of control over some chronic conditions, and address emergencies, which has dramatically increased life expectancy and reduced suffering. However, it can also lead to a narrow view, where individuals neglect their health until a problem arises. By seeing health primarily in the context of illness, there’s a risk of overlooking the many factors that contribute to ongoing well-being.

    Wholistic Approaches to Health

    An alternative perspective views health as a positive, dynamic state that encompasses physical, mental, and social well-being. Influenced by traditions such as Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and more modern wellness thought, this wholistic approach recognises the interconnectedness of mind, body, and environment. Instead of waiting for problems to emerge, the emphasis is on maintaining balance and preventing illness through lifestyle choices, self-awareness, and fostering supportive relationships.

    Wholistic health involves a proactive stance: eating nutritious foods, staying physically active, managing stress, nurturing emotional health, and social engagement. Mental health, in particular, is given equal prominence, recognising that anxiety, depression, or chronic stress can impact physical health just as much as a virus or injury. In this sense, health is not a static state but a continual process of adaptation and adjustments in self-care.

    Prevention and Personal Responsibility

    The holistic approach encourages individuals to feel more empowered in their own health, making informed choices about diet, exercise, sleep, and social connections. Public health campaigns and workplace wellness programmes increasingly reflect this shift, aiming to empower people to adopt healthier habits and reduce risk factors for chronic disease.

    However, it’s important to acknowledge that personal responsibility is only part of the equation. Social factors such as income, cost of healthy food, education, housing, and access to healthcare play a significant role in an individual’s ability to maintain good health. A truly wholistic perspective considers not only the individual’s choices but also the broader social and environmental contexts that shape those choices.

    Bridging the Divide: Integrative Health

    Recently, there has been a growing movement towards integrative health, which seeks to blend the strengths of conventional medicine with wholistic practices. Integrative health professionals might use medical treatments for acute illnesses while also recommending lifestyle changes, mindfulness practices, and complementary therapies to support long-term well-being.

    This approach recognises the value of medical interventions but also recognises that health is complex and multifaceted. It acknowledges that well-being extends beyond the doctor’s surgery, encompassing daily habits, psychological resilience, social connection, and the environments in which we live.

    Influencing our Health

    How we think about health profoundly influences our actions, priorities, and quality of life. While it is essential to address illness when it arises, adopting a wholistic approach encourages us to cultivate well-being in a proactive and sustainable way. By embracing both approaches – treating illness when necessary and nurturing overall health every day – we can move towards a more balanced and fulfilling understanding of what it means to be truly healthy in our life.

    Reflections

    • Consider how your daily routines—diet, sleep, movement, and social interactions—support your physical and mental health. Are there small changes you could make to offer greater balance?
    • Reflect on your coping strategies for stress and emotional challenges. Do you feel equipped to manage life’s ups and downs, or might you benefit from new approaches such as mindfulness or talking therapies?
    • Think about the role of your environment, including your relationships, workplace, and community. How do these factors affect your overall well-being, and what can you do to strengthen your support networks?
    • Assess the influence of societal factors, such as access to healthy food and healthcare, on your health choices. Are there barriers you face, and how might you seek support to overcome them?
    • Finally, ask yourself what health means to you personally, beyond the absence of illness. What steps can you take to nurture a sense of fulfilment and resilience in your everyday life?