How can we support our yoga therapy clients with hip and knee issues? How does alignment from the feet influence the health of these joints? Learn the muscles, tendons and ligaments that support the hips and knees and explore strategies that we as yoga therapists can use to educate our clients on the hips and knees. Learn about specific hip and knee issues such as bursitis, groin pull, hip replacement, sciatica, piriformis syndrome, Iliotibial syndrome, complete ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL Injuries/Tear/Repair, patellofemoral syndrome (Runner’s Knees), meniscal tear/repair, osteoarthritis and knee replacement.
How does yogic philosophy fit into Yoga Therapy? This course will examine teachings and philosophy of the yoga tradition from the Vedic age to the present. We will explore the philosophy of yoga therapy based in the principle branches of yoga including Hatha, Raja, Karma, Jnana, and Bhakti Yoga. Through our study of the principle branches of yoga and foundational texts such as the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Samkya Karika, and the Yoga Sutras, we will learn how to integrate these teachings into our personal and professional practices.
What pranayama techniques can be applied for our yoga therapy clients? In this experiential module, you will explore pranayama, nadis and the bhandas. We will also analyse yoga therapy research and examine which pranayama is best suited for individual client needs and why.
An estimated 20-25% of North Americans and 1.5 billion people worldwide live with chronic pain and a growing number of health professionals are recommending yoga to their patients particularly since we now have research to support yoga is a potentially safe and effective approach for improving function, pain and quality of life for people with chronic pain.
Yoga therapists are well positioned to contribute to a comprehensive pain care plan. However, misunderstandings about pain by the therapist can result in suboptimal outcomes for the person in pain, where the therapist might use language that unintentionally limits the potential for recovery and resilience or might avoid yoga practices that ultimately would improve tissue health, reduce inflammation, support self-efficacy, help restore more ease of movement, and help regain activities that the person enjoys and values in life.
Yoga therapy requires a unique set of tools. Yoga therapy sessions are sequenced very differently from group yoga classes. Yoga therapists need to be able to listen and understand verbal and non-verbal cues and language, and to be able to adapt sequencing to meet the individual needs of their clients. In this module, we will learn how to sequence individual yoga therapy sessions, with a particular focus on listening and responding to the needs of our students. We will also discuss the principles of sequencing for small group yoga therapy classes.