The number of people doing Yoga, specifically for therapeutic reasons, is rising. More and more doctors and healthcare practitioners are recommending Yoga as an exercise to complement the usual medical care. More reviews and meta-analysis (the gold standard of research) show promising results of Yoga Therapy for trauma, depression, and conditions like lower back pain and arthritis. It is becoming known that Yoga seems to work therapeutically for a lot of people!
Krishna’s expertise lies in this field, having pursued both his postgraduate Diploma and Master’s in Yoga Therapy from SVYASA Yoga University (Bangalore, India). Upon completing his Masters, he got his hands-on experience by teaching Yoga Therapy in Arogyadhama Hospital to patients who suffer from debilitating conditions. Throughout his career, he has also applied his knowledge of Yoga Therapy to practitioners who suffer from injuries.
Jal Yoga: How did you get started in Yoga?
Krishna: I used to do the physical aspect of Yoga i.e. asanas in my schooldays. Later, my thirst for learning more was the driving force within me that I took up Yoga courses and pursue it as my career.
Jal Yoga: I heard you are specialized in Yoga Therapy, can you give us a general idea of what Yoga therapy is about?
Krishna: Yes, I have done my specialization in Yoga therapy. Therapy is like a treatment, so we are using Yoga as a treatment to alleviate the symptoms and complications of the common disorders.
In Yoga, common ailments or any disorder in the body is not taken lightly as a disease. Disorder in the body happens because the fundamental structure of the body is being disturbed. The level and type of disturbance that happens in each system are very different in each individual, therefore, it needs to be handled individually.
Jal Yoga: “Since all Yoga can be therapeutic, all Yoga is Yoga Therapy, right?” How do you address this question?
Krishna: Yes, all Yoga practices can be therapeutic but Yoga cannot be therapy for everyone. Yoga therapy practices differ when it comes from treating one disorder to another. Hence, therapy has to be customized according to each individual’s problem. It cannot be generalized, as one size doesn’t fit all.
Jal Yoga: What inspired you to take on this more “niche” route?
Krishna: As Yoga can be used as a therapy for many common disorders without side effects and any other complications, it has caught the attention of even modern science. There are several clinical research and studies that had been done in complimenting modern medicine for getting better results. So all these studies and its importance in the present times made me pursue my specialisation in Yoga therapy.
Jal Yoga: What’s your most memorable case?
Krishna: During my stay in New Delhi, I met a person who was having such a severe back pain (slipped disc problem with sciatica pain) that even doctors advised him to go for surgery, but he was not for it. One of his colleagues advised him to try out Yoga Therapy and that’s how he met me.
When I met him, he shared with me about the pain he was suffering from when he was walking, sitting and bending. He has been relying on pain killer medication to help him ease the pain he was suffering from. After a 3 week Yoga therapy session, his pain subsided drastically that he doesn’t even need any more medication. He is even able to run without any problems!
Jal Yoga: What’s your take on (the effectiveness of) Yogic Therapy on medical treatment?
Krishna: Yoga Therapy is an opportunity to calm, renew and invigorate your system. The medical treatment uniquely combines with the sublime wisdom of ancient Yogic sciences, to support ones life-sustaining vitality, preventing many complications while improving the overall health.
Jal Yoga: What are the most common problems you’ve observed in your students that Yogic Therapy technique can be of great help for them?
Krishna: The most common things are back pain, neck pain, stress, high blood pressure and disturbed sleep. Yoga therapy helped them in all these very common problems.
Jal Yoga: How does your Yoga Therapist background help your students at Jal?
Krishna: As I had studied Yoga Therapy, I have a structured approach when conducting the class. With my therapist background, my students get the maximum benefits of their Yoga practice without any other complications (injuries). As we already discussed earlier, there are some contraindications in Yoga practices which means if someone has any specific problem, they should avoid some specific practices. So even in the group class at Jal, if anyone is having a specific problem like hypertension, lower back pain, heart problems, neurological issues I can suggest them to avoid those contraindication practices and suggest other alternate practices that will be suitable for them.
Jal Yoga: Can you share a simple tip that one can do daily to bring their body and mind to the optimal well-being?
Krishna: Proper breathing and pranayama ( Nadishudhi, Bhramari), proper body posture while sitting and walking and healthy lifestyle.
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