What is Medical Therapeutic Yoga? A Letter From Your Practitioner.
The core of Medical Therapeutic Yoga is to focus on the entirety of your health. Sleep, stress, nutrition, self-care, and smart movement patterns are used to guide you into learning how to be your best self physically, emotionally, energetically, and intellectually. This is the foundation of the biopsychosocial model that physical therapists use, and can be applied alongside yoga philosophy. The practitioner learns how to be present for you in all of these facets of life as you grow and develop in these areas. Medical Therapeutic Yoga lays out the groundwork for you using the highest level of evidence in the biopsychosocial model that health care needs to collectively progress toward.
A lot of times we do not think about how our sleep quality, nutrition, or stress levels impact us. Looking at the factors of individual lifestyles that may be contributing to physical ailments and how to address those factors will help you feel that you have a comprehensive program for your healthcare and self-care needs. I want to develop partnerships with other health care professionals in the community to get to the root of the problem and provide applicable lifestyle treatment, rather than provide you with quick fixes. This is what an integrative practice really is. I want to see healthcare look at treatment through a different lens, and the focus of that lens being on preventative medicine. This is why I personally enjoy the art of yoga, because the physical movements are just skimming the surface of the depth of what the practice can really embody.
The concepts of Medical Therapeutic Yoga are gaining popularity in the community with yoga instructors, practicing yogis, and people that have never done yoga before. It really is yoga for everybody. Alongside learning the in depth breakdown of yoga postures of Medical Therapeutic Yoga, I have also learned techniques for meditation, stress management, microbiome health, and the joy of simply being in the moment. This helps me to be more present for my patients as I feel a sense of ease and balance on a more regular basis and this helps me to truly be present to provide better healthcare for you. This safe and gracious space that was cultivated in my education at the Professional Yoga Therapy Institute is what I value most from my learning experience. This space is what I will strive to provide for each and every one of my patient’s in their Physical Therapy and Medical Therapeutic Yoga care.
With Love,
Sarah