Yoga Therapy: A New Road to Stress and Anxiety Relief

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The Evolution Psychology Center is now offering Therapeutic Yoga for Anxiety and Stress Relief with our first 8-week group program beginning this Friday, March 14^th. In light of our exciting new service, we would like to use this post to provide some information about yoga therapy and it\’s many health benefits.

What is Yoga Therapy?

Yoga therapy is a practice that connects the mind, body, spirit while enhancing self-awareness. Through various posture and breathing techniques, it enhances relaxation and calms the mind. Working with a qualified instructor in either a group or individual setting ensures that each individual\’s unique and specific needs are met. Yoga therapy also helps alleviate symptoms that are associated with depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions. Working with a mind and body approach, yoga therapy helps maintain and promote an overall healthy lifestyle. There are various forms yoga, including but not limited to; hatha/ashtanga, restorative yoga, pre-natal yoga and yoga for cancer survivors that can be specifically tailored to provide effective therapeutic benefits for a number of health concerns both physical and psychological.

Psychological Benefits:

Yoga therapy has numerous benefits, one being the enhancement of our psychological well-being. The relaxation methods that are used in yoga therapy keep the mind calmed and reserved. Through yoga therapy, the mind/body connection is enhanced, as you become mindful and more self-aware of your body\’s unique individual needs. As well, the feelings of physical release you experience through specific stretching exercises, for example, can provide immediate and simultaneous psychological release from unfavorable emotional states as well. Further, it increases mental performance by alleviating chronic stress, anxiety and depression.

Physical Benefits:

Yoga therapy has numerous physical benefits. It helps with muscle tension, flexibility, improves coordination, blood circulation all while providing an increase in energy and activity levels. As well, yoga therapy helps with chronic pain management and lowering blood pressure. Investing in yoga therapy, means investing and improving your physical health and well-being.

Spiritual Awareness:

As previously mentioned, your mind and body are connected. Yoga therapy enables the spirit to feel at peace, while reducing stress and anxiety. Spiritual awareness is associated with feelings of ease, self-fulfillment and understanding of the self. Yoga therapy enables this by enhancing ones emotions, mind and body, leaving one feeling complete as a whole.

Group yoga therapy VS individual yoga therapy, what are the differences?

Group Therapy:

In general, group therapy is benificial for general mental health management. Each group therapy is oriented towards a specific goal, this may be stress management, depression, anxiety, etc. There are components of self-education and mental health maintenance. This helps builds towards a preventative lifestyle, to always encourage that you employ a positive outlook to life. At our center, the groups are small, compromised of 4-6 individuals to ensure that the program is still tailored to those in the group and their specific needs. Group therapy also involves a sense of community, often individuals are encouraged to discuss and share their experiences to enhance self-awareness.

Individual Yoga therapy

Individual therapy, focuses on one individual and the therapy is concerned with their specific needs. For instance, if the individual suffers from chronic anxiety or depression, the yoga therapist will work with them to discuss how these issues manifest. The education component is followed by breathing exercises. The individual yoga therapy concerns itself with the specific needs of one individual and is tailored to them. Meaning, anxiety based yoga therapy for one individual, may be different for another individual. Individual therapy ensures that all the needs of the individual are met, to ensure healthy and positive life-style changes.

Yoga has long been known to provide many health benefits, both physical and psychological, but yoga therapy has that extra client centered focus which specifically targets an emotional concern and works towards alleviating it. Our program, for example, brings together yoga and therapeutic techniques to help individuals reduce their levels of anxiety and stress. We encourage you to look into our newest service further and consider finally freeing yourself from your unhealthy stress and anxiety through the healing art of yoga…

Namaste. Change is possible.

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