Yoga Therapy
Yoga Therapy is a very effective way of healing and treating pain, injuries and illness, returning you to a healthier body and greater feeling of wellbeing, usually in a combination of one to one sessions and personal home practice. You may also be completely healthy, but just want a personal practice to enhance and deepen the yoga you are already doing. Yoga Therapy is focused on: • Healing and rejuvenation for mind, body and soul • Gentle strengthening, with an emphasis on core strength • Re integration of body, mind and breath • A return to a feeling of well being • Increased mobility and flexibility • Re-stabilisation of injured areas • A professionally guided, but self empowered way of healing • A practice focused on your body's needs • Practice in a caring and non- judgmental environment • A greater experience of your existing yoga practice In a Yoga Therapy session we will look at what it is you want to get from a practice (healing for a physical injury or illness, healing for the mind, breath work, relaxation, more energy.... etc). We will look at your history and any contributing factors. Also as yoga is a holistic therapy, we will look at you as a whole, and anything else that you would like to discuss or add. We may also look at some postures, breath and movement initially, to see how these are affecting you, or where any restrictions lie. Depending on your requirements it may be sometimes be possible to give a basic practice and or/teaching in one session for you to continue with or as a lead up to beginning classes. However usually you will be given a few postures to continue with until your second session, when your full practice has been designed for you. Your practice will usually include some combination of asanas (postures), pranayama (breath work), relaxation and may also include meditation, mantra, visualisation, advice on diet or other health practices such as ayurveda, as applicable to you. (These will be discussed with you prior to the design of your practice to find what will suit you). It is optional but recommended to have at least one more (3rd) session after this, where we will review your practice and make changes as necessary. Ongoing session recommendations can be discussed in your consultation, but maybe from once a fortnight to every couple of months, as required. First session: $80 Ongoing sessions: $70 Package deal- first 3 sessions: $200 Auckland: Yoga Therapy sessions are available in your own home or at 5 Matua Rd, Huapai, Kumeu. New Plymouth: Available school holidays (next period 24th Sept-4th Oct 2016) at Koru Corner natural therapies centre, 56 Dawson st Please contact Maree for booking. |
Why I am a Yoga Therapist I began yoga in my early 20's, when I was going through a hard time and was looking for a way to reduce stress. Within only a couple of months it had changed my life, transforming the challenge into awareness and starting a dramatic shift in other areas of my life as well. Several years later, still passionate about yoga, I began to suffer from serious back pain. I experienced this every day for more than 2 years and it got to the point where it hurt even to lie flat on the floor. Eventually I decided that even yoga was hurting me, as I was experiencing too much pain after the classes. I was given a lot of advice, from "you just need to strengthen it", "go to the gym", and "yoga is good for your back", to chiropractors wanting to force my pelvis into a perfect alignment in the hope this would solve it. No matter what I tried, it just seemed to make it worse. Until one day I stumbled upon a yoga therapist, at a festival I was attending. I scheduled a session with her and she became the first person, to show me some postures that were suitable for me to strengthen my back without pain. It was discovering a new wisdom- Yoga IS good for your back, but it is important to find the right yoga for your body. From continuing the practices she gave me, I was able to slowly build up a home practice, until eventually being able to attend classes again. Studying to teach with Svastha yoga picked up where this practice left off, with it's therapeutic and strengthening focus. I could notice a slow but steady progress as my practice increased, until I was completely pain free and strong again. As yoga has been such a therapeutic force in my life, in both mind, body and soul, this is what lead me to study Yoga Therapy. I feel so strongly about people finding the yoga that is right for them, particularly if they are suffering and/or have found that other yoga classes have been hurting them. I would love to be able to find all the people who have said 'I tried yoga once, but it was too hard/hurt me' and help them find what will work for them. |